“Run love! Run!” Those were the words I shouted to my preschooler when she was running track on her first school’s sports day. We found out that she had talent very early. She started running and when she discovered that she was way out ahead of the other runners, she stopped to look back for the other kids in the race. And if that was not enough, she decided to wait on them to catch up with her. It was a hilarious sight! Indeed it was no surprise when she became Famous for this little feat.
But aren’t we a lot like that at times? We are making huge progress towards our goals, dreams, and aspirations, then we stop. It seems too good to be true. We wait and before realize it, we have missed our path and go off track.
As we approach yearend, how have you been progressing…
2020 The year of the pandemic which shocked many. There is hardly anyone left untouched. Rich, middle class or poor. The lives of many were turned upside down as lives were lost, jobs cut, business closures as the world simply stopped. As the year draws to a close in this fourth quarter, a social media tribe was asked the question:
What’s the best thing that 2020 has taught you?
Susan Ancillotti
2020 Learnings
Here I share excerpts captured as entrepreneurs chimed in:
Always have more than one income
Be willing to pivot rapidly
To love peace and calm over a frenetic stress filled life
Building a completely online business around your purpose is pandemic proof
Just get it done
Be true to yourself while honoring others to do the same
The need for true leaders to step up
That so many people put ‘fear’ in the gas tanks instead of filling up everyday on ‘love’
Take full self-responsibility for health and spending time with loved ones
Doing nothing differently
Containment
Plan B
Don’t book a holiday until the last minute
I can rebound
Be yourself. Don’t follow the crowd
What is your opinion of the year? Any omitted from this list? Do share. We would love to hear!
Actions are visible, motivesare secret. ~Samuel Johnson
Affluent, distinguished, go-getter one day she suffered a stroke. In an instant Alice’s life changed. Weekly physical therapy became routine to return to normal. Sadly, the job she previously had also left her.
Despondent she wanted to know what to do. She decided to search before the end came. Sad and down she called. We talked and talked for days, weeks and after several rounds of coaching she excitedly announced to her peers that she got another job….one directly related to her dreams. She felt alive again.
Sheryl, a journalist for well more than a decade was tired of her job. But each time we talked about her career change… it seems she got pregnant. Two children later she decided she had enough. It was time to take the leap. She acted. Today she’s excited about her new job and her career change.
Goals. The Path. When You Can’t See Clearly, Slow Down or even Stop. ~ Dr. Shelly Cameron
The news reported sisters returning from a trip to Disneyland. The driver a mom in her early 20s, could hardly see due to immense fog and rain. She accelerated to get past the fog. Sadly, she drove head-on into another car that caused two fatalities. One family member said they couldn’t see clearly and that’s what caused the accident.
Innovation and Industry Disappearance
A friend shared with me a compilation of research that discussed the demise of Kodak whose name years ago was synonymous with photos. Gone. Disappeared. Artificial intelligence has taken over business. Before the pandemic, if we consider the likes of Uber, where a driver shows up at the click of a button to take you wherever you want to go. Airbnb vacation rentals has created disruption in the hotel industry. Social…
My greatest fear is dying without accomplishing my own dreams.
A middle-aged woman was deeply depressed. She had helped her children succeed in life. When they bought their first house, she was there. When they had their kids, she was there. A child needed to be picked up, she was there. However through a series of events, she began reflecting. She got stuck and locked herself away from others. When we finally spoke, she shared that she loves her kids and was happy with their success, but her greatest fear was dying without accomplishing her own dreams.
The Selfish Few
Aren’t we like that at times? We are always there for others to the detriment of our own dreams. Those who step out and go after their dreams without considering others are termed selfish. The challenge is for us to find the right balance. The balance to remember our own goals, dreams and aspirations while assisting those we care about with achieving their own.
Dream Home
Lets take for example buying your dream home. Consider what it would take. Search the requirements for you to qualify for a mortgage with a lending institution. Start searching. What location would you like to buy your dream home? Does it need to be close to your job or are you willing to relocate and move to a different area? Out of state or instate? Out of the county or within the county? Next, consider what would you like to have? Two, three or four bedrooms? How many bathrooms? Do you work from home and therefore need an office? Questions, questions, questions. You’re right. Answer them all. The progress will enlighten.
Dream Job
Is it that you would like to change careers? If so, start researching careers that interest you. Do you need to get an education or certification to get into that field? If so, what education do you need? How will you afford the training? Will you need to get a part-time job to help boost your finances? Will your company cover the training expense? And if they do, will they expect you to stick around after you graduate? There is also the option of scholarship or student loan if you qualify.
Aspiring Author
What about a hobby? I’ll use writing because I love to write. Have you dreamed of becoming an author? What will you write about? What are you interested in? Fiction, non-fiction? Biography? If so, where do you start?
The point of these examples is to emphasize that there is always hope for those who dream. They can still come through despite your age, finances, and anything else that you consider a stumbling block. Simply start with clarifying the dream, the goal. Create a timeline. It will help you track your progress and boost your psych as you accomplish each step. Once done, dig deep into making them real. Disregard anything negative that will distract you. Many have accomplished dreams no matter their age. There is always hope. George Foreman regained the heavyweight title at age 45. Colonel Sanders franchised Kentucky Fried Chicken at age 62. The media recently shared a 99 year-old woman who decided to get a tattoo and a daredevil bike ride simply to cross it off her bucket-centennial-list. She is definitely still dreaming.
Today, I encourage you to go after your dreams. Whether you are young or more mature, don’t let age stop you. After all, age is just a number.
