Enjoy the Ultimate Career Change by Following Your Dreams

If you want to find work that is meaningful, fulfilling and exciting then it is time to reawaken your ability to dream. Most of us used to dream big at one time or another. We dreamed of being a movie star, sports hero, a princess or the richest person on the planet. Then we begin hearing things like, "Be practical." "You have to be realistic!" "You'll never make any money doing that!" This for many of us, is the beginning of the end of dreaming.

One of the major roadblocks to dreaming is the fear of disappointment. "What if I go for my dream and it isn't what I want?" or even worse "What if I go for my dreams and fail?" Many times we avoid taking action towards our true passions because it is SO important to us that if we fail it would just be too painful. Really though, what is too painful? Would you prefer to live life in a dull, boring way covering up your dreams so that you'll be "safe" from possible failure or would it be more fun to dream wildly, with abandon and follow your desires? One of my favorite quotes is by Robert Fritz, "If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is compromise." Is that what you want? A life of compromise?

In the path towards your dreams you WILL have obstacles, perceived failures and fear but the payoff will be a feeling of meaning in your life. The reward will be a renewed excitement, passion and the internal rightness that only comes from having the bravery to follow your heart.

Are you ready to unleash your wonderful imagination and let the dreaming begin? I hope so! As a Life Coach working with hundreds of people I have found that the only way to get clear on the career change you REALLY want is to allow yourself to dream wildly. So let's get started! Have paper and pen handy and I will walk you through one of the exercises I use with my life coaching clients.

Think about what your ideal job would look like. Where would you work? Inside? At home? Outside? What kind of people would you be working with? Would you be working alone? What would you be doing? How much would you make? (This is where many people jump back to the safety of "realism". I don't want to see you writing, "Oh, I just want to make enough to get by." Stop! What do you really want in financial reward? Let's play big!) What will you be accomplishing? Which of your passions will you be using? What kind of recognition will you receive?

I can hear some of you saying, "How am I supposed to do this exercise when I have no idea what career I would be passionate about?" My answer is to just guess. Write down what you do know about your ideal work. Leave the rest open. It is important to explore what you know you are attracted to and see where it will lead. Martha Beck in her book, "The Joy Diet" tells a wonderful story of a client's journey towards his passion. Alan hated his job and wanted a career change. The problem was he was so burned out he felt passionless. The only thing that interested him were cars. He thought maybe he wanted to hang out around race cars. So he begin to go to the race track on the weekends. As he was watching the cars he realized it wasn't satisfying enough. He wanted to touch the cars. When he allowed himself to run his hands over the smooth metal it dawned on him. It wasn't the cars he loved, it was the shaped metal! Alan now owns his own design business making beautiful, original furniture and in his spare time he creates metal sculptures . Where will your desires lead you? I dare you to find out!