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In
the Life
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I know it's a cliche but time really does fly and December
started with a bang. Well, actually with a train.
That's how I arrived in the Big Apple to be part of a video
shoot with some amazing entrepreneurs talking about how to
fund your dream. (Stay tuned for details!)
Getting ready for my close up! Trump water?! Central Park
skaters.
 Then
off to Stamford to borrow my friend Ryan Lee's brain for a few
hours before my presentation at Connecticut College.
The college is in
New London,
an old New England historic seaport city with a charming 19th
century downtown that's seen better days. With the support of
the city, shopkeepers, restaurants and other entrepreneurs are
starting to
revive things.
Who knows, maybe you could join them!
The next day I spoke at a workshop and book signing in Hartford.
So many people try to do everything on their own when it's often
far easier (and a lot more fun) to find people you can partner
with.
For example, this event was a fundraiser sponsored by three
amazing organizations
National Conference for Community and Justice
YWCA
and
Harriet Beecher Stowe House
Think about what you love to do. Now ask, "Who could I partner
with to share my message?"
Next it was on to Boston to join 8,000 other participants at the
Massachusetts Women's Conference.
What a line up! Arianna Huffington, Brene Brown, Barbara Bradley
co-founder of Vera Bradley, Kristen Chenoweth, Deepak Chopra,
and Carol Simpson to name just a few.
If you're not out there attending events put on by or for the
people you want to be like -- even small local events -- then what
are you waiting for!
Speaking of Arianna... I sent her a copy of my book not knowing if
she'd ever really get it. Well, she emailed to invite me to blog
for the Huffington Post. (Thinking big pays off!)
If you experience those nagging voices of self-doubt, I'd love
for you to comment on my first post
Phony Impostors or Merely the Burden of Great Potential?
Mostly these last few weeks I've been enjoying watching nature
ease from fall into early winter. No real snow yet but, I'm
hopeful!
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From Beverly Hills to Broke.
For Sheila Brown, Life's a Beach
 By Valerie Young
From
in-demand Hollywood recruiter to world traveler and now coach, it is been a
wild few years for Sheila Brown
Sheila spent two decades
in the recruiting field. For ten of those she worked for the likes of
Paramount, Warner Brothers, Sony, NBC Universal, Disney and other major
Hollywood studios.
Back then she lived in
upscale Beverly Hills -- with a lifestyle to match. She'd amassed three
hundred Gucci bags, a closet full of Prada shoes... the whole shebang.
Sheila was doing great
financially. But was she happy? No. What she really wanted to do was see the
world.
Why Should Kids Have All
the Fun?
She got to thinking
about how when you're a kid, you have lots of free time and no money. And
what did you and every other kid complain about most? They're bored... There's
nothing to do.
With adults though, it's
just the opposite. "People with good jobs have money but no time to enjoy
life. I remember thinking, it's not fair," she said.
That's when it hit her.
Sheila didn't want to wait to see the world until she was retired. She
wanted to live life fully now, while she had her health.
"Spirit told me to get
rid of the house, the bags, the shoes, and all those other stupid trappings
of success and go for it." So in 2009 she sold everything and today all her
worldly possessions fit into just three suitcases.
The same three suitcases
she now uses while fulfilling her dream of traveling the world. And travel
she has. So far this year Sheila's taken 21 trips. In between she stays with
friends of family.
If you think Sheila can
do this because she's rich -- think again.
In fact she admits to
making some "dumb decisions" a few years back which caused her to go broke.
But for Sheila adversity didn't equal failure.
Instead she describes
that time as "22 months of life lessons."
"Poor is a Mindset.
Broke is a Temporary Condition"
Even in her darkest
moments, which included standing in line at the welfare office, Sheila said
she never felt poor explaining, "Poor is a mindset. Broke is a temporary
condition. And I was broke."
Things turned around in
2011. "I trusted in God's plan and one day in January the doors just
opened." Withing a few days checks arrived from 14 different sources --
including an online business she'd set up and had all but forgotten.
It was during her broke
period that Sheila came across the Changing Course website. When she saw the
course description for the
Profiting from Your
Passions
Career Coach training she wrote in her journal, "Someday I will take this
course."
Never Say, "I Can't
Afford This"
Notice she didn't say,
"I can't afford this."
It goes back to that
mindset Sheila talked about. I read once that you should never say "I can't
afford it" to anything that will put you closer to a dream.
You can say, "That's
interesting, but it's not for me." Or, you can say, "I can't swing it right
now."
But when you say "I
can't afford it" unconsciously you're telling yourself that you not only
don't have the money right now but that you never will.
Three years later Sheila
fulfilled her promise to herself. She not only did she find the money to
take the course, but she also flew half way across the country to do it.
I saved the best part for
last. Today Sheila's life is a beach. Literally!
Right after the training
with me, Sheila flew to the Dominican Republic where she'd rented a house on
the beach for six months... sight unseen.
(Now you know why
Sheila's video
testimonial
has that beach house feel.)
Obviously not everyone
walks away from it all and travels the world. And that's okay.
But her story does offer
lessons for all of us. For me it's the inspiring reminder that life truly is
short and that we need to at least try to go after our dreams.
Are there things you'd
be willing to give up in terms of comfort or material things or fear in
order to get something of far greater value?
Is there something
you've wanted to do forever, but have been telling yourself, "I can't afford
it?"
Go to the blog and share
your take aways now.
Add Your Two Cents
Your thoughts mean so much to me -- and the other 26,000 change seekers who've received this article. I'd love to hear what you think!
Click here to hop over to the Changing Course Blog!
About the Author
Profiting
From Your Passions expert Valerie Young abandoned her
corporate cubicle to become the Dreamer in Residence at
ChangingCourse.com
offering resources for people who want to work at what they love. Her career
change tips have been cited in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today Weekend,
More, Kiplinger's, Woman's Day, and elsewhere and on-line at MSN,
CareerBuilder, and iVillage.com. Valerie is also the author of
The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from the Impostor Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It with Crown Publishing/Random House.
To read more articles about how to work at what you love without a job go to ChangingCourse.com/articles.htm
Connect With Valerie Online | 
live life on purpose 
People
are going to have to become entrepreneurial; they're going
to have to become their own bosses. The days of working for
a corporation, you get a pension after 30 years and health
benefits [are] gone. 
