To start. Something worthy.

Or just something new.

Or just something.

To figure out how they can make a difference.

And commit to their Vision.

To ignore the fear.

Or to dance with it.

Or just accept it as a part of life. And take action anyway.

To realize that their imperfections really don’t matter.

To stop doing what’s not working.

Or do it despite all odds just because it feels right.

To say: “I am proud of you” and “I love you” every day. To themselves.

To take a break.

To let go.

To start over. And again.

To reinvent themselves.

To dream. Big. And then some more.

To take little steps and big leaps toward that dream.

To stop complaining.

And take responsibility. For everything.

To allow themselves to shine. Fully.

And take a nap when they need to.

What would the world look like?

Allow yourself to dare. And see what happens.

I found a copy of the check a few days ago. The date on it is 1/15/2009. This check is very special. It is first $198.05 that I made with my business. My first money ever made with my own business.

That check got me thinking. It made me realize how far I am now from who I was and where I was in January of 2009. I grew so much personally and professionally. And I wanted to share with you the main lesson I learned on my journey.

I didn’t have a website yet back then, that was the money I made promoting someone else’s product as an affiliate via Google ads. I won’t even tell you the name of the product because it was so unrelated to what I am doing now. It looks silly and inappropriate. But without promoting that product I wouldn’t be where I am now.

So I am getting to the main point of this post.

You don’t know everything right away.
You don’t know yourself when you start the journey.
You don’t know what’s possible and what you are meant to do and where you will end up at.
You CAN’T know.

Before I started my own business I spent several months trying to figure out what I wanted to do.
All I knew was that I wanted to work from home. I didn’t want to get another job. And I wanted to find my purpose in life (of course!).

So I started. From where I was. With the knowledge I had. And resources I had. And the level of awareness I had.

I did what I could with what I had in my disposal.

I didn’t even do it the best I could. I didn’t do my best. I could have done much better. I could have been more organized and focused and determined and who knows what else. But the point is – I did something.

A few weeks ago I stripped down my coaching. Another flash of clarity I experienced, but I’ll write about it in detail in my next post.

I left only the core of my coaching – I help entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs to find their unique message to the world. It might be a tagline, a mission statement, whatever you call it. We’ll find the exact words that will resonate with you at the core. That’s what my clients come to me for. That’s what they need the most.

Who knew 2 years ago that I would be doing this? I surely didn’t. I came such a long way. And, again, I wasn’t even doing my best. It was all happening in the middle of raising a child, getting divorced with all the drama surrounding it, finding love, getting married. So I wasn’t working on my business full strength to say the least. But I still managed to come such a long way and find my unique mission and purpose.

I look at my first check now and feel so grateful. If not that first attempt, that first step, I wouldn’t be where I am now.

During my workshops I so often meet people who say that they are looking for their life purpose, for Their Thing. Some have been looking for years. They read books, go to seminars, and attend workshops. They ask questions, they listen. They truly want to find the answers and start living their purpose feeling passionate and inspired every day.

But they don’t DO.
No action.

It’s is so hard to understand sometimes that your unique purpose won’t be revealed to you without you taking action.

There is nothing you can learn and no book will give you the answer.

It’s hard to understand that you will find your purpose only after you start doing. Something. Anything.

Start doing what you can. With what you have. And what you know. That first step will lead you to something else and then something else. Layer after layer you will gain clarity. Your awareness will expand.

Taking action, any action is the best way to find your purpose.

So if I had to summarize it, here are some action steps for you to take:

1. What do you like? What do you want? Forget about your passion for a minute. If you know your passion, great. If you don’t, don’t worry about it.

Just tell me what you are interested in and what you’d want your life to be like. Let’s say you’d like to quit your job and start a business. You have no idea what kind of business, but you like to bake, or maybe you like reading spiritual books, or maybe you enjoy photography.

2. See what you can start doing. Now. “Doing” and “now” are your keywords.

If you like baking, start baking more and taking pictures. Then share them with your friends on social media along with the recipes. If you love reading spiritual books, start sharing the advice you learned from them. If you like photography, take more photos and share them online.

3. The point is to start doing something. With the goal of eventually quitting your job, starting a business and finding your unique purpose.

