I don’t know about you but I am always looking for ways to live fully and enthusiastically in my business and in my personal life. I think back at times in my life when I had no idea how to make that happen. What would it take for me to live fully and enthusiastically? I spent a number of years trying to figure that out and on my quest for understanding, I read every self-help book, listened to many inspirational messages, and sought out advice from those individuals I respected. Until one of my mentors said to me, “you must become the captain of your own ship”.
What? Is it really that simple? Yes, she said, it really is! She continued and said, as the captain of your ship, you are the decision-maker and will determine the route you take to get to your destination. Identify your crew, take only the things you need and create the roadmap that serves as your compass for direction. Easy right? I just love parables and my mentor is the queen of them… thought-provoking, mindset testing, and Ah-ha moment creating parables.
You don’t have to be the queen of parables to Make It Happen in your life. Earl Nightingale says “All you need is the plan, the road map and the courage to press on to your destination”. I found this quote to be the source of inspiration I needed to create a life where I live fully and enthusiastically. It was really all about developing a Make “IT” Happen mindset.
Living fully and enthusiastically is something we all wish for in life. But how do you take the wish and turn it into YOUR reality? Here are some tips to help you surrender to your fear and take the leap to Make “IT” Happen:
1. Chart the course to your destination. You may think I’m a little corny for saying this, but charting the course for my destination is one of my favorite tips and dares I say the most important. Think about this as creating a killer plan for that very important project you have taken on. When creating that killer plan, there are two very important keys to consider. Know where you are starting and Start with the end in mind. These two keys will help you stay focused on achieving the results you are looking for or in this case, help you reach your destination. So many people too often overthink this step in the process. To chart your course, you are building a series of tasks that you must complete to accomplish YOUR goal or reach your destination. I must tell you the single most important question you must answer in charting your course is to when “YOU HAVE ARRIVED”. In my case, living fully and enthusiastically, I really had to determine what that looks like to me. How will I know when I arrived?
2. Align the team to reach your goal. Going it alone is a romantic notion but few, if any, entrepreneurs ever brought an idea to life without a lot of help. This is also true in our personal life and I don’t know about you, but I believe it really does take a village to create success. Please understand it’s not just any help, but the right help. You must surround yourself with those that see your vision and inspire you to be accountable to your goal. As a former athlete, this particular tip is more relevant today than it has ever been. You don’t want 5 point guards on your basketball team and expect to overcome all the barriers you face with other teams that are more diverse in players or a building a football team filled with quarterbacks expecting to go to the super bowl. This step in the process is about identifying those individuals that not only complement your skills but also fill the gap of what is needed to reach your goal. It just won’t happen. So, as the captain of your own life, you are in charge and have the absolute power to choose who’s on the team or who gets cut from the team
.3. Take only the things you need, and that includes people. I encourage you to take inventory of your skills, the tools you use today, and the support system you have and make the tough decision to determine if you need something you don’t have or have something you no longer need to reach your destination. We are so busy living life, setting and achieving goals that we don’t often allocate time for personal or professional development. This tip is all about taking only the things you need with you and if you don’t need it, leave it behind. I don’t want to sound like your therapist or anything, but to live fully and enthusiastically, you have to lose those behaviors, attitudes, mindset, and even friends that won’t support your vision. You must be willing to identify those things you need and make the necessary investment to acquire them.
I have spent more than 25 years in the corporate workplace and have met some of the most talented, smart, exceptional, and gifted people and for the time we worked together, we were the perfect solution or as we often referred to ourselves as the “secret sauce”. We each had those unique and specific skills and master the technology needed to meet the specific goals of this organization…..until one day we didn’t. It was very difficult for each of us to adapt to new teammates when replacements came but the company had created a new motto of “putting the right people in the right place” and that meant moving people around, adopting new technology, and building a new team. It was an emotional roller coaster, but if the company wanted to Make It Happen, this was a vital step to ensure they achieve the goals they set. When you think about becoming the captain of your own ship, it can be a huge responsibility. These tips will help you nail “IT”.
If you would like to further explore how you can fully apply these tips and more to create the life you want for you, visit my website; www.lauracbulluck.com. Let’s get on a call and talk about your Big Dreams and the life you want for you.
