Break Out

Last spring, as our economy tanked, my coaching practice soon followed. As budgets tightened,  priorities shifted. I totally understood but over the course of just 4 weeks my practice almost disappeared until one afternoon I found myself with no foreseeable income and wondering what to do next.

I considered going back to corporate work but dismissed the idea almost as soon as it flitted through my brain. I know from experience how hard it is to get out of those golden handcuffs and the culture of Big Business was not one I wanted to support again. The nightly news of lost jobs, vanishing pensions and shattered lives convinced me of that.

I then thought seriously about working at the local coffee shop until the economic storm blew over. I knew I could leave that behind easily enough when my practice got busy again.

But when you KNOW you are doing what you're supposed to be doing (coaching in my case) how do you just stop? I absolutely knew coaching was what I was meant to be up to. I just needed to find someone to coach again.

I had to get my thinking out of that proverbial box and try something completely different.

First I got clear on WHO I wanted to BE – which is a "Support for people building their personal version of a successful life".

Next I visualized finding a way to do this without charging and still earn a living. (My husband, bless his heart, simply said was "Good luck with that.")

Two weeks later I found my answer in the most unexpected place.

With a clear intention (and such a crazy notion) my radar was on high alert looking for a solution. So when an opportunity appeared I didn't dismiss it out of hand as I might have done in the past. Instead I took time to explore it and educate myself. After all, how can you intelligently say no to something if you don't have the facts?

I found exactly what I'd imagined – a way to make a difference using
my skills as a coach and mentor as I earned an income that didn't have to come from my clients. Six months later and I still have to pinch myself to believe it.

As the economy recovers, my "normal" coaching practice is picking up again, for which I'm grateful. And now I have a whole new revenue stream in my business which I'm also grateful for. I'm proud of what I'm building and the difference it's making in people's lives.

On top of all that, I find myself living boldly again. I've finally got time for what feeds my spirit. I'm writing, painting and sculpting again. More on that to come.

WHAT I KNOW…

I first had to get clear on how I wanted to Be and then I had to let go of how it should look. If I'd been tied to my old ideas and ways of doing things I might have kept the door closed when opportunity dropped in.

So ask yourself this – "Who do I want to be?"

Then find your way to be that in the world.

 

Time

It's been a week since I posted! Like many of you, time slips away on me when other priorities step in and push aside my regular schedule. Last week I was traveling and simply had to let go of some of my expectations to be present to the moment.

I find I live 'in the future' much too often. I'm always planning, scheduling, putting together programs and other such tasks. Perhaps it's my training and years as a project manager but I don't think so. Not as I talk to many of you out there. There is something about our culture that flings us always forward and we don't get to enjoy the here and now. 

When I got in the car with my husband my laptop was on the backseat, ready for me to open and start designing the web pages I needed for a new program series I have coming up. And I almost did that until I realized what a beautiful spring day it was and that it would never happen again. The laptop stayed where it was and I sat back to enjoy our journey.

One of my priorities is to pay attention to the beauty around me. Nature feeds my soul and keeps me connected to Something Bigger than me.

If you've been to one of my Life Time workshops or heard me speak on the subject you know I stress priorities over tasks, even the urgent ones. Want to enjoy your own spring day? Here's what I recommend.

1. Get clear on what's important, truly important to you. These should be broad definitions such as "relationships".

2) List 2-3 things in those areas that you want to accomplish. Maybe in the area of relationships you'd like to spend more time with your partner.

3) Now choose one of those items on your list and put it in your calendar. In my example it might look like "Movie Date" on Tuesday evening.

These are just broad guidelines. If you`d really like help to identify your priorities and make them a part of everything you do then register for my `Time of Your Life` workshop on July 10. Not only will you get a chance to learn my secrets but you`ll get a day by the lake AND 30 minutes of private coaching with me.

To find out more more visit my website at www.aprillejanes.com/lifetime.htm

 

Bold Dreams

I've been promoting a free event in May – "In Praise of Bolder Women". It's made me wonder – am I talking about living boldly while holding back part of myself?