Having a goal, even if very general is very important. Intention is the key. Take the first step. Then see where that step leads you. It will lead somewhere, I promise. At the end you might find yourself doing something completely different, but you wouldn’t have come there without taking that first step.

4. After you take the first step, see what door opens next. Look for clues, listen to your intuition. Take the next step. Don’t stop. Keep going, even if it looks like you are nowhere near to reaching your goal. Just keep going.

It is your choice. You can keep looking for you your unique purpose and find yourself couple years from now still looking.

Or you can start taking action. Any action. And see where it leads you. It might lead you to something so different from what you ever imagined, but one thing is for sure – you’ll have no regrets.

_ _

Special Announcements:

I have created Daring Clarity Community page on Facebook. If you are enjoy what I share on this blog, please “like” or join us here to get more coolness and inspiration.

_ _

Atlanta folks, I’ve also just created a new meetup group called Daring Clarity: Community of Conscious Entrepreneurs of Atlanta. Check it out here.

_ _

Finally, check out my upcoming workshop in Atlanta designed to help you gain clarity on your unique message. Details here.

Love is the shortest way to happiness. For women at least. Love is everything for us. Don’t argue. It is.

I am happy today. I have my love with me. I am happy I didn’t settle for less. I am happy I took the steps to get here. I earned my happiness.

Do you really need to earn happiness? Don’t you deserve it just because you are here? You do. Silly me, I didn’t need to do it the hard way. I have no regrets though.

Today I am happy. I thought Valentine’s Day will be special. This is our first Valentine’s Day together.

It doesn’t feel special. It’s a usual day. I feel happy. Just like I do every day.

I feel gratitude. I am grateful to be with the man who loves me. Understands me. Cares for me. Accepts me. Forgives me. He is always there. Always present. I feel his love every minute. Every second. He is perfect. Perfect for me.

Not really sure what the purpose of this post is, besides to wish you Happy Valentine’s Day. And to remind you that love is everywhere. And you deserve to be loved. For who you are. Now.

___

If this post inspired you or made you think, please help me spread the word about this site. Use the links below to share it with your friends. Thank you!

For so many of us finding your passion and your purpose seems like an incredibly difficult thing to do. And so we keep looking. Sometimes for years.

Sometimes we find it just to find ourselves a few months later wondering if that was a true purpose. Because something changed. We changed.  So the purpose and goal that inspired us a few months ago doesn’t cut it anymore.

All of that stumbling around keeps us from doing. From moving.  Making a difference.

Looking for a purpose takes longer than actually taking action on that purpose.

What if there is no purpose? What if there is no passion that you absolutely need to find and create a life around?

What if the only purpose we have is to do good? Whatever feels good at this point in our lives.

Do good for the sake of doing good. Not for the sake of making money or fulfilling the purpose or even changing the world. Just do good. Because it feels good to do good. Because doing good is really all that matters. Because while doing good we might stumble across our purpose. And make a difference.

What do you think would be a good thing to do for the world? What feels like a good thing to do?

Instead of asking yourself –“ What is my purpose in life?”, try this – “What can I do good for the world and what can I do well?” Doesn’t it feel like, ummmm… less pressuring and stressful?

Why don’t we forget our purpose in life and just start doing. Good.

——

If this post inspired you or made you think, please help me spread the word about this site. Use the links below to share it with your friends. Thank you!

And only…

Billions of people on this planet, billions of stars in our universe and more in other universes, billions of grains of sand. But no one and nothing is exactly like you.

If we invent a time machine and go all the way to the past and back to the future, we still won’t find another you. You are the only one.  Ever.

You are the only one experiencing exactly what you do. You are the only one feeling exactly what you do. You are the only one thinking exactly what you do. You are the only one looking at this beautiful world exactly the way you do.

You are the only one who can change this world the way you can. If you don’t, no one will.

It’s scary to be the only one. Uniqueness carries with it huge responsibility. And power. To be you.

What do you do with this power? What do you do with your uniqueness?

If nothing else, at least stop for minute and appreciate it. With every fiber of your being. Love it. Love You. The one and only. You.

If this post inspired you or made you think, please help me spread the word about this site. Use the links below to share it with your friends. Thank you!

