If you ever meet me out in public and we start chatting about your career, work, or hobbies, beware!  I might just ask you the question I love to ask and found myself asking to almost every person I have worked with in the last 10 years and that question is this:

If you could do anything in the world (and money weren’t an issue), what would you do? (Sometimes the question is phrased differently depending on if I am speaking to someone about their career or just a general hobby.)

It doesn’t matter what answer you give, I will most certainly follow it up with this:

So why aren’t you doing it?

After a string of answers like : “Because I have a family to support.” or “It’s too late.” or “I don’t know where to begin.”

I get to the nitty-gritty of why people aren’t accomplishing their dreams and it goes a little something like this.

“I would love to start my own non-profit activity center for children, BUT I just don’t have the money to do it.  I mean I do have bills to pay!”

OR

“I would love to sit in a little cabin in the woods somewhere and write books all day, BUT what if I can’t do it?”

OR

“I would love to open my own bookstore/coffee shop/literary center for the community, BUT I’m broke and I have to keep my crappy job because it’s all I have.”

The truth is we all have a ‘but’ statement and what that is, is the reason we feel we can’t/shouldn’t/will never/won’t accomplish the life of our dreams.  For many of us it boils down to dollars and cents.  For others, it’s simply knowing how to get started, but I think it’s more than that.

You see, I am finding more and more that your ‘but’ statement (no matter what it is) is really another form of fear.  For the person that says they don’t have enough money, they may fear losing what they have on their dream that feels so risky.  For the person that just doesn’t know how to start, it could be fear of failure.  For the person afraid of whether they can do it or not, it could be fear of ridicule both self-induced and the ridicule of others.

Regardless of what form your ‘but’ statement takes, what it really is, is a form of fear manifesting as an excuse.  If you would have asked me 2 years ago why I wasn’t on my path to coaching already I would have told you I didn’t have the money to do it.  I couldn’t afford the training programs I thought I needed to succeed.  It took a long time for me to even entertain the thought of doing things differently.

Today, I encourage you to identify your ‘but’ statement.  The truth is, you probably have more than one, so write them down and face them.  Get them out of your head and utilize your amazing imagination to think of all the ways those fears can become irrelevant.

If lack of money is one of your fears, then think of all the ways money can flow into your life.  Some examples might be gifts, a raise, a new job, selling old stuff, refunds, rebates, unexpected checks in the mail etc.  There are an abundance of ways for money to flow and for your dreams to come true.  Don’t limit yourself to the singular road you ‘think’ will lead you to what you desire.  There is so much more out there if you open your mind to the possibilities.

The first step is identifying your ‘but’ statement.  So, if I asked you about your dreams, what would you say?

” I would really love to _____________, BUT _______________.” Fill in the blanks.

If you are ready to talk more in-depth about your ‘but’ statement and what is really holding you back from the life of your dreams, contact me to schedule your consultation.  I would love to hear more about what lights you up and how I can help make your dreams a reality.  The truth is, if more people were doing the things they love the world would be a much happier place, so let’s do our part.