This is part of a series of brilliant guest posts that will be appearing on the blog while I’m in Italy. Let’s roll out the welcome mat for Kate – leave your thoughts/ questions in the comments below. I’ll be checking back in, but in the meantime, enjoy!
In my experience, scary medical situations seem to strip back all the noise making it easy to evaluate your life. Have you ever been there?
All of a sudden your To Do list doesn’t matter, the fight you had last week with your sister doesn’t matter, being the one who’s right in that bullshit argument with your honey doesn’t matter, and that big report for your 9to5 , the one you’ve been sweating over all week, definitely doesn’t matter.
When this happened to me recently, a medical emergency involving my forever guy made what mattered snap back into view. I immediately saw that health, love, family, community, and learning made my top 10 of important things. There was something else that I realised mattered big time: Doing my work.
And by work I’m talking the stuff I’m meant to be doing big picture. You know, the reason you’re here type business. The damn-that’s-huge ‘gut goal’ that scares you in that good takes-your-breath-away-with-the-thrill-of-it way when you dare imagine doing it for real. Stepping into that thing you already know – if you listen – is calling your name. I’m talking that work.
Maybe these things happen differently for everyone, but for me it was like there’d been something kinda fuzzy there for a while, a muted background noise, and all of a sudden with life stripped bare I’d instantly re-mastered this knowing in high def and turned the volume right up. It became a symphony of knowing too hard to ignore.
In my experience when the chips are down, epiphanies are easy. The hard work comes a few days later when the delicious sharp clarity is gone, that higher purpose shiz has lost it’s shine, and there’s a brand new ep of the New Girl singing it’s siren song. Following through is hard. And harder still the day after. It’s much easier to NOT get down to business, isn’t it?
It’s boring and sucky, and there’s probably way more poetic ways to say this, but when it comes to those big you-KNOW-that’s-what-you’re-meant-to-be-doing gut goals, sticking with it is the real secret to success.
I’m learning not to judge these gut-goals/soul-desires/whatever you wanna call them, no matter how crazy/big/small/inconvenient they seem. Like Steve Jobs famously said (and I’m paraphrasing here) a lot of the time shit only makes sense when you’re checking out the twists and turns of your life from the rearview mirror. Sometimes you’ve just gotta go with it and trust that the right stuff will unfold.
I knew I wanted to help kick ass creative trailblazing women bring their entrepreneurial dreams to life. Maybe in these moments your gut tells you to be a surf lifesaver, open a tango studio, become a health coach, or a mother. Maybe it’s telling you to reconnect with your passion for camping or immediately travel to Egypt or pen the historical romance novel you’ve been dreaming of or grow your own veggies. They all sound pretty great to me!
I definitely don’t have all the answers, but I have conquered some mighty scaring-the-shit-outta-me-when-I-set-them long term goals, and I’ve learnt a little. And so whatever your dream, here’s 3 tips that’ll help you sustain your epiphany, stick with that sucker and bring it to life:
Investing in yourself
This is the fastest way I know to get wherever you wanna go. DIY can be heaps of fun and bootstrapping will probably work, but your soul desire’s worth investing in. Anytime I’ve invested in me – whether through coaching, body work, classes, or professional services – and especially when I’ve invested so much it feels like shivery butterflys are being sick in my belly, I’ve received huge value and propelled forward way faster than I’d expected.
Connecting with you power posse
I overheard an African saying the other day: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. Beautiful, right? Do everything you can to engage with likeminded woman and build lasting, authentic, supportive, generous relationships with them. Once you’ve got peeps in your corner ease flows better. Accountability, tough love, bear hugs, Friday night mocktails = there’s nothing like being supported by likeminded babes.
Start (again and again and again)
This is the easiest and trickiest one of the lot. If you want to get anywhere, everyday, all you’ve gotta do it start where you left off. Again and again.
I believe that doing the work we’re meant to do doesn’t mean it won’t be hard or scary at times. Big picture, difficulty and fear aren’t important (notice how they weren’t in the list I mentioned at the beginning). Doing your work IS important. Surround yourself with the right support, ask for help and invest where you need to, and most important start.
So now you know my ‘gut goal’, I’d love you to declare yours!
In the comments below share a personal goal you’re working towards (or dreaming of working towards) and one thing you do that helps you stay focused on achieving it.
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Hey there, I’m Kate, a business strategist, coach, and blogger. I’m the creator of Betty Means Business – an online space totally dedicated to helping women with business yearnings become the kickass creative entrepreneurial trailblazers they’re meant to be.
This year I’ve set myself a big personal creative challenge: Can I set up and grow a successful business in only 2 hours or less a day? Visit Betty Means Business to find out, check out my FREE eBook Kill Overwhelm + Make Shit Happen, and then come say hey to me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I’d love to connect!
Image: Alexander Shahmiri