For the past few months I’ve been focusing on one thing and one thing only – my family. All of a sudden my whole life started revolving around two people – my man and my son. I didn’t consciously mean for it to happen this way. I had always thought of myself as a person who can balance. At least a little. Balance was nowhere near here for the past few months. I found myself completely isolated from the whole world. Relationships with the closest people in my life became my everything. These few months were strange but incredibly happy. It was probably the happiest time in my life.

On January 22 we eloped and got married. It felt like the right thing to do.

The wedding was like a dream. No, it was a dream. Come true. Magical and breathtaking. We were married under a 200 year old cedar tree at St. Simon’s Island with the ocean and flying seagulls as our backdrop. We had only our immediate families with us. And three rings – one for me, one for Keith and one for my son Nicholas.

Today was our usual Sunday (this post will be published later in the week). We woke up late. Had breakfast and went for a walk. The day was sunny and beautiful. It felt like a spring. And that’s when I realized – I need to get back. To my life. This time for sure. I know I promised it several times in the past few months but never did. There is really not much I can say for an excuse, besides that I am sorry for not having kept that promise.

The break brought me new visions and new dreams. Some are not very clear yet, so we’ll see what the future holds.  I feel like I lost my old voice, but I am in the process of finding a new one. I am starting a new chapter. And am very excited.

I will write articles on this blog weekly again. I am also revamping my coaching and have a new workshop coming up in Atlanta.

Also from now on, I’ll have comments closed on this blog. I want to reconnect with my online friends but I don’t want clutter.  I am always happy to receive your emails though, please write me at lana {at} daringclarity {dot} com

And I know it’s February now, but Happy New Year to you all. May 2011 bring you closer to living your truth. To the fullest.

P.S. Here are some pictures from our wedding. All photos were taken by Luke Smith from Lone Pine Photography. And our entire wedding/elopement was planned in under 3 weeks with the help of our wedding consultant/officiant Carla Pryor from St. Simons Elopements.

As you might remember myself and Anastasiya Goers from Balance In Me were going to launch a program together. After lots of thinking, we decided that it would be better to wait until next year with it.

And then Anastasiya was inspired to create a retreat called From Sedentary To Active Lifestyle in One Month. I now understand why it looked like our program needed to wait. The retreat Anastasiya is launching now is something that she just had to launch first. I can see her passion. She put all her heart into it. I am confident she created something incredibly useful and unique. I personally never saw anything like this anywhere else.

You can check it out yourself here. Even if you don’t join, at least go and download her free 10 Minute-Do-It Anywhere Workout. Think about it: 10 minute do-it-anywhere. I am in love with this concept alone.

I had a chance to ask Anastasiya few questions about the retreat and here are her answers.

Lana: Hi Anastasiya,

Congrats on your upcoming retreat. As I’ve been following your blog for quite some time now, it looks like this retreat was a result of pure creative inspiration. Could you tell us more about what inspired you and how it all came together?

Anastasiya: On Balance In Me I write about life balance and any possible ways to reach it. Before I started working on the retreat I was writing a lot about self growth and work/life balance but then something strange happened.

I would like to say that it was inspiration but actually I stared having back problems and the reason for those problems was because I got so involved in my projects that I forgot to take care of myself. It was a wake-up call because I had the idea about running the retreat for a long time but I never actually started planning it.

Of course I am not the only person who is glued to the computer screen for many hours a day and I thought to myself “It would be great to create a program for those who do not have time to work out at the gym 6 times a week or run marathons. A program that will show people how they can stay active by incorporating do-it-anywhere 10 minute workouts into their lifestyles.”

I am not only a blogger, I am also a fitness instructor (I’ve been teaching for 7 years) and I decided to use the knowledge and experience that I collected  during all those years to help people who live sedentary lifestyles.

Lana: I loved the concept of 10 minute do-it-anywhere workouts. Are they really “do-it-anywhere”?  Could you tell us more about them?

Anastasiya: There is always something that you can do no matter where you are: in your office, in the car, on the plane, on the playground with your kids etc. Most people just do not know how they can use even the smallest space (like a cubicle) to squeeze in a mini workout. The simplest examples of exercises are lunges, squats, wall-pushups and of course walking.

The workouts that I create for the retreat are aimed specifically at people who sit a lot. I show how to stretch muscles that are generally tight and cause pains (neck pain, tension headache, lower and upper back pain), how to strengthen these muscles and how to add cardio that will boost your metabolism.

