A reflection, what moves us to action?
Maria felt happy with her daily routine and her administrative job when one day breast cancer made her rethink and reconsider her whole life, finally taking the decision to start her new small business. Ignacio, a successful executive, had to reinvent his whole life after traveling to India and realising that he had to start a new existance helping others.
Many people who retire wish to continue working and use their experience to start new paths in life, very often starting their own businesses. Other professionals feel that after twenty years working for large corporations they no longer feel motivated. They feel that those objectives and corporate values do not appeal to them as before. It is time to think about a life change.
Alternatively, people look for more quality of life, more flexibility, freedom or a more meaningful challenge at work. Some are bored, or wish their work could have a greater impact in their environment. Others simply wish to dedicate themselves to the passion of their life. Juan, a successful lawyer decided one day to leave it all and dedicate his life to his passion, horses. Mila, on the other hand, left a secure and comfortable job in a publishing company to do what her inner voice was telling her: painting.
Whatever your case is, and taking a lead from the famous sentence by Harold Whitman, “Do not think what is it that the world needs; just ask yourself what makes you feel alive. And do it. Because what the world needs is people who feel alive.”
What are the basic ingredients for success?
We have interviewed in depth over 50 people who have changed the course of their lives following a dream. Little by little, some common factors, the main ones, have come to the surface: factors that explain why some people take the risk to change directions while others are just left behind and unhappy with their daily routine. In the people we interviewed we found the following common themes:
Ability to take on risk.
Combined with some level of non-conformity to break a situation that perhaps is not ideal, but is perceived as easy and comfortable.
Motivation. All these persons had a great inner strength, a positive feeling that they wanted to change their lives.
Creativity. The skill to look at things from a different angle was, curiously enough, found in all the people who were interviewed.
Experience. Most people has attained quite some experience before they knew where to move on. Most people need to reflect and live long enough before knowing exactly where their dreams lie.
Honesty. When all the outside forces have the effect of anchoring you in the old habits to maintain a ’status quo’, it is very necessary to have a significant amount of clarity and honesty to face the mirror, to look at your soul and ask yourself what you really want to do with your life.
Self-analysis. Before finding the answer, most people who had the courage to take the big plunge had to go through a difficult process with their inner selves.
Move into action. It is fantastic to have a dream, a passion, but if it doesn’t move us towards some action, it will only be a deceptive shelter for the day-to-day disappointments, a mere mirage.
Perseverance. Let’s not fool ourselves: to pursue a dream is not normally a bed of roses. Very often, obstacles appear in the way that take us to failure or to difficulties. It is necessary to be persistant and try again, and again, in spite of everything and everyone. Each set-back should only be considered as a detour that will lead us to the final victory.