​Remember when you were a little kid and you would play with your imagination? Remember how fun it was to make up places, events and people in your epic journeys? As we got older we graduated to playing with objects more and less of our imagination was used. Then as adults we somehow forgot how to imagine - well most of us.

I'm sure you catch yourself dreaming about what you want at times and then maybe you shake it off and call it silly. But why are you doing that? We all dream and it's healthy. In fact, we cannot get to where we are going without first visualizing it. Likely you do this all the time and never realized you were using the visualization technique regularly. It's a simple process which is very effective. All it requires is a quiet mind and an imagination. Try it right now, close your eyes and visualize a red feather. How close is it? How big is it? How bright is it? The more questions you ask yourself, the more you will see this image evolve. Now do the same thing but with a goal in mind. Do you see that perfect partner? Job? Trip? Experience? I challenge you to try every day to visualize something important to you for just a few minutes, ideally when you wake up to allow your subconscious the full day to look for and help manifest it. Seeing is believing they say, so see it and believe it! And let your subconscious do the rest!

Wishing you a life of purpose!

​There she was again interrupting me while I was trying to read. "Just do it!" she proclaimed. "Do what?" I would answer, never knowing what it was this voice was constantly trying to direct me to do. "You know" she softly whispered. Time and again I have been ignoring this voice, swatting it away like a gnat in the tropics while you're trying to enjoy delicious, fresh fruit. She was my intuition and she had enough waiting while I dragged my feet and made every excuse possible why it wouldn't work or was a silly idea.

Then came reality like a hard slap across the face. My supposed dream job which moved me all the way to NY from Seattle turned out to be anything but and I made the hard decision to leave it. Oddly a sense of relief followed which enabled me to focus on getting my life back. A life I had sacrificed to the corporate gods in exchange for benefits and a 6 figure salary. I had become my title and paycheck. Somehow I always knew I was worth more and so that nagging voice would taunt me.

The decision didn't come lightly and without resistance, rather it came in a 10 round Tyson biting the ear type of fight where eventually the old me was TKO'd. My body, mind and spirit had enough! I sought to regain my health through yoga, meditation and journaling. Let me say that is the BEST home remedy to start healing the spirit and soul. I then attended any type of group that was focused on living life with purpose, entrepreneurship, and networking. The purpose of this part of the journey was to constantly expose myself to others who were on the same path or who had already figured it out. I was obsessed with learning how others made their passion their living. Having a finance background I was skeptical about the investment, ROI (return on investment), and the potential earnings. I quickly realized what I have heard time and again, if there's a will there is a way.

Still fear chased me in the form of negative questions: "People will see you as a fraud", "How can you obtain business being so new to NY?", "What credentials do you have?" etc. It was through a series of nuggets received from people attending these meetings where I gained the confidence to push these thoughts aside and move forward. I have over 10 years of life experience helping everyone from friends, family, strangers and colleagues navigate their lives and relationships. I was always the friend who coached through relationship turmoil, "what should I do with my life?" questions and how to navigate corporate politics. I had been the one encouraging people all along to live their truth and yet here I was ignoring mine.

Revelations
It took some "Aha!" moments before I realized it was time to dive in. It started when I was meditating on attracting love into my life and over 14 days friends were sending me words of encouragement through Facebook posts, cards, books and calls unexpectedly. This helped me realize the love I already had which would also be the catalyst for the belief and support I desperately needed to push forward. Then I decided to get a life coach as I had one before when switching careers and found the ROI to be 10 fold. My coach encouraged me to listen to my voice and ignore the haters in my head. I didn't need to be fully certified before I started my practice, no coach ever is. While researching coaching programs, I became fearful of the additional debit I would need to accomplish however this fear was addressed when a person I met at one of these events suggested I get clients now to pay for the program. Then I met a business man who suggested I create business cards with what I intended for my business and start handing them out at the events I would attend. All of these wonderful nuggets taught me that you can start anything you want NOW! There is certainly hustle involved but if there's a will, there's a way.

Take Aways
Society has conditioned us to live a certain way: white picket fence, house, married with 2-3 kids, etc. However this life isn't what some of us dream of so if climbing the corporate ladder gets us there, why bother?! I initially thought living my life authentically would take courage to subside all the naysayers but shortly I realized that most of the hater talk was all in my head. You likely have a strong support system around you and for those who aren't it becomes obvious who you need to remove from your life. I understand family can't be removed but you will learn to be fiercer in your decision and won't require their approval. Finally you have nothing to lose by starting in even small ways to live a life with purpose. Live it as if it already exists and watch it manifest for you.

 Wishing you a life of purpose!