The workouts are truly “do-it-anywhere.” The only thing that you need for them is the desire to move.

Lana: Since I spend so much time at the computer, I often have back and neck pains at the end of the day, do you have any quick tips of what could help me? (Obviously without giving away all of your retreat’s content)

Anastasiya: Back and neck pains (that are not related to injuries or any degenerative condition) are caused by tight and weak muscles that cannot support your spine in an upright position. The easiest thing that anyone can do is to get up every hour or so and move for at least 2 or 3 minutes. Shoulder rolls, neck stretches are also a great way to relieve and prevent those pains. My favorite stretch for the beach is a Yoga Downward Facing Dog (you can google it.)

These pains are also often caused by stress (and I will talk more about it during the retreat) that is why relaxation techniques are often very effective in relieving those pains.

Then there is self-massage, more advanced stretches and of course strengthening exercises. I could probably talk for hours about back pain but I’d rather do it during the retreat:)

Lana: I know you are busy with the launch, so this is the last question, could you give me 3 key reasons why people should join the retreat?

Anastasiya: 1. I am sure that the retreat will make anyone healthier and make them feel better overall. (Do you know that a person who sits more than 6 hours a day is 94% (!) more likely to die early from any condition than a person who is active and sits 3 hours or less?)

2. During the retreat I will provide motivation and support that are soooo important when you develop new habits and set new goals (support and motivation are key factors in healthy habit adherence.)

3. The retreat will show you how to live actively without giving up your lifestyle and free time. You do not have to spend all your free time at the gym if you want to be healthy and fit and I will show you how you can do it.

I don’t know about you, but I am definitely in.

If you’d like to become more active,  want to try something new and don’t know where to begin and if you, like myself, would love to have few 10 minute do-it-anywhere workouts on hand and motivation to do them every day, I think you should check out Anastasiya’s From Sedentary To Active Lifestyle In One Month retreat.

It’s not another fitness program. It’s a Lifestyle Revolution.

And it starts soon. Like really soon – next Monday to be exact. I am excited.

Check out the retreat here

Follow Anastasiya on Twitter here

Chris Guillebeau from the Art of Non-Conformity was visiting Atlanta last week as a part of his Unconventional Book Tour.  The message of his book – Set Your Own Rules. Live The Life You Want and Change The World. Love it! The changing the world part will come naturally, I believe, when you commit to living from your core and doing what matters to you.

I was incredibly inspired after listening to Chris speak at the event. I’ll  share with you the questions I asked him and his answers, as well as some golden nuggets from the Q&A session. First, however, I wanted to share a related personal story. You love my personal stories, don’t you?

So I’ve been going through a big life reevaluation process lately. Once again!

One of the peak moments in my life was moving to US 6 years ago. I changed everything – career, relationships, my future and my future kids’ and grandkids’ future. That’s what I thought, at least.

Little did I know that I didn’t make the most important change. Mindset.  Physical relocation to a new country leaving everything behind was a big deal, I have to admit, but at the core everything stayed the same.

I changed career, but I still hated highly disliked every one of the jobs I had, just like I did when I lived in Russia. I found a new circle of friends but it was very similar to the one I had before. I went back to school and got a new degree but felt that I was wasting my time. Same old stuff.

Only couple years ago the true change started happening. I decided to start my own business and committed to never do 9-5 again. I started a long journey of finding my passions, believing in myself, gaining clarity on who I am and what I wanted to do. I decided to get divorced. I let go of the friendships that kept me stuck in the past. I let go of the old beliefs that were not serving me.

I finally changed my mindset and as a result my external reality slowly but surely started changing.

Now looking back I see that one of the key steps I took  to make this change happen was connecting with the people who had already made it. Those who lived their truth. Those who had reached what I wanted to reach. At first it was my school professor, successful entrepreneur. Then going to the seminars and meeting more of those people. Then reading their books and blogs.

Recently I decided to make this process more intentional if you will. I decided to stop being connected as a silent observer and actually start having conversations.

So I sat down and wrote a list of names.  Some people on my list know who I am and we already had some kind of personal interaction.  I want to develop those relationships further. Most people on my list I never had any kind of interaction with besides reading their blogs and/or twitter feeds.

