Re-Ignite Your Passion, Discover What's Next on The Journey of Life
I've suffered from it. You've suffered from it. We all are afflicted at numerous points in our lives, and it can be a chronic condition. The “DoImatteritis?” What’s that, you ask? It’s that point in your life where you wake up one day and ask, do I matter? If I don’t make it out of bed and into my work clothes and to the meetings on my schedule, will it matter to anyone? I really don’t care. It doesn’t matter to me, I don’t even know what I want anymore.
The kids aren’t home now and the dog seems pleasant whether you feed it or not. Ugh. Another day.
Surprise! I have a message for you today: YOU MATTER! So much. And no, not just to the dog, or to your kids when they need money to fix their car (again).
Are you too old, too off-track, too hopeless, have you failed too many times, to pursue something that will make an impact on the world? Again, nope, nope, nope, and nope!
Let me reinforce this message with some “factual proof".
Nelson Mandela emerged after 27 years in jail became his country's president at age 76.
Julia Child was 50 when she hosted her first TV show.
Stan Lee created his first hit comic title, "The Fantastic Four," just before his 39th birthday. Into his 40's, he created the Marvel Universe, whose characters like Spider-Man and the X-Men became American cultural icons.
Vera Wang was a figure skater and journalist before entering the fashion industry at age 40. Today she is one of the world's premier women's designers.
Samuel Jackson has been a Hollywood staple for years now, but he'd had only bit parts before landing an award-winning role at age 43 in Spike Lee's film "Jungle Fever" in 1991. He has been in at least 133 films now!! Amazing!!
Henry Ford was 45 when he created the revolutionary Model T car.
Anna Mary Robertson Moses, better known as Grandma Moses, began her prolific painting career at 78. In 2006, one of her paintings sold for $1.2 million. Fantastic!!
Tim and Nina Zagat were both 51-year-old lawyers when they published their first collection of restaurant reviews under the Zagat name, which eventually became a mark of culinary authority. Uh, yeah!
So to give you some sage advice from just a couple of the aforementioned masters of this past 100 years: “If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right.” ~Henry Ford (who died at age of 83, after spending a lifetime in business, being mentored by Thomas Edison, another tremendous example of living your dream, and even had to pivot in WWI stopping auto production to turn to aircraft building).
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Nelson Mandela, (who died at the age of 95, which not only was he President of South Africa after 27 years of imprisonment but he was the first to be elected in a fully representative democratic election.)
As a woman who spent 17 years at the same company, climbing the corporate ladder, starting in the IT department, slowly completing my formal education and ending up pressed up against the glass ceiling; it was not an easy decision to walk away at age 38 and go back to school again. But I believe in myself just a surely as all these great men and women (and millions more) do. And you betcha, I matter!
I decided to make a change to a new industry that allows me to do what I love to do and that is help others reach their maximum potential. To believe in themselves. To clear away the brain fog and make sense of the emotions that run wild when we don’t understand why things aren’t the way we wanted them to be when we spent years doing the things we thought were right. It's ok to give up "grinding", going against the tough forces of a failing thing to meet less resistance and embrace our true calling! There is so much more life out there waiting for us to be willing to be happy! And when we make the decision we are worth it - the speed at which the universe supports us is absolutely astounding! See above examples of rapid and amazing success!
It gives me great pleasure to be a witness and a helper to restore others' confidence, to show you how to reclaim your power, help decide where to go on the journey of life (don’t you DARE hang up that hat yet, I SEE YOU), because there is a lot more passion burning inside that heart of yours. There is a lot more intelligence burning in that mind of yours. There is a lot more soul in that spirit of yours and giving up is NOT an option. By doing what I do, coaching, it not only means I believe in me, it means I believe in YOU.
The cure for “DoImatteritis”? Be selfish. Let go of the expectations of what “everyone will think” empty off the shelf of what matters to other people and make a list of what matters to YOU. Let go of the things that you think you have to do to make everyone happy and blow off the so called “important” things for once.
Call in to your job with the reason, “important things came up” (yep, you're important, you matter!) and make a lunch date with yourself. Order the most appetizing thing on the menu and enjoy it while forgetting about calories or cost. Buy the nice journal and a pen (they do not need to be expensive, just enjoyable to you) to go with it. Heck, there’s neat erasable pens that I just adore and they are so fun and pretty to write with! Write yourself a love letter about all the times you have been really, truly happy without worrying about anyone else or what they thought. Write about the things you want to do that will make you feel good and happy and fulfilled. Is it travel? Photography courses? Learning a new language? Indulging in making a german chocolate cake? Write what first step you might be able to take on the next no obligation day. (Look online for the best times of year to visit different places, learn the languages on Duolingo a free app, research courses, look up recipes!)
Take a bubble bath. Listen to the birds sing. Dance to your favorite song. Watch the clouds go by. Play with your dog and talk to them like they understand you. Light the pretty candles. Use the nice linens. Wear your favorite clothes. Throw out the “gift” that you are holding onto that makes you feel guilty, or frumpy, or bad about yourself. Freshen up wherever your workspace is at the end of your “workday” and put something on your desk that makes you smile and feel really YOU. And envision a future where every single day you get to make the rules. Because at the end of the day, you absolutely, really, and truly do.
If you are looking for a new start or fresh infusion of energy to your side gig or your passion project, feeling good is the first step to doing it. I’m not kidding. All of the people on this list did not get to where they were by grumbling, complaining, thinking of failure or worrying about the “what if’s”. They kept going and they understood what the goal was. The first step to getting to where you are going is letting go of feeling like you don’t matter and understanding that you DO matter. You have a lot to give. There is no other “you” with your mind, your heart, your knowledge, experiences, or interpretations of thinking and feeling. Set aside the feelings of “I’m not good enough, I don’t deserve it, I can’t” and lean in to the good feeling place more and more. Eventually, even when you take a lunch break or in the evenings you will start to tap into those good feelings and your journal(s) (remember that nice notebook part from above?) will show you a recurring theme. You will get out of your own way and you will hear from your soul what you’ve been wanting to do your whole life. It’s not too late, you’re just getting started. I am so excited for what this means for the world, we all really want to learn what you have to share!
Kelly Pierce, founder of Quantum Highways and the Liberate Your Soul Podcast is a business and personal development coach specializing in leading top performers to discover true confidence and live life feeling balanced with a fulfilling life, family, business, mind, and soul. Stop pursuing happiness and playing the shame, anxiety, frustration game and infuse your life with joy and compassion (especially for yourself!). Book a call today! https://www.quantumhighways.com/bookings-checkout/free-consultation/book