Friday, March 12, 2010

Pursuing Your Dream and 4 Deadly Mistakes

I try to post original material here - but occasionally I run across something I like so much that I just have to share.  The following comes from a blog by Henri Junttila about mistakes people make when going after their dreams.

We often get stuck in arbitrary things. We make excuses. We try to find shortcuts, and we try to do all these things that in the end only prevent us from reaching our goals. 

1. Stopping at Uncomfortable
When you start something new, it will be scary. If you are serious about finding, following, and making your passion(s) and dream(s) a reality, you will have to deal with fear. You will have to accept that being uncomfortable means growing as a human being and making progress towards your goals.  I'm not talking about being physically uncomfortable, such as sitting on your leg until it falls asleep. I am talking about being emotionally uncomfortable. Being afraid to take the next step because you don't know what lies behind the next turn. Your journey will be unique, so you will have to learn how to deal with this yourself.  Look at it as driving a car: you know your destination (most times), but you can't see beyond the next bend. You still know where you're going, but you just can't see it.

2. Looking for Shortcuts
A lot of people are looking for shortcuts. They are looking for that one thing that will make them catapult to the front of the line and eliminate years off their learning curve. I'm sorry to say this, but it doesn't work that way. If you want to create your dream life and live out your passion(s), you will first have to find your passion and then take action to make it happen. (If you love gardening and want to teach other people how to do it, for example, that's excellent, and you can make a living doing that if you really want to.)  Remember, there's always room for those that are willing to go the extra mile. Stop looking for shortcuts and start using what you have. There are no magic bullets out there that will do it all for you. You will have to learn. You will have to work hard and you will have to make mistakes and learn from them.

3. Waiting for Perfection
I'm so guilty of this one. I used to be the worst perfectionist. I still am to a certain degree, but I'm more aware of it now. I am able to let things be imperfect without going crazy.  You don't have to wait for the stars to align or for someone to give you permission to go after your dreams. Most people blame their circumstances for not allowing them to make their dreams a reality. This is a big mistake. If you want to live your dream life, do what you love and change the world, you will have to take matters into your own hands and make a change.  You can always start somewhere. Don't worry about not knowing what to do. All you have to learn is what to do next. (Maybe you need to start a blog. Do a simple Google search for that, and you'll find plenty of tutorials. Maybe you will even fail at blogging and learn that you like something else instead.) It's all a part of the process. Successful people didn't become successful overnight, although that is what it usually looks like. They often failed over and over again until they found what worked for them.

4. Failing to Listen to Your Heart
Your heart knows things. Your mind...not so much. Your mind worries, it analyses, it judges, and it does all those things that can easily take over your life. Now, I'm not saying that the mind is bad, it's just a tool, but it has become a bad thing in most people's lives because it has taken over. Many refer to this as the Ego, the Id or whatever you like to call it.  Your heart, on the other hand, will let you know when you're on the right path. You will feel good when you're following your passion. You will feel awesome when you're heading in the right direction, and you will feel blissed out when you realize that you have a whole guidance system inside of you that is perfect for you. (But remember, you also have to understand your emotions, because your heart may be trying to tell you something and you may be blocking it with fear or a surface emotion.)  If you want to pursue your dreams, start by finding your passion, then thinking about how you can make it real, and then taking action. It's really that simple. If you want to slow yourself down, then go ahead and pick one of the deadly mistakes above.  But know this: you are here for a reason. You are here to have a positive impact on this planet. You know that thing that you feel in your heart that you've always wanted to do? I'm here to tell you that you can do it, if you really want to. So what are you waiting for?

Thanks again to Henri Junttila, a freelance blogger, who also writes about self improvement ideas for conscious people on his blog. Read more by Henri at The Wake Up Cloud:

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Have Trouble Remembering Passwords?

Here's a great add-on for Firefox.  LastPass
All you have to do is remember one master password.  You may set it to log you in automatically to any web site.  Additionally LastPass will fill in forms for you.  This is a great time saver!

IBC Memphis 2010