Now a lot of you know that I am a very introverted person. So the whole “conversations” thing with people I don’t personally know is actually a big deal for me.

Long story short, Chris was one of the people I had on the list. He was a very high priority too.  So of course I was incredibly excited to find out that he was going to stop in Atlanta for his AONC book tour.  I knew there would a big crowd at the event and wasn’t sure if I’d have a chance to actually talk to Chris.

I was in for a surprise. When I finally got to talk to Chris, I didn’t have to tell him my story. Why? Because he knew it already! He followed my link from Twitter, read my about page, knew I was from Russia, asked me about my son.  You can probably imagine how amazed I was.

We talked and at the end of our conversation Chris said 7 powerful words Jonathan Fields wrote a post about few weeks ago.

What can I do to help you?

I asked to interview him sometime in the near future. He said he’d be happy to do it. Real conversation. Exactly what I wanted.

Lessons I learned:

• Set a clear intention. Just like I did with the list. The Universe will find a way to make it happen.
• Your story is much more interesting and compelling than you think it is. Start and keep sharing it. People who resonate with you will find you and maybe even offer to help.
• Expect that people do want to help you.
• Don’t be afraid to approach anyone.
• Start connecting. I wish I made the decision to start doing it earlier.

I asked Chris couple questions:

1. What are the key strategies that played the biggest role in your success? Chris’s answer was:

• Clarity on who you are and what your message is (of course!)
• Building strategic relationships with like minded people
• Consistency and integrity. Don’t give up. Do what you say you will do. Always.

2. I also asked him how to approach established authorities in the niche when you are just starting out and are shy and introverted like yours truly. Chris’s answer was:

80% of big names online want to build relationships and want to help. Be genuine and authentic. And just write them. Simple. All brilliant always is.

I am going to take Chris’s advice to heart. Hope you will too.

Some other golden nuggets from the Q&A session with Chris:

1. It’s not about being efficient, it’s about doing something meaningful. Do it even if it is inefficient.
2. Think of your message first and then see who resonates with it. Target market is not something for you to decide on. Your target market will be people who resonate with your message.
3. It’s never too late. It really never is. Start. Now.

I started reading The Art Of Non-Conformity Book. I’ll do a review when I am finished but I am already incredibly inspired after only first few chapters. Full of inspirational stories, actionable strategies and, of course, tons of non-conformist ideas. I have a feeling I’ll love this book.

And couple last things I have to write about, I loved how Chris looked into the eyes of every person he spoke with. He was fully present.  You could tell he was genuinely interested in everyone who came to the event. He cared. Doing meaningful work that makes you feel alive helps you stay present and connected. People can’t not like it.

Also after visiting so many states, meeting so many people and giving his talk so many times already, he was inspired, energized and passionate. At the end of the Q&A session everyone in the room felt the same. True passion is contagious.

So what will you start doing today to change the world?

All of us want to do what we love for a living. Who wouldn’t?

There are mostly two reasons why people don’t.

A. Don’t know what my passion is.

B. I know what my passion is but don’t know how/don’t believe I can make a living with it.

My (humble) thoughts on how to deal with both.

Problem #1:  I don’t know what I am passionate about.

Every now and then during one of my workshops I get a person who doesn’t know what he/she is passionate about. I keep asking – What inspires you? What would you do if success was guaranteed? What activities make you lose a track of time when do them?

Often they have no idea how to answer those questions. Sometimes they get frustrated with me. I once even had a lady who said: “That’s why I came here, I thought you would give me the answers”. I usually don’t even know how to respond to something like this.

I recently realized that all of us do something similar in one form or another. We make things too complicated. We don’t trust ourselves and wait for someone to come and tell us the truth.

We keep buying books, reading blogs, following those who “made it”… all with one purpose – to find the answers. We keep looking outside for our life purpose, keep trying to find our passions, when in reality all we have to do is to look inside, look at ourselves, at what we do and how we feel. Ask ourselves few simple questions and listen for answers. They will come. They can’t not to.

Your life purpose is to be yourself. That’s it. It doesn’t get simpler than this.

Your life purpose is to do things that are an expression of who you are. What do you love to do? What you are intensely curious about? What do you always find time to do no matter how busy you are? What inspires you? What can you talk late into the night about?

