Tips on Persuing your Dreams
By Helen Dutton
From the Fall 2007
Issue of Applaud Magazine

My life is crazy! In addition to a busy career and children, I feel like I have to be the responsible one when it comes to money. I don’t always have the energy to manage our household finances and be the primary breadwinner on top of everything else. I’d really like to start a new career but don’t see how to manage that. What can I do? There are three components to your questions that I want you to look at. Are you using “responsibility” as an excuse to avoid pursuing your dreams? It sounds crazy – why would you willingly postpone the changes you desire? The answer is in the question: change. Change can be frightening; no matter how much we want something different from what we have. Humans are built to resist change; it’s called homeostasis. I have seen clients postpone starting a business, changing careers, delay having children, all in the name of responsibility. What better excuse is there than “it wouldn’t be responsible”? Put pen to paper and ask your self two questions: What is the most irresponsible action I could do? And, if I act responsibly to myself, how might I move forward? If you truly can’t make significant change right now, consider changing your focus. Successful people are used to getting what they want when they want it, and I’m guessing you want these changes to happen quickly. Draw a timeline with 3 points on it: the first represents the year 2002; the second, the present; and third, 2012, or five years from now. Under 2002, write some details about your life – where and with whom you were living, the work you did, how you spent spare time. Compare that to where you are currently; what changes have occurred? How difficult were those changes to make? Now project 5 years out and answer those same 3 questions. I know somewhere in there is action you can take now! Can you start part-time? Can you ramp up at a different rate? Is your financial safety net strong enough? Are there alternative streams of income you can create? Have fun with this question and ask 10 people for ideas that you can implement now. Paying the family bills, managing money, and balancing the checkbook can chew up energy, especially when you do it all the time and by yourself. If you really are the one to best take care of these, ask your mate to keep you company while you do it – stuffing envelopes, signing checks, or just being with you. Find alternatives that take less energy – pay bills electronically, consolidate bills, download your transactions. The less time you spend managing your money the more time you have to pursue your dreams. Consider this analogy: imagine you start a trip to Montana; you’re excited, you’re on the road enjoying the scenery. While you’ve stopped for gas you look at the map to see where you are and how much farther you have to go. You’re only in New York! Do you get in the car and head back to New Hampshire because you haven’t reached your destination yet? Of course not! You get back in your car and keep heading west. The same is true for your life dreams, just keep heading in the direction you want to go. Sooner or later you’ll get there. Enjoy your journey! Helen Dutton, is a Business Coach and owner of A Vision Of Your Own. She has over 16 years of financial, operational and managerial experience in the Corporate arena. She is a graduate of Coach U and a member of the International Coach Federation. For more information call (603) 529-2345 or visit her website at: www.avisionofyourown.com.