Jumping Off

I am new to 48 days and have only finished the first chapter and find I have lost my dreams or traded them for "safety". How do you all have the courage to continue through the book and allow yourself to become emotionally excited again. I admit I never blinked at the change to follow a dream, but now need encouragement for jumping off again.

How do so many of you begin the process of rekindling the dormant dream within?

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Permalink Reply by RICK CURTIS on December 13, 2011 at 9:12am

Hey Kit,

All things happen for a reason and previously you may not have been ready to change what you were doing for what you wanted to do. However, each day is an opportunity and a choice. Its been said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results. If you don't like what you have been doing then you have to make a change, but ultimately its up to you.

In response to your question of how others begin this process....Everyone acts on their own reasons, for me I have begun to change because where I was, was not where I wanted to be. I found myself trying to fit roles that were'nt ment for me and it turns out that I'm much happier doing what I love and my family is as well.

I wish you the best of luck,

Rick Curtis

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Permalink Reply by Kit Mckee on December 30, 2011 at 9:03am

Thank you Rick for your post. Its very encouraging to hear of someone who has travelled down the road I am about to take and succeeded. What do you do now?

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Permalink Reply by Tamara L. Barney on December 15, 2011 at 6:21pm

Kit,

I agree with Rick, all things happened for a reason. For me personally, I can't say that it was courage that drove me to continue through the book or even allow myself to dream but rather the growing nagging feeling that I was not doing everything that GOD created me to do. I knew that somewhere in my life I had gotten mixed up in who I was and what I am capable of doing. It took me a while to give myself permission to actually have a dream. I had to conquer fear, laziness and much more in order to even get to where I am at, and I know that even now I am not right where I am going to be but rather I am finally on a path to somewhere. LOL that sounded a little corny :) I guess basically what gave me the courage to continue is the knowledge that I didn't want to be where I was at in 30 yrs from now.

Sincerely,

Tamara

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Permalink Reply by Kit Mckee on December 30, 2011 at 9:05am

Awesoome insight Tamera. It's really great to hear the wisdom from a friend.

Thanks so much

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Permalink Reply by Jason McCain on December 15, 2011 at 11:03pm

Kit,

I have been struggling to jump myself. I have collected a ton of information, made a bunch of plans, and I am on the edge staring down at the water and feel slightly paralyzed. However, I am overcoming....

To answer your question, I had to find the dream within or more accurately I had to identify and clarify my calling and then find jobs which satisfied it. So, I began there with the help of a coach. I read every book I can get my hands on for inspiration. I listen to 30 minutes to an hour of POSITIVE podcasts per day from various sources in areas I moving in. I'm just trying to feed myself the right information and attitude daily and thinking in those ways...hoping I will "become what I think". Like Tamara said, I had to get a lot of junk out of my life to get going down this road. For me junk consisted of mindless TV, reading a lot of news and blogs daily which wasn't in line with my goals, and even cutting out music which wasn't uplifting.

In the end, for me it all comes down to one simple question, "if you don't do this, in ten years, will it be OK". The answer to that question is a resounding "NO!!!!!!!" So, if I crash and burn that's just how it will have to be, so what, I can always try again. I guess I'm more scared of wasting another ten years than I am of jumping off.

Best of luck and let us know how you're doing.

Jason

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Permalink Reply by Kit Mckee on December 30, 2011 at 9:06am

You are so right. The statement: "if you don't do this, in ten years, will it be OK". The answer to that question is a resounding "NO!!!!!!!" really struck a cord. Thank you for the encouragement. I do not want to be where I am now in ten years.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Tetterton on December 22, 2011 at 1:55pm

In my case, my dreams were dormant so long I had forgotten what they were. So, I had to quit thinking so much, or more specifically, analyzing so deeply. This goes against common wisdom (since when is analyzing bad?), but it's what I need.

I am discovering and believe deep down that I am a craftsman of some kind. There are many folks here with a business mindset. I don't enjoy thinking about business. I get more satisfaction about performing a skill well. Whether a carpenter, painter, artist, mechanic, appliance repairman... all of these things require a learning curve where profits don't come immediately. But that doesn't mean I feel like stopping whatever I'm learning.

To summarize, I try to always be doing at least one thing in the area of my dreams in hopes that as I work things will become more clear.

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Permalink Reply by Kit Mckee on December 30, 2011 at 9:10am

I can relate to the dormant dreams part. But really encouraged by your post. Thanks for staying with it and modeling courage.

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Permalink Reply by Don Dunay on December 22, 2011 at 3:13pm

Kit,

I think you have to find your peace with GOD first. Like in the movie Forrest Gump, when Lt. Dan found his peace with God, his life changed and things started to improve for him. I feel the same way, once I found my peace with God, then everything makes sense and I have a faith that I never had before. I just needed a little push to get me started and God provided that push.

DON

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Permalink Reply by Kit Mckee on December 30, 2011 at 9:08am

Thanks Don. I'll make sure to keep that idea of peace with God close to this journey.

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Permalink Reply by Greg Lengacher on December 22, 2011 at 8:37pm

"Something has changed within me. Something is not the same. I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game. Too late for second-guessing. Too late to go back to sleep. It's time to trust my instincts, close my eyes: and leap!" Lyrics from Defying Gravity - from the musical Wicked.

After reading 48 Days and No More Mondays I knew I was unemployable. Something was stirring deep inside me that had been dormant for far too long; however, that was nearly two years ago. I am still employed but moving closer to breaking free. My dreams had been traded for the safety of a very lucrative engineering career that was/is killing me slowly. I have had several false starts over the last two years but that has helped me to dust the cobwebs off my dreams and polish them to greater clarity.

So, unlike the lyrics posted above, I did not just close my eyes and leap. I kept my eyes open and took a few baby steps, refined my dream, took a few more baby steps, refined again, and now I think I am on the right path. I didn't quit my day job, but I did start doing something.

I understand that it's scary to let yourself dream when you currently cannot see a way that those dreams can be realized; however, until you let yourself get excited about your dreams you will never start down the path that can make those dreams a reality. By realizing that it takes courage to finish the book something within you has already changed.

Now quit playing by other people's rules and follow your instincts. You won't get it perfect the first time, probably not the second time, but eventually you will reach a clarity as to what your dreams really are and then you can develop a plan of action to realize those dreams.