Answer those questions and I bet you’ll have a pretty good idea of what to do. Your passions are here already. You are doing them. You are living them. Don’t make it too complicated. You know. The answers.

Once you find your passions and what makes you feel alive, just start living it. More.

Doing something that is an expression of who you are is your life purpose. Simple. Stop looking any further.

Problem #2: Know what my passion is but don’t know how to make a living with it.

My answer to that are commitment, trying and setting the limits.

Commitment.

Once you realize that life is short and that doing anything that is not in alignment with who you are is really a huge waste of your precious time on Earth, you will commit.

One decision. Changes everything.

Trying.

I coud write a lot here but you better go read this article from Derek Sivers. Love it.

Treat everything as a test. Let go of your attachment to a certain outcome.  Expect the best. Don’t mind the worst. (I know, easy to say, not so easy to do)  And keep trying.

Set clear limits for yourself.

Right now you might have to do what you don’t love, but what are your limits?  How far will you go or, to be more precise, bend? Set the limits and don’t break them. Your life will start aligning itself accordingly.

Some examples of my limits:

I am committed to making my thing work.

I am not going to get a 9-5 job.  If I ever absolutely have to get a job, I’ll go and bartend. 9-5 is not an option.

Just deciding it, brought so much peace.

When you have limits, your mind will start bringing ideas and opportunities that are within your limits.

And then just keep trying and testing.  You’ll get there.

How It Started.

1.5 years ago I launched an ebook + video course.  I had just started my blog and “online business” and wanted to make it big with my first product. Right away.

It was called… Dream Lifestyle Creation Formula. I hope you realize how uncomfortable I am at the moment telling you about it.  I couldn’t have come up with a more hyped up name. I took it off the market few weeks after the launch. It didn’t have a chance with such name. Plus I was trying to sell something I wasn’t living myself. My dream lifestyle was not there yet. Huge mistake.

I recently was talking to my man and told him that now would be a good time to relaunch that product because I finally live the dream.

Of course, now I have different dreams. Bigger. Bolder. The cycle never stops. But still.

(I am not seriously relaunching it, don’t worry. It will forever stay in my “how could I be so stupid” folder. The product itself was really good though, I had great reviews from people who bought it. But the name… I really need to stop thinking about it now)

What was my dream lifestyle back then?

I didn’t want 9-5. And 9-5 was so on my horizon at that time.

I wanted my business to start growing. I wanted time freedom. I wanted to have happier relationship, I wasn’t happy with my marriage.

I wanted to have clarity on who I was and what I wanted to do in this world. I wanted to have a happy family with the man I love and my boy Nicholas. I wanted to have a community of like minded people around me.

At that time even a thought about a divorce scared me. My ex husband is not a jerk. He is a wonderful person. You don’t normally divorce wonderful people. I had a big excuse – I wasn’t happy. But still.

Also I am an immigrant. My ex husband was pretty much the only close person I had here in US. My family, my friends, my everything stayed in Russia when I decided to move here. I also was a stay at home mom with a small child. Not the most ideal conditions to get divorced.

I had my blog and some online marketing experience. The blog was called Dreamfollowers and I had a very vague idea of what to do with it.

I had a very vague idea of who I wanted to be. And what difference I wanted to make in the world. I knew the general direction. It looked something  like this – I am passionate about personal growth and development, spirituality and entrepreneurship. I know a lot about it, read lots of books, experienced some breakthroughs, I love helping people, let’s do something with it for a living.

Fast forward 1.5 years later. Here is where I am now.

I found the courage to ask for divorce. The process was long and painful for all of us. But it is almost over.

I wrote a list of 31 qualities I’d want to have in a new partner. Some of them were general but some were very specific. I also wrote a long description of what kind of romantic relationship I’d like to have. One of the key phrases I put there was “We completely fulfill each other’s spiritual, physical and emotional needs”. That phrase alone covers it all. In my opinion.

I met my man last February, we started (actively) dating in April and are moving in in November. He has 30 out of 31 qualities that I put on my list. The one that he misses turned out to be not what I truly wanted anyway.

He is everything I ever hoped to find in a man and more. And the best part, we truly  fulfill both of our physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

While going through the whole divorce thing I was ready to give up so many times and go get a 9-5 job. I was lost, scared and felt incredibly insecure about my future.