A little voice is telling me that could be true. Here's why.

How can I get across to you that taking action on a dream is vital if I'm not sharing the impact of my own dreams? 

Part of the responsibility of having a dream is sharing it. So I realised it's time
for me to share more fully with you, my readers, so that we are both
richer for it. It feels like a really bold step because sharing the reality of those dreams can take me to some vulnerable places. It's easier to hide.

A few years back, when I got real about what I wanted in my life, I began expressing myself through various forms of visual art and also my writing. I discovered my creativity was an expression of my spirituality because it let me listen to my soul's language. I re-claimed dreams that had been constricted and hidden for far too long.

When I was a kid, I wanted black patent leather shoes with tiny straps but my mother bought me a pair of awful brown oxfords. You know the kind. Sturdy and ugly. (Why do mothers do these things to their kids?)

I wore them for about a week, feeling self-conscious and drab. They were stiff and uncomfortable and I hated them with all of my ten year old heart. So I did the only thing any sane kid would do.

I took them to the creek down the road and set them afloat. The last I saw of them they were headed for Waterman's Lake. For all I know they're still there today, terrorizing fishermen who have the misfortune of hooking one.

Now, you need to know that my mother was not a woman to trifle with but I don't remember what transpired when I arrived home barefoot. (Obviously I survived since I'm here to tell the tale.) The fact I don't remember tells me the important part of this story for me was about taking action on something I was passionate about.

Lately, though, it seems I've been wearing those brown oxfords again. It's time for me to take them off and enjoy the feel of the bare earth on my feet again. To re-claim and walk comfortably in my dreams. Won't you join me?

Where are you holding yourself back?

What is the limiting belief or fear that keeps you there?

What would change if you took action on your dream?

What would be possible if you fully lived your dream?

 

Claiming Your Brilliance

It's been quite awhile since I've written anything on my other blog and I've used the excuse of busy-ness. And yes, I have been busy but the real reason I've stayed away is fear. Fear of revealing myself too much. Fear of upsetting someone 'out there'. Fear of …well..just plain old fear without any rational reason.

It's much easier to live only in our heads and float on the surface of life than it is to pay attention to deeper questions like "What do I love? What moves me? How can I share that? What's my real job here on this planet?"

We tell ourselves we're doing important work while denying our core self. Meanwhile, something inside whispers that if we are only copying what everyone else does then some vital ingredient is MIA. Then we drown out the whisper with more busyness because bringing 100% of ourselves is pretty bold stuff. 

My coach challenged me today to get back into the game. She worded it as a request but it's bigger than that because it means I have to walk my talk and do the thing that scares me – claiming my creative side. Start writing again. Pick up my paintbrushes. Bring 100% of me. Gulp.

I left corporate work to explore my creativity and coach women as they took action on their own dreams. I've been doing great with the coaching part but barely dabbling withthe exploring part. A painting here, a story there. I won a couple of awards for my writing and had a couple of pieces accepted for an art show last year and it appears I scared myself in the process because I stopped.

I know I have to take action on my coach's challenge because avoiding it keeps me from my real success. On the other blog I wrote about the ordinary, day to day things and the impact they have on my inner life. When I started that blog I envisioned opening my eyes wider and sharing what I saw with you.

So I'm picking up where I jumped ship except that, rather than keeping a separate blog I decided to get really bold! I'm incorporating the original posts into my Success for Women blog under the category "Daily Miracles". Integrating myself, you could call it. And why not? If I'm asking you to define success for yourself then it's time I modelled it here.

Success for me is to live creatively, each and every day. To bring a little something extra to life just for the joy of it.

What would success look like to you?

What could you accomplish if you didn't stop to overanalyse it?

Do you squirm inside at the Marianne Williamson quote  "We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?"

Do you have a pattern of shutting down your brilliance because it frightens you?

What if I challenged you today to take one step towards it, however small?

Would you?

What could that first step look like?

Would you be willing to share it here?