We all have an amazing story to tell. It is the sum of our experiences combined with our DNA and makes us truly unique. Not many of us know how to tell our story, yet it is so important that at least we understand it ourselves.
We need to know who we are and where we are if we want to move on towards a new phase in our lives. Some of you will be blessed with the ability to know yourselves completely while for others this exercise will help you find your start point in the here and now.
When asking for directions in Ireland , one is often faced with the response “well, it would be a lot easier if you weren't starting from here!”
This is an excuse that many of us use to put off doing things. Phrases such as; - “I'll start tomorrow; I will be in a better frame of mind”
- “It would be so much easier if I had €10,000 to kick this off with”
- “Diets just don't seem to work with my body shape”
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. But how do you measure the distance if you don't know the two end points?
We have covered goal setting in a number of articles up to now, so I will make the assumption that by now you have indeed set your goals. So at least you know where you want to get there.
Now it is important to know exactly where you are starting from!
To get a clear idea of exactly who you are, I am going to ask you tell me your story, who you are, what you stand for, your values, etc.
Well you aren't going to actually tell me, unless of course you feel you would like to, since I am always interested in people's stories – because every one as I said is unique and what is more, it is yours alone!
Now tell your story – at least to yourself!
What is your Name? I want to know everything about your name. What do you think of it? Do you know why your parents called you by that name? What special significance does you name hold for you?
Who do you admire that has the same name as yourself? What attributes do they have that you would really like? How many of those attributes do you have?
Spend about 5 minutes and write down everything you know about your name.
Now I want you to write down precisely what you want people to think about when they hear your name mentioned in 10 years time. Who will that person be?
Do you know your ancestry? How far back does your family history go? Are there any family successes or secrets that you know about?
Is there anything within your family history that you want to either perpetuate or make up for?
Tracing one's origins can be fascinating. It is not always easy, though many things in life that are fulfilling are not always easy. Ask your parents or any relatives you know for all the nuggets they may have about your family origin. Search the internet or go to the local library.
Who knows, you may even find out that you are the only descendant of a very rich relative!
What was your childhood and family life like? As we get embroiled in keeping afloat in adult life, we can often forget the treasures that were part of growing up.
Did you have any great ambitions? What happened to them, is there still a chance for you to achieve your youthful aspirations?
When I was 8 I wanted to be a teacher. I thought that being able to give to people what some, now not all, of my teachers gave to me would be an amazing experience and feeling. My life took many different paths and it did include 4 years as a college lecturer.
Now with any luck I am helping you in some little way that can lead you to a better life – if that is indeed the case and I need your help, then you have indeed helped me fulfil one of my childhood dreams.
However it is only now that I am starting to live that life. I teach people how to run their business successfully, how to get the most out of their life and most importantly of all, I am a parent with the ability to bring some magic to my kids.
My childhood was not the happiest in the world. I did not have any money, I was a single child and my parents split up – yet some of my fondest memories still come from my childhood and family. Another of my dreams from the age of 6 is still alive and hopefully in the next year I will be able to launch it which will truly bring a positive difference to the children of our world.
I forgot that dream for years – maybe you may have forgotten some of yours. I don't know how great your dreams of fame and fortune were, but don't you owe it to that little innocent child to at least give them a try?
What was your education like? Was it in fact an education or was school a time when seemingly useless facts were rammed down your throat in an entirely unpalatable manner?
The word Education comes from the Latin words E + Ducare, which directly translated means “to lead out from within”. So in effect education is the process of applying oneself to things which we learn or are taught. From this we can infer that two people can gain a different meaning from the same piece of knowledge. Only when we apply ourselves to knowledge with thoughts, words and actions can we become truly educated.
So what did your education leave you with? What more do you want to learn about. It may seem crazy that we are not offered classes like “Wealth 101”, “Perfect relationships”, “Become a true leader”, but would those classes suit everyone.
Not everyone has the ability or inclination to use their education to make themselves more valuable to society, employers, partners and themselves. Do you have that desire? Because if you do, then that is the only ability you need to succeed with the tools that education can offer you.
What do you work at? Is it fulfilling? Is it what you want to be doing for the rest of your life? What are you going to do about it and when?
Most of us write CVs when we are looking for a job – but what is in between the lines of your CV? Are there any great abilities that you could sue in your dream career that you may not have decided to highlight?
What will you do in 5 years that will ensure you look forward to the next day's work? Fulfilment in your career means that what you do to earn a living is no longer work – it is really play for you.
What is your greatest achievement? This does not need to be a saving the world thing, it could be something small that you did, that left a lasting impact on you or someone else.
Can you remember how you felt hen this success happened to you? How would you like to have that feeling a lot more of the time? Well if you really want that amazing feeling again, you can have it again lots of times.
I get a real buzz writing each of these articles. That is an amazing feeling of achievement and accomplishment every week. When I combine that with all of the other great things that I allow into my life, it can really help to overcome the many obstacles that I like you face each and ever day.
What has been your greatest difficulty? This is probably the most personal question that you will ever get asked, since we all hate to admit failures. Do however remember that a true failure only ever occurs when we decide not to learn from the experience.
So rather than focussing on the difficulty, I want you to think back and start writing down precisely how that difficulty impacted your life. How many of the things that you value today, would not have been possible if you had not encountered that problem. Think how the experience has made you grow as a human being.
What really interests you? Often our life, career and leisure activities pull us away from things that truly interest us. All I can say is make sure you spend time with your interests. They are the reason we live.
If you can combine your interests with your career then you are truly a lucky person. That is the crowning achievement most people crave for. The sad thing is that so many of us are caught up in earning a living, that we forget to live the life we are earning.
Finally, let me ask you the question that is the central theme in most of my articles. What is your dream? Would you know if you were living in your dream?
T he good news is that now you know your own story, you at least know the starting point of your journey to that dream. Our dreams change as move on in life. I hope for your sake that your dreams keep getting larger as things that seemed so out of reach a few years ago are now no longer the challenge that they were.
Whatever your dream is, please hold onto it tightly, savour it, nurture it and plant the seeds today to help it grow and blossom into the future you are going to live.
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