Often many as they age feel afraid that they have not accomplished their purpose and plans for their life. Here are seven examples of people who achieved success at different ages:
At age 8 Mozart wrote his first symphony
At age 25 J.K. Rowling came up with the idea for Harry Potter
At 45 George Foreman regained the world heavyweight title
At 14 Country singer LeAnn Rimes won her first two Grammy awards
At 17 Joan of Arc led an army in defense of France
At 35 Martin Luther King Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize
At 62 Colonel Sanders franchised his Kentucky Fried Chicken business
A dream is a cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal.
How can you know what your true dreams are? That was the question a 22-year-old asked. An interesting question that has troubled hearts for centuries.
How Can You Know It’s a Dream?
It never goes away. It stays with you. You go to the left…it’s there. You go to the right…. it’s there. It never leaves until you confront it. Until you come face to face with it. Sometimes our dreams are so big they scare us. But that’s when we need to take a step back.
Let’s think of Steve Jobs. Everything we do now can be done through a little device – the cellphone. Be it text, talk, scroll, have sleepless nights because we’re too connected; talk with a doctor; device-in-hand, head down… we walk around as if in a trance. It all became a reality because of…
The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.
Michael Porter
When I started Playing the Word game I usually just think of a word and simply moved. For me it was just to play my turn whether it was a solo game or playing with a family member. My purpose was to simply keep connected. However I found that my sister (though I know she loves me), played defensively. Every move she made was strategic. So I began doing the same. Losing cannot always be the end result. I began to play with the end in mind. I asked myself… what do I want to achieve? It turned out to be 1) learning or being exposed to new words which extended my vocabulary; 2) keep connected to my family virtually; and finally 3) to win. With those goals in mind, every move I now make was for a purpose. Not only did I want to remain connected, but I also wanted to win.
Every Move Is For A Purpose
As I reflected, I began applying this to life. How can we apply that same strategy to achieve our lifelong dreams and goals to make sense? How can we ensure that every decision we make impacts our desire to achieve? Is it career selection, job change, entrepreneurship endeavor, business investment, relationships or starting a family? How can we ensure every decision is strategic?
There have been many household names who made major business decisions to form a partnership such as the McDonald’s Fast Food chain, or as Steve Jobs did with Apple. It may even be as simple as keeping connected with our kids or elderly parents. Whatever we do, it should be for a purpose.
Think About It
My personal charge is for you to think about it. Think about every decision you make. Think about the little things. Think about the big things. How can each move you make in life lead to your desired goal?
Because the greatest part of a road trip isn’t arriving at your destination. It’s all the wild stuff that happens along the way.
Emma Chase
Eric Rosen shared in Travel & Leisure Magazine, an article titled Will we be able to travel this summer? Who in the world can imagine such an atrocity? How can we not travel? What…then… will we do with the kids?!
How Can We Not Travel?
Yes, but quiet down. Lets be reasonable. How can we travel during a worldwide pandemic when we have no clue about a virus that is invisibly floating around like an obtrusive enemy? We never know who may get it next. It’s no respecter of persons from Presidents, Prime Ministers and major leaders within societies worldwide. No one seems to be exempt.
But then… as we approach summer, and the approvals have been given to calculatedly reopen, our eyes aghast as we picture the way to go. As travel expert Samantha Brown promised Travel will come back. Now there is hope as Rosen gives points about travel’s return from the experts.
Wellness and open spaces (i.e. parks, Museums, RVs etc)
Airlines present bargain fares and flexible flight changes in their attempt to boost a comeback to flying
Transformational getaways after all the time we have had to reflect. We want to start the move to get our personal lives back on track. The ultimate goal? To reinvent ourselves. Ascertain our future, and take stock.
Personal travel for family and friends for events such as weddings, grandparents birthdays and more becomes a nostalgic necessity.
The Rise Of The Road Trip
From the list, my personal fav is the traditional Road trip. Predictions are… it will rise this Summer due to cheap gas, lack of money due to the Corona effects, and tour partners customization and tons of collabs to produce the perfect deals.
All in all, here’s hoping this summer will be one of traditional memories for you and yours; or at the very least, provide treasured memories to last a lifetime.
Play the fear game. That’s what we do. At the onslaught of a challenge, we become afraid. We binge-watch the issue in our minds over, and over, and over again. We can’t sleep. We play the Fear game.
My daughter text and said “Mommy, I‘m afraid”. I asked “whatare you doing”? She replied “watching the news all day and social media. Now they’re talking about the effects of past hurricanes.”
Stop. Turn the TV off, or change the channel.
Aren’t we all like that? When we fear something challenging coming up, we become afraid. We binge-watch the issue in our minds over, and over, and over again. We can’t sleep. We play the Fear game.
It might be nervousness for an impending interview, it might be a change in position and we feel ‘they’re going to find me out’. For sure they’ll discover that I’m a fraud….I can’t manage the work for the promotion.
It might even be that you’re getting married. The closer you get to the date, fear or anxiety sets in the midst…
Be Flexible. Bend easily but don’t break. The strong survives. Conditions are different. Adapt your perspective as applicable to achieve your goals, your dreams and your purpose.
Dream. Yep dream but don’t share it. Dream but don’t tell it. Dream but follow the path that lights the way.
Joseph the young lad dreamed, but through ignorance he shared with his brothers. They fought, connived, and buried him to rid him of his dream. Buried him they did but he grew to heights above. Twas exactly as he dreamed that they’d bow down to him.
Dream
So let this be your reminder to dream but keep it safe in that quiet place in your heart. At the right time, it will be revealed.
