I don’t know about you, but I’m not perfect. In fact, I’m far from it. You’ll probably see misspellings and grammar errors here and there. And I’ll admit that some of my posts were 100% mistakes on my part.
I’m pretty ecstatic about it.
And nope I’m not a masochist either.
I’ve just learned something important-you may say life changing-about mistakes over the years.
They are good things!
In fact, I’m almost too thrilled when another error has taken place.
You might read the title and blow it off. I mean come on, one secret! One secret to a successful life! There’s no way or is there?
While there are no easy ways to success, there is a simple way. And it’s one thing you can do now that will help you down the road to success.
In the almost year long path that I’ve been on my own pursuit of happiness, I’ve learned a few things.
The big ‘aha’ moment for me came when I dug in deep and discovered that what was really holding me back was me. There was a voice that said that I was not good enough as a writer to do it for a living.
The thing that got it from boisterous betrayer to wimpy whisper is understanding that I was creating my destiny. I was tripping over my own path because I believed that I wasn’t good enough to deserve better.
What got me over the hurdle was building up my own sense of self-worth. Reminding myself of how far I’ve come personally and professionally and silencing the inner critic with a larger than life ally.
Just thinking that I deserve everything I desire has gotten me better clients, better pay (in one case, almost 7x’s what I was making at the start) and more opportunities. The best indicator of the change is my writing. Just like the way people can perceive in your body language how you feel about yourself, I think you wear your writing on your sleeve.
One of my friends kept telling me my writing has gotten better recently. While I pondered what changed, I suddenly got it! It was my perception of myself and my abilities that had affected my writing.
While I’m still a work-in-progress, I definitely think that confidence has helped me go from, “I think I’m a writer,” to “Yes I can and Yes I am a writer!” And this single secret to success, I believe can also help you on your own endeavors. Try on a bit of confidence, wear Oprah’s or a mentor, someone you idolize, and see if that doesn’t get you one step closer to your dreams!
I pulled out a fortune from a cookie a few months ago and it read, “Your courage will reap rewards for you.” It’s a perfect statement to describe this week’s focus of The Joy Diet. In week #4, Ms. Martha had us visualizing our desires, now we have to put our money where our mouth is.
I’ve already been inspired by the Oprah show recently, when Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin empire, was on. This adventurous dude who is one of the most wealthiest people in the world and has his own private island, believes in going for your dreams and he does so in a way that would make most people blush, then faint. Somehow I think he follows this week’s goal to a tee.
Although I’m not Sir Branson-ready, I do feel in the mood to walk through a few first to get to my dreams. It may be the reason why I turned into Jim Carrey’s character in The Yes Man recently. Saying ‘yes’ to something I normally wouldn’t do.
I agreed to walk around my community selling ads for a local newspaper. While I’m not necessarily (I’ll use Sir Branson’s word) virgin in this area, I don’t get excited about doing it. I don’t think any introvert would. But I said, “Yes!” I took the challenge, walking through 15 shops in 1 afternoon.
I’m not going to lie and tell you my life was forever changed, cause it wasn’t. But I did get something out of it. As I willingly took the role as a salesman for the day, I saw people change how they reacted to me. While most of the people I met were kind, a lot of them (who I’ve interacted before as a consumer) went in hiding-literally not wanting to talk to me or were quick to brush me aside. I learned two things: 1) how to become a better salesman 2) that it really didn’t matter how people perceived me. I was just playing a role. They weren’t rejecting me. They were rejecting what I was selling.
It may sound like common sense, but for someone who makes a living as a freelance writer, getting rejected is a daily, soul-crunching experience. Taking a risk and getting rejected for something less personal, empowered me. I realized that like being a salesman, a writer was just another one of my roles. It wasn’t who I was. It was something I did. And in this business we call life, taking a risk, and risking rejection is the only way we can find success and ultimately happiness.
I know this one seems kind of wild and crazy. But the good thing is that Martha lets us break up the risk into small steps so it feels less intimidating. For now, I’m going to just research classes on writing books and read other books created by the publisher I’m interested in. Then see what happens next. Hey if I fall and crash and burn, at least you’ll know I gave it my all and tried.
If you really want to find joy and achieve your dreams, you’re going to have to work for it. And this week’s work is all about how much you’re willing to risk.
Following your dreams, Inspirational Stories | 
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Fear, a common subject on 2inspired, is spreading like wildfire. Terreece Clarke, from Freelance Writing Gigs wrote about how it affects writing success. Life coach Jaqui Duvall said it was a common obstacle among dream chasers in Successful Dreamers. And now Dr. Oz?
Oprah’s Radio Show host Dr. Oz interviewed Ariane de Bonvoisin, a change expert. In this short but powerful audio clip, he describes fear as “a change demon that prevents you from making change in your life.” Dr. Oz also says that “fear can be overcome by faith and doubt by surrender.”
Although this 8 min clip deals with change such as quitting smoking or losing weight rather than following your dreams, there is a common thread that unites the two. It is the challenge to get through all of our stuff to get to where we want to be. Ariane explains this as many things including acceptance and surrender of the unknown and having patience to get through the difficult times. This also applies to taking that big leap into living the life of our dreams. When doubt comes knocking, do we answer it with fear or with surrender? The way we answer may predict how likely we are to get to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Want to learn more? Take a listen to this short audio and be inspired.
Sometimes I hear voices in my head and no I’m not psychotic. Listen up cause you might be hearing them too. They’re the voices that tell you what to do. But I’m not talking devil on one shoulder and angel on the other (although they might look like that to you).
I’m actually talking about the voices that sound like this, “What makes you think you’re talented enough?” versus “You need to go for it now!” They both may sound like your voice but they definitely have different personalities. Let me explain.
When you have a strong inclination to do something whether it’s to quit a job or leave a relationship, the voice is bold, confident and all-knowing. It’s like the side of you that’s not afraid of anything, that truly believes in yourself, that is unwavering.
However, there’s another side that often comes out when we try to follow our dreams. It’s the voice that’s a bit shaky, anxious and desperate that says, “Don’t do it” out of fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear that we’re not good enough. Fear that we don’t have what it takes, so why even try. It’s this guy, small, insecure and powerless that tends to end up with all the power because we often let it. We give in to our fear and ignore our instincts and eventually he runs our lives.
There’s another alternative, however. I’ve learned that whatever voice you begin listening to, the stronger that voice becomes. If you continue to question yourself, allow doubt and fear to control your decision, the easier it will be for fear to creep into your life. On the other hand, when you face that fear, go with your instincts and listen to that voice, the easier it will be to follow your dreams and your heart.
So the next time you’re faced with a difficult decision or a fork in a road, remember to tune into who’s talking. Then, make a conscious decision to listen to the voice that’ll lead you to your dreams.
Facing Fears, Inspirational Stories, Stories of Gratitude | 2 Comments »
I subscribe to newsletters from “Green Career Central,” written by its founder Carol McClelland, PhD. It’s a great resource for anyone looking into a new career and specifically for those on a hunt for an eco-friendly one. In her recent newsletter she included a link to a video about the “8 Secrets of Success” by Richard St. John. The video was so compelling that I decided to include it here. If you’ve got 3 minutes, take a look see. You may find answers to the questions you’re looking for. I know I did!
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