Store

Ever wish you’d been born with a piece of paper in your hand saying, “Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is…?” Fortunately, Valerie Young has created the perfect guidebook to move you along faster and farther after clearing away the obstacles that have kept so many of us stuck. This delightful handbook is also loaded with fascinating stories she’s gathered along the way, stories that will convince you that being realistic starts with defining what that means for yourself. Quite simply, Being Realistic is Killing Your Dreams is a sledgehammer for eliminating obstacles.

Everything you ever wanted to know (and more) about making your dreams come true.

The experience was truly life-altering. I now know the direction my life should take. I have a vision of my ideal life, a plan to get me there and a support group to help me through the hard times.

“I’ve loved reading about archaeology ever since I was about 10. I majored in anthropology in college and always dreamed of going on a dig. I’d just always imagined that ‘sometime’ I’d find six months to spend on a dig in some marvelously exotic corner of the world – and of course that time never arrived. After the workshop, I figured, well, going on a dig is one dream that I can make happen now!

“I had only a week of vacation left for the year, but I looked in the Earthwatch catalogue and to my surprise discovered a one-week dig session was available this fall. Even better, it was in New Mexico – one of my favorite places in the world and a spot I’d been yearning to go back and visit. (I went to grad school in NM back in the 70s and returned frequently in the 90s on a work project.) So I called Earthwatch, learned there were still a couple of openings, and signed up… I leave Saturday morning!”

I’m getting value, enthusiasm, encouragement and a bit of a push. It’s hard to do nothing when you have all this motivation.

Tools and motivation to continue my journey.

Amazing. Extremely valuable. Full of resources and ideas. Great practical information. Inspirational and extremely helpful in finding where you want to go with your ideas. Great way to learn about being an entrepreneur.

An incredible positive, supportive experience. Totally life-changing!

This is the beginning of my book… who knows where it will end. It's true when you take action, things will fall into place. I let go of what I had been looking at as a loss… and now my new life is falling into place minute-by-minute. Every time that I stop to think about what is happening with me, I get goose bumps. Dreams do happen.

Just want to thank you for Boulder. I had been working on my own for 3 years and hit a major slump. I had no clients, no money and no support. No one in my life was self-employed or taking risks and I was beginning to feel like a failure.

Anyway, I just had to let you know the positive things that have manifested in my life since the conference. I dreamed of starting a community of self-employed artists... 3 weeks ago a 4-story brownstone in my neighborhood went on the market, so I made an offer with the seller financing 100% of the loan (what a long shot.

Turns out she wants to sell to someone with roots in the community, who is self-employed and a go getter. I plan to rent the upper levels as student apartments, which should take care of the mortgage, and make 4 studios in the basement for myself and 3 other artist/self bossers. What do you know – instant community! Thanks again for helping me get my mojo back. Keep doing what you do.

Very motivating and informative. I've listened to some tracks over and over, just to learn everything I can.

For most of my life adult life I have tried to work a “real job”, but I never felt comfortable in the corporate world and I never fit in. Valerie Young’s book “Finding Your True Calling …” has inspire me to follow my dreams and believe in my ideas AND it has reminded me that it’s okay NOT to fit in and there is more to life then the corporate world. The book is an interesting read with contributions from many authors who followed their dreams. It also incorporates career counseling/lifestyle activities that focus on what you love to do OR what you love in life and then helps you transform these loves into alternative job ideas. This is a great book for individuals looking for alternative professions and I highly recommend it.

I am finding this book to be not only inspirational but helpful in a concrete way. Each author has a different experience of finding their calling and achieving success, so it will be useful to a great many people. I highly recommend doing the exercises, rather than just reading the book, because that is where you will get your “light bulb” moments, finding insights into your own desires and stumbling blocks. This is a truly practical book for those of us dreamers who need a guide on the road.

After many years, many tests, and many registration fees to obtain my Professinal License, I found myself in a great job that I just hated. I did not “fit” into their social culture and I found my brain just worked differently than others in my Profession. What to do? I had reached the big 50 age bracket and was feeling despondent over making any kind of a job change. After all, I had invested a great deal of time and effort into this career. Was it time to quit or to work part-time?

Keeping an open mind, I started reading Valerie Young’s book. This book offers wise advice and the contributions of several experts in the field, but it was the worksheets that made the difference. Once I opened up the word processor, followed her directives and poured my heart out into black & white text, well, it all made sense. I was able to analyze and understand myself, from the child through adult, including my dreams, creativity and rewarding experiences. Valerie has provided a forum to allow you to quiet the beast of negative voices in your head and to design the next phase of your life. Be sure to do the worksheets! Thank you, Valerie, for the tools that inspire me into my next phase of life. I now have a clear insight into how to phase-out of my full-time profession and to phase-into work that is more suited to my natural talents.

I have parted with perfectly good coin to read the wisdom of many different authors concerning what I should do with my life and career. They all offer platitudes, exercises, and encouragement to the seeker. Some have complex diagrams, case studies, whatever. Chicken Soup for the aimless. Let me assure you, this book is different. It is clearly written, extremely useful, and the surprise is that it is inspirational! Not only will you (probably) get some great ideas to help you break out of that rut, but you’ll enjoy the process, and almost certainly be in a better mood just from reading the book! I didn’t get that from any of the ‘what color is my jumpsuit’ books, which gather dust on my shelf. Believe it or not, I carry this book around in my briefcase! I show it to friends, suggest they buy it, loan it to them if they won’t buy it. You should buy it–try it, and you’ll probably love it. If you read it and don’t think it’s a life-changer, give it to a close friend and they will thank you for it. Loved the book, by the way!

I found it inspirational and especially like that her books are spiral bound. It's now highlighted pages will be a ready and re-inspirational reference piece that I will revisit and share with my family and friends. It's simple and to the point, with no wasted time, but a fully delivered message.

I think I was most surprised by the fact that this book is a compilation of articles by different people.

Once I got past that, I began to realize that each person had, to varying degrees, experienced the anxiety I've felt at being locked into a job that brings no joy. To realize that there are others are taking that leap into the unknown and finding happiness while the "normals" stand by and scratch their heads at what is surely insanity is massive relief.

And to find that these "insane" people are holding their hands out to the rest of us who are a little afraid of our inner "insanity" to show us the way and to help us to realize that not going after our dreams is indeed the end of our happiness.

Going after our dreams should be the "normal" thing to do, and Thank You to people like Valerie Young, Barbara Sher, Jerry Stocking ("Quitting A Job - Without Plan B", read the "Yes You Can" book and you'll know what I'm talking about!), and others who are helping us fraidy cats get out there and take control of our lives!