“Life is short, live bold! Be heard, be you, dream big, take risks, don’t wait.” ~ Misty Gibbs

I’ve been thinking a lot about big dreams lately.

Growing up, I was never encouraged to dream big. My parents didn’t dream big – I think they were just trying to do the best they could. For them, success was owning a home, having a steady job, and taking occasional family vacations.

I think my dad’s big dreams involved me; he wanted me to be a doctor or a lawyer. That was his dream. I just wanted t…

Janet, you are so sensitive!

I used to hear that from my mom and when she said it, I just knew it was a bad thing. And so, like a good girl, I became less and less sensitive. Of course, I didn’t bother to ask what she meant by being sensitive. I thought she meant my feelings got hurt easily. I don’t remember if my feelings did get hurt easily or not. Maybe.

I do remember that I put my whole heart into my friendships and I wasn’t able to distinguish a real friend from someone who wanted informa…

Settling. When does it start? And why are we so eager to settle?

I remember when my daughter was in college pursuing a dream. For two summers, she was able to take advantage of an internship with the company I work for. I began to wonder, "What if she could get a permanent job here? The pay is good and the benefits are great." How quickly I was more than eager for her to begin that life of 'settling.'

When I was young, I wanted to be a psychology major and I was hungry to learn all that I coul…

When I am numb, it’s nearly impossible to be motivated or to succeed.

The trouble is that I was numb for most of my life. I was numb to my real feelings of anger, frustration, resentment, self-doubt, fear, shame, and guilt. I was told over and over again that those feelings were wrong and I needed to overcome them. But no one taught me how to overcome them. So I did what I knew how to do: I shoved them down, I buried them, and I pretended they didn’t exist. And I ate.

And yet, the few times…

Is opportunity knocking but you don’t answer the door because you are waiting for the doorbell?

Are you waiting for that perfect opportunity which will allow you to say a resounding “Yes” to your dream?  Are you looking for a sign that you are on the right path?  Do you want to make some changes but don’t know where to start?

What if I were to tell you the perfect opportunity, the sign, or the resources are knocking already?

Let me give you two examples that illustrate this point perfectly.

Recently someone wrote me saying this: “I hope I can recapture my ability to pursue my dreams but for now it feels more like survival.” Does this feel like you (especially now due to social distancing)?

When I read these lines, I was heart-broken. These words came from someone I have long admired for her entrepreneurial spirit and winning attitude. It came from a woman who was actively following her dreams and passion. In a way, she had been an unwitting role model for me.

Steve Jobs said, “Yo…

For some of us, our strengths and talents seem hidden for our own view. Is that surprising to hear?

Why are so many of us blind to what is so innately natural for us? Well, that’s part of the issue – it comes so naturally that we don’t value it. Or we think that anyone can do it.

I’ve also found that our natural talents and strengths weren’t always embraced and supported when we were growing up. We may have been criticized and told to ‘fit in’ or ‘stop dreaming’ or ‘tow the line’ or ‘mind your…

I’ve been trying a lot of new things these days.

One of the major ones is pivoting from predominantly one-on-one and in person guidance to having more of an online presence. And the new things involve trying out (and learning) a lot of new technology.

Now, I consider myself a quick learner, but this has taken quite a bit longer than I anticipated. And while I’m loving creating the content, making slides, and designing workbooks, I’m not loving writing out scripts or managing all of the moving…

We thought putting our dreams on hold was the answer. 

Bills needed to be paid and families needed our support. We were told we had to act like a grown-up and be responsible. We were told it was better to give than to receive and some of us were told our dreams were foolish and we learned to bury our desires, dreams, and passion.

And we began to make some false assumptions about ourselves and our lives. We assumed dreams (or following our purpose) were folly and we felt unworthy. These false…

Having a sense of purpose is said to be associated with overall better physical and mental health.

Because of the importance of feeling worthwhile, many people do whatever they can to discover their life purpose or passions.
 
Personally, I took classes, seminars, read books, asked others, looked to astrology, scientific hand analysis, Human Design, and more. Even today, I continue to tweak my purpose – but that’s part of my personality. Overall, my purpose hasn’t changed much over the past 15 ye…