I even interviewed for the marketing position with some local company. But never took the job. And it looks like now I won’t have to. My coaching and workshops are picking up, there are new projects in the works, new ideas and new partnerships.

Speaking of coaching and workshops and ideas, it took lots of courage to get here. Putting a coaching page up. Claiming my value.  Announcing a workshop. Charging for it. Letting go of the business idea that I spent lots of time and energy on and starting over. Scary stuff.

I have clarity now.  I feel on purpose and on target. Still a lot to figure out and lots of fears to bust but I am so making a progress.

I started two groups that serve me as my communities of like minded people. Old friends from old life disappeared one after another. Painlessly and naturally.  On their place came new friends that are more in alignment with who I am now.

I think I made quite a progress considering it it has been only 1.5 years.

The funny thing is that I didn’t even notice all those changes until lately. That’s how it always happens. I looked at some of the things I was writing in my journal 1.5 years ago and it hit me. I am living it. My dreams are here. All of them. Not even one is missing.

Look at your dreams from few years ago. Most likely you are living all of them now too.

So I tried to look back and track what I’ve been doing to make that happen.

What are the key steps that I took?

Two words came up.

Clarity.

And Daring.

Really. That’s what I was doing. I kept asking questions. I kept looking. Until I found my core. My true dreams and passions. I never stopped getting clearer. And then dared. Dared to take action. One after another. Some were scary and difficult to take. Some came naturally.

Asked for divorce. Got a lawyer. Said: “I love you”.  Said: “Good bye”.  Said “No” to a getting a job even though getting it sounded like a good and “safe” idea.

If I had to break it down into steps, those are the things that I did:

1. Start asking the right questions. What is it that I need to figure out to move forward? What am I passionate about? How can I quit my job and start doing what I love? How can I move out of the relationship that is not working? How can a build a deep connection with my kids that will last a lifetime? The answers will come. Just start asking.

2. Decide what you truly want. What do you want? Why is it often so difficult to claim our dreams? You don’t even have to do anything yet. Just tell me what your dreams are. Make a clear choice. Also make sure they are authentic dreams, not something that you are dreaming by default.

3. Commit to living from the core. Commit to stop faking it. Commit to find and claim what’s true to who you are. Commit to creative self-expression in everything you do.

4. Dare. To do something. You don’t have to do it right. Just start moving in the direction of your dreams. Don’t wait for perfect timing.

I am not even going to tell you to do the best you can. Sometimes the best we can is more than we can do. I could have done so many things better than I did. Do I wish now that I didn’t do them at all? No! They helped me to get clearer. Take another layer off.

Do what you can first.  And then strive to do the best you can.

I truly believe that clarity is a never ending process. But when you commit to living from your core, life slowly but surely starts realigning itself.

What could have helped me to do better?

To move faster. To take bolder actions. To stop procrastinating on things that matter.

Two things came to mind.

1. Giving more to space to clarity.

Giving a space to dreams to emerge. To get to the core. To ask and listen.  How? I could have spent 15 minutes every day just getting clearer. Getting to my core. And tapping into natural wisdom that is there already. I was doing it but not every day.

2. I also could have used more commitment to daring.

Commitment to taking action. However small that action would be. I could have tried more. Doubted less.

You truly cannot fail. Failure is such an illusion. The more you try, the more confident you become. The more you learn. The faster you move. Forward.

So, really, the two things that I believe could have helped me are space and commitment to daring.

I want to start doing it now. I want to start daring more. And I want to spend at least 15 minutes a day getting to my core. I know, good stuff is hiding there.

And I was inspired to help you do the same.

The idea that I had right after I decided to do it myself was to create a program called 30 days of Clarity and Daring. Yes, yet another product. I won’t stop launching them until I find the one that I truly resonate with. And then another one. And another one.

We will spend 30 days making sure that every day we have a space for our dreams to emerge, for our Vision to become clearer, for layers of doubt to peel off. We will also commit to daring. Taking action. Small. Big. Medium. Doesn’t matter. But we’ll be taking action. It might be sending emails to people we didn’t dare to email before,  saying I am sorry, writing a blog post, starting a business. Now. Without waiting for the perfect moment to come.

Claiming our dreams. Acting on inspiration. Doing something. Every day. Something that will move us forward.

I love this program already. More details coming soon.