Empower Yourself

Empower yourself to live the life you want to lead. 

I know its easier said than done, but sometimes its a matter of lifting a mental block that has been holding you back. If you believe in yourself, others will, too.

And here it is: You can do it. I give you permission to do what it is you've always wanted to do. You have nothing to loose. It won't be easy, but you can do it. I think you know that you can, too.

You want to move to New York? You want to quit your job as a lawyer and become an event planner? You want to start your own business? You want to travel to Europe?

Have courage. Don't hold back. All you can do is throw all your options at the wall and see what will stick. Worse comes to worse, you go back to doing whatever it is you were doing before.

What is it that you really want from your career? Allow yourself to dream big, and don't self-judge yourself along the way. Sit quietly and journal, or just let your mind drift. If you could have anything, and money, time, responsibility was no obstacle, what would you want for yourself?

The more specific you are about your end-goal, the easier it is to work backwards and develop a plan. So many people stop themselves because it is far easier to say "I don't know what I want," and settle for what's easy.

I am not being blindly optimistic. I am asking you to do some soul searching, reach big, and then develop a practical plan to get there. Lead a purpose drive life that matches your inner values.

If you truly don't know what you want, explore. Default your answer to "yes" for a week and see where it leads you.

I've also heard people say, "This is what I should do. I should go back to school. I should stay at this job for the next few years even though it makes me unhappy." Who is telling you that you should? Co-workers? Family? Society? Are they as important as reaching your own potential and happiness?

I've felt very reflective this week because one of my mentors from college passed away. Her life ended prematurely at the age of 30, and yet, she touched so many people. You can always tell when someone's inner values reflect their outer values; it made complete sense that her line of work was mentoring young, Jewish women. She glowed. She overflowed with openness, kindness, and compassion. She didn't take life casually. She valued her relationships and went above and beyond to let her students know that she valued them.

So what I want to impart to you, my lovely readers, is that you can't wait. We don't know how much time we have on this planet, so please, optimize your unique gifts and live the life you want to.

Nothing can hold you back except for yourself.