Continuing our discussion of "The Alchemist" is the story of a Sheppard boy selling off his flock in search of his true purpose and treasure. The above line is paraphrased from the book. He gets to a point where he is close to discovering his treasure and he is trying to read what his heart is telling him. While thinking about this he realizes how different his life is, how varied his path has been compared to if he had settled for being a Sheppard.
This is just one of the many benefits of following your true path. Maybe your path will change as you walk along it. Maybe it will become something else that you discovered while searching for your true purpose. Something that would have never occurred to you had you stayed where you were. It's always better to have options than to feel stuck. You may start out searching for one thing and realize on your way that it's something else completely that you have come across that fills you with your biggest sense of purpose. But if you don't follow that initial path, if you don't get going, you may never even see the potential of it.
I realize that all of this is very scary. I realize it is extremely difficult to start over and forge a new path with no guarantees. It was thrust upon me. I lost a job that I loved. I felt that I was treated unfairly in that situation and part of the reason I chose this route is so I can be the one in charge. It's all up to me whether this business works or if it doesn't work. I want to get my message across in the way I want to say it and not have anyone interfere with it. It doesn't mean this was my only option. I could have looked for another radio job. I could have looked for a writing job. I could have gotten any old job to help pay the bills. But I decided to spread my message in the best way I knew how and hoped it would take off. It has and it hasn't. I feel like people are receiving my message and liking my message but I still need to figure out a way to bring in a little cash. I'm living my best life right now, playing by my rules but something has to give at some point. If the money doesn't follow soon it may be time for a re-assessment.
My path wasn't completely known to me at first. It still isn't. But I am figuring it out as I go along. I have the privilege to take some time to figure this out before money becomes the highest priority. But as I go down this path, there are forks in the road and I have decide which ones to take or to stay the course. My initial idea was to make money on the podcast. That may be the case someday but it seems to be pretty far off at this point. Meanwhile, I made the decision to go to a business conference that really helped me figure out some different ways to generate money while staying on the path but taking a little aside. Hence my attempt at speaking events. If all goes as planned I will be bringing in money soon as a speaker as well as spreading my message to more people and building my brand at the same time. I have met people along the way that have helped me do things I never thought I could do. Encouraged me to try things I've never tried before. To consider things that I may not have done before.
My point is, you don't have to have all the answers right now. You have to map out a path. You need to have some idea of where you are going. But sometimes you just have to take that first step. Just get down to the doing. Start somewhere and start now. But know that you will discover more and more as you go down the path. Things will unveil themselves to you. Options will come up and you have to decide if this is something that will help you get to where you want to go.
Is it easy? Oh, shell no! You will be taking a chance. You will fail at times. But when you do, how fast can you get back up and learn from a mistake? Will you ultimately fail? That is really up to you. Will you feel fear? Of course. It is scary. We are talking about your life. But another thing they discuss in the alchemist is that the only thing that a dream impossible to achieve is the fear of failure. The boy asks the alchemist; "what if I die trying to find my personal legend?" The response is; "At least you died trying which is more than most people can say." Keep at it. Don't give up, ever. But be smart about it. Educate yourself on what you need to know in order to get where you are going. But you are the one in charge and you are the one who has to make these choices. As we discussed yesterday, we instinctively know the right answer if we quiet ourselves enough to find the it.
It is "I wish it were cocktail Friday" Thursday. One more day people, one more day. Work up those badass muscles and start down your true path. The time is now. Now, go make today, your best day yet!
Comentarios