6 practical steps to move confidently towards the lifestyle you’ve always imagined!
By, Esther Spina, Business Coach for Ambitious Businesswomen & Female Entrepreneurs
Inspired by Chapter 4 of my Amazon Best-Selling Book,
The Ambitious Woman: What It Takes and Why You Want to Be One,
LIVE YOUR DREAM LIFE!
This week I want to talk about the power of your imagination to make a new reality for yourself. Your most cherished dreams are not only POSSIBLE, they’re also completely ACHIEVABLE! In this article, I talk about how to move past your fears and any sense of limitation that is holding you back from getting to where you want to be.
Because your dream life is out there waiting for you to claim it.
1. Recognize When You’re Not Living for Yourself or Living a Smaller Life Than You Could Be
It’s so easy to get caught up in a life that isn’t of our choosing when we are busy surviving. As female entrepreneurs and businesswomen, we juggle a lot of demands — trying to make ends meet, building our careers, and providing for our families. When was the last time you slowed down enough to ask yourself —
Is this the life I want?
Is this the career field I want to be in?
Is this where I need to live to make my dreams come true?
You may be so busy that you don’t even realize you’re stuck in habitual patterns and a lifestyle that is keeping you from reaching your highest potential. You may even feel hopeless or like you’ve lost sight of your biggest dreams.
Maybe you took a job with more security but still dream about having the freedom of an entrepreneur, with the ability to set your own schedule and work from anywhere. And some days that just feels like a pipe dream that is far from your reality. I’ve certainly been there myself.
With all of our daily chores, routines, and tasks, it’s challenging to hold the vision of our long-term goals. But, the good news is, it’s never too late to refocus on your dream life. All it takes is a commitment to making it happen no matter what.
Give yourself hope by taking one practical step towards your wildest dream today.
This could be as small as purchasing the domain name you’ve been thinking of using for your business, contacting a real estate agent to scout possible office locations, or writing the outline for the book you’ve been thinking of. As ambitious women and career leaders, we tend to think about all the moving parts we need to put in place and then get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work and/or money it will take.
Instead, take one small action and the momentum you generate will carry you forward to heights you can’t even imagine now!
2. Give Yourself Permission to Dream BIG & Don’t Limit Your Potential as a Businesswoman
Do you know in your soul what you want to do but feel the dream is just TOO BIG to achieve?
Take a minute to ask yourself what do I REALLY want to do? Try not to think about the potential barriers, just think, if there was ONE THING you most wanted to achieve before you die, what would it be? Maybe you’ve even been dreaming about it since you were a kid.
When it comes to dreaming we have to go back to our purest intent, don’t put limitations on your dreams before they’ve even had a chance to be planted and germinate into a fully-bloomed flower. If you’re going to put your energy into something new, it may as well be the thing that makes your heart beat a little faster when you think of it.
One great way to gain clarity on your true soul’s purpose is to journal or draw. Try free-form writing words that come to mind when you think about what you’d love to pursue if there were no external factors. You can go general like “location-independence,” “be my own boss,” “have the freedom to spend my day however I want,” or be specific like, “be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company,” “have a successful brick and mortar bakery,” “create an online course that makes passive income.” You can also try drawing the blueprint of your ideal location or finding an image you relate to that helps you materialize that feeling of being on top of the world.
Use the Ambitious Woman Journal
to keep track of your thoughts and ideas while you’re freshly inspired.
The journal is a free gift with the purchase of my book, but you can also get the journal alone for just the cost of shipping here.
This exercise helps you narrow down your focus so you become clear on your end goal. It also opens the creative side of your brain and allows you to dream bigger and think outside of the box.
And whatever comes up — I promise that dream is there for a reason. You were meant to do it. That’s why it came to you. You’re the one that can see it through or it wouldn’t have occurred to you in the first place. It’s your destiny!
Now that you have your big picture in mind, how do you get started without getting overwhelmed and giving up?
