my roadmap

I read this article a couple of months back and it had really inspired me at the time. I had copied it down in my trusty ‘to do’ notebook, but unfortunately, life got in the way of me doing anything about it. I remembered it yesterday while thinking about what I wanted to post today.

7 Steps To Reinvent Yourself by Sue Frederick author of I See Your Dream Job. It is a great article and it’s very inspiring. You can read it here at the brilliantwork website. The author has other articles that are just as inspiring.     

I’m going to use the following list that was in Sue Frederick’s article as my roadmap to reinventing myself and discovering my true purpose. Is it a scary road trip? Um…YES! Is it a road trip that needs to be taken? ABSOLUTELY - because right now, the road that I’m on is to nowhere and I’m running out of gas. (I like analogy. You’ll discover that about me).

7 Steps to Reinvent Yourself by Sue Frederick:

1. Wake Up! According to Sue, we need to realize that we are not victims of the economy, circumstances or our limited skills. We are in control of the steering wheel. Our life is on purpose and we got ourselves here.

I have to interject here for a second – that’s SCARY! And it’s also difficult to accept – at least in my own life. I got me here? You mean I wasn’t the backseat passenger with Jeeve’s my clueless chauffeur at the helm? You mean I have to take responsibility for all my actions to this point? Well, that’s not any fun.

2. Dream.

3. Search (What would I LOVE to do?)

4. Use Your Energy to Move Through Pain & Fear

5. See It

6. Take Action

7. Change It.

I know this seems like a lot to ask of one person. And I ask myself, “am I capable of such things?” Right now, I have to believe that I am capable of such things. How else am I going to break out of this slump I’m in? How else will I become the person I was meant to be, living the life I was intended to live? Same goes for you out there.

Wake up and accept responsibility that where you are right now, is a direct result of choices, decision and actions you have made and taken. It’s going to be difficult and it may even get ugly, but that’s the first step to getting where you want to go.

Dream big. Never sell yourself short in your dreams because they are what you make them. Search deep inside yourself for what you love to do. What bring out the passion in you? Is it creating beauty? Serving or helping others? Teaching? Whatever it is, it’s in you waiting to be discovered. We need to dream about what we want to happen. We need to create our own reality and not base it on what other people’s definition of reality is. If we can conceive it, we can achieve it. Yeah, I know that sounds corny, but it’s true. Ask Thomas Edison, Ben Franklin, Steve Jobs and every other person who bucked the system, dreamt big and accomplished much.

All the energy you’ve wasted being sad, depressed or angry about your situation – redistribute that energy and focus it on moving past whatever it was that hurt you or caused you enough pain that made you afraid to move past your fears. Fear is only a reaction to the unknown. Easy for me to say? No, not easy at all. I’m scared senseless about this, but saying it loud to me and to you, gives me strength and courage. Use whatever pain or fear you have to propel you towards your dream. Did you suffer a loss? Use that pain to help others overcome that same situation.

See it. See yourself living that life. See yourself being the person you’ve always wanted to be. See the successes you want to happen. Ask yourself “what do I really want” and then envision it happening. Those two things will go a long way.

Once you’ve accomplished these things – Take Action. Learn something new, meet new people that are in the industry you want to explore or have the same interests you do. Go. Do. Be.

Change is a good thing. Sometimes we see it as a bad thing or punishment. But it isn’t. When going after what you really want – you have to change your outlook on what is involved. After doing all the above, your final step – OUR final step to change our behavior, change our course.

This road trip is long and scary and full of crossroads and wrong turns, but the point is we are driving. We are taking the trip of our lives and nothing will stop us, unless we allow it to.