Beware the dream killer. The dream killer is a master of disguise, often masquerading as someone who loves you and proclaims to have your best interest at heart. The dream killer loves to tell you all the reasons why your dream won’t work or why you are foolish for following it. The dream killer insists that you should be more practical, safer.
Personal Growth
Why Good Isn’t Good
I’m not much of a gardener, but I do love roses. One thing I learned about roses is that you have to prune them back in order for them to grow to their full potential. Cutting them actually makes them grow more. Seems a little paradoxical. I realized it’s the same with life.
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Who Am I?
It’s not a riddle. I am made up of the experiences I have encountered in my life, and I firmly believe they are all leading up to something bigger. I think tough things happen in our lives to help us grow and push us. A person is defined by the choice they make at that crossroad. To overcome the obstacle encourages growth in wisdom, courage, self-confidence, and purpose.
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Baby Steps
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. How do you reach a goal? One step at a time. I love Dave Ramsey’s financial success program. Why? Because he breaks it up into baby steps.
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Using Strengths to Compensate for Weaknesses
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I have a difficult time showing people how valuable they are. Instant, positive connections don’t happen for me very often. I do want to directly increase my ability to inspire people and make people feel valued; however, I’ve found there are also indirect ways to increase it.
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You Were Born This Way, so What?
How many times have you heard, “Be true to yourself,” “Everyone is perfect the way they are,” “It’s okay, I was born this way.” I have a contention with that mentality. It’s true: everyone has a unique set of skills which makes them special. Each person contributes to their world in a way in which only they can do. However, each person is born with flaws.
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Is Passion Important in a Career?
Do you have topics you enjoy talking about so much your friends wish you’d shut up? Anything you like doing that you would do for free? Do you have an activity that when you stop, you didn’t realize an entire day went by? If so, you’ve found your passion.
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Why You Aren’t Achieving Your Goals
I can’t do anything when my daughter is awake. I’m tired. I’ve worked hard, I deserve a break. Excuses, excuses, excuses – that is what I was full of. It’s amazing how easy it is to rationalize laziness, lack of focus, or complacency. We live in such an entitled society that it’s hard to do what’s necessary to obtain our dreams.
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How Well Do You Know You?
There was a funny Cosby episode where Olivia asks Dr. Huxtable to see how tall she was. She stands against the wall, and Cliff marks the appropriate spot. Shortly thereafter she asks to be measured again. When he insists there is no way for her to be any taller, she exclaims, “I know my body!”
To be successful we have to know ourselves – more than just our bodies, though. We have to understand what makes us tick, our strong points, our weaknesses, and what really gets to us. I love personality profiles: Myers-Briggs, StrengthsFinder, The Color Code, DISC, any one that I can afford, I take. This has given me a strong understanding of who I am. It has heightened my self-awareness, and I am more easily able to control myself in different situations. I still haven’t mastered my know-it-all syndrome, though (much to my peers’ dismay).
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Motivation High
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. How do you achieve success? One step, one decision at a time. I have heard it said that monumental change and influence doesn’t happen at once. It may seem that way to onlookers, but it is created by a series of incremental steps and decisions. Each day, choosing discipline over watching TV or eating the extra piece of pizza is what helps us reach our goals. What did I say “no” to today: responding to the sixty e-mails in my in-box before sitting down with my husband to discuss date night; and turning on Glee while my daughter played. Instead we hung out, TV-free, as a family.
What will you say “no” to in order to achieve your dreams?
Jana Axline is president and leadership coach at Axline Solutions and author of Becoming You. Through her leadership musings she inspires audiences to grow as leaders and ultimately achieve who they were created to be. For more information visit Axline Solutions.
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