3. Take the First, Small Step Towards Your Business Dreams
What do most successful female founders and CEOs have in common? They chose to take action towards their dreams even when the path isn’t crystal clear. These ambitious women trusted everything to work out and, more importantly, they trusted in themselves to make it happen, no matter what obstacle arose in their path.
We all have one dream that stands out to us more than the rest, but how many of us actually GO FOR IT?
You may think it’s impossible, that you don’t have enough capital to get started, or that it will take too long, but if not now, when? I talk about the concept of “someday “ thinking in my book, The Ambitious Woman, and how it keeps us stuck in what’s comfortable and familiar.
There comes a point when we have to say NOW is the time, even if it is a little scary and daunting at first. If it scares you, if the mere idea of it is terrifying and exhilarating at the same time, you’re probably on the right path.
As Neale Donald Walsch said, “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”
If you’re comfortable you aren’t growing and if you don’t push yourself into the unknown, you will never know how much your life could have expanded. Take it from one ambitious woman . . .
“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” — Anais Nin
4. Tell The Right People About Your Goals for Support & Accountability
The second we speak something into existence it becomes more tangible and, thus, more possible! Find someone you trust and tell them about your passion project. Soon, you will see this energy gain traction as other people bolster you up and help you to believe it is a worthwhile endeavor.
Another great way to start the ball rolling on your idea is to seek out collaborators and others who complement your goals as a creative, enterprising businesswoman.
However, one caveat here — make sure you don’t share your dreams with naysayers who are afraid to take chances in their own lives and make you doubt your goals. Some people will not understand and usually, these people are living smaller lives than they could be enjoying. Only share your vision with people who are also striving for more in their own lives, people who will encourage you and uplift you.
No one succeeds in a vacuum – it’s important to find your tribe and to surround yourself with other people who support your vision.
Try online networking sites like LinkedIn or Meetup to find like-minded career women, or join a networking conference like my Ambitious Women’s Conference when possible. Meeting other female entrepreneurs and businesswomen who are reaching for higher goals for themselves will keep you inspired and push you to succeed. And, usually, they are surprisingly accessible and nurturing!
When we surround ourselves with people that are striving for greatness in their own lives, suddenly our dreams don’t seem so unattainable after all!
5. When Failure Isn’t an Option You WILL Find Another Way
I mention in my book that my son David said to me once, “I fail to let myself fail.” When we refuse to give up on our dreams we become a powerful FORCE to be reckoned with. I’ve learned that even when the avenue I choose doesn’t work out, there’s always another way.
There’s no need to fear failure because if you trust in yourself to be adaptable and find creative solutions, you truly can get through anything.
Stay focused on the outcome you desire and you’ll be surprised at what lines up for you. Then you simply follow the path of least resistance to get there. I am a big believer in the Law of Attraction and your power to draw to you exactly what you desire and expect. So, make sure you keep those thoughts positive and watch as things work out surprisingly easy for you!
6. Get Advice from Business Books Every Woman Should Read
Dream to Destiny, by Robert Morris — This book, written by my pastor, is about believing each of us has a divine destiny, outlined by God, and that we have ten tests to pass to achieve it.
Break Out, by Joel Osteen — This is about “breaking out” from the feeling of living an average, mundane life and how to overcome the barriers to find your most authentic, fulfilling purpose.
The Ambitious Woman, my book including the 3 “DON’TS” that keep you from pursuing your biggest dreams, from the chapter this blog was inspired by. Get tips that helped me stay focused to succeed and read inspiring stories from other successful businesswomen. My book is available at a reduced rate on my website for a limited time below, I hope you enjoy it!
All Ambitious Woman readers can now get my
FREE BONUS JOURNAL
to keep inspiration handy at all times!
Order my book, The Ambitious Woman, now and get the bonus journal that accompanies each chapter for FREE! Or get the journal alone for the low $2.99 shipping cost here.
Keep track of your inspired thoughts in one convenient place and have them available anytime you need a little extra boost of motivation!
