I rant to people way too darn much and have 8 billion thoughts in my head. Why not turn them into blogs instead? That's more productive than spitting out my endless tirades to my poor friends (thanks for listening though). Here's my first one on my views of doing big things. Enjoy the awesomeness! I rant how I speak! And yes, this is a rant, so expect it to be long!
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You know how everyone has dreams, right? Some people's are definitely bigger than others... some reach as high as your head and others may reach even higher than the stars and past Pluto... who knows, but you can never have too many.
Right now, I work at a bank at an office job in the IT field in the city as a web developer. It's a wonderful company, the people are pretty cool, it's nice to get involved and pursue leadership positions, and all that shabang. I always enjoy representing women in the IT Working is nice, money is nicer (I make more than both my parents and most of my friends), I'm EXTREMELY thankful to have a job in general working at such a reputable company, but what if you want more?
I see my mentor at work who is climbing her way up the corporate ladder and doing a wonderful job at it. She's very insightful and my meetings always seem to be when I'm at a crossroad. It's always nice to gain advice from someone several years your senior who's quite wise. Yes, no matter what career or entrepreneur route you go to, you should always have a mentor or a friend you look up to who does something similar to what you want to do.
But what if your dreams are to be self made and self paid (meaning other people pay you for your services, you represent yourself excluding any publicity agent or anyone who helps you, etc.)? What if you want to be the best? What if there's that role or goal you think is totally unattainable? Well... you kiiiinda need to work for what you want...
Everyone dreams of doing big things, but very few actually act upon it and live in fear or in a safety net instead while thinking that failure is the end of the flipping world... If you think that, you're absolutely wrong.
I'm sure everyone has heard the stories of xyz athlete who was homeless, worked his or her butt off, and was accepted into the major league... or the actor who got turned down from hundreds of roles and kept trying until someone said yes. Well, they're all true. I didn't land my job on the first... or second... or tenth interview. It took me TWENTY ONE to get to where I am today. It's all about resilience and persistence. Resilience means to never give up and fight through adversity every day. Persistence is to keep going even when you feel like you're falling!
I never go the traditional route... ever. My favorite sport in high school was karate and fencing, as a young adult, I basically do LARP-ing aka a boffer combat sport called belegarth (and have plenty of blogs on why I love it so much and plan on writing more), and I don't dress, act, speak, or carry myself how your typical person would. I wear bright pink to my job quite frequently, my suit I interviewed in for my job was a brown skirt suit with leopard print on the skirt, I like crazy eyemakeup, I dye my hair red with blonde highlights and dark on the bottom, have my own redonculous lingo (as shown), and the list could go on. No matter where I am, I will always be 100% authentic... even in a place where society tells you that you can't! Never let people's negative criticisms bring you down or change you. Just be yourself... being yourself will make you the happiest, trust me! I'm different, but so what! I'm just me and that's how I'll always be!
I have the entrepreneur's blood in me because my parents owned their own business before I was born, my friend who I grew up with and his older brother owned their own business, and my belegarth friend who helped turn my life around who I all around look up to also owns his own business after his strong distaste for working in corporate America. Who knew that being a nerd can lead you to the person to make you happier, healthier, and finally lose weight after 3 prior serious and failed attempts?
You can dream all you want, but you actually have to plan, plan some more, plan even more, and then act upon it. You can read all the articles you want, write and tell several people how you "want" to do something, but actions will always speak louder than words.
The signs may be pointing to you that you want to and need to do big things when you see other people you know directly or through the grapevine living their dream, gaining tons of followers and hits on their website, gaining many more clients, and much more!
You know... all of those inspirational quotes and articles you read... while you keep dreaming on what you want to do. You can only read dream so much and read so much until you're blue in the face, but none of that is satisfying until you actually step out of your comfort zone and act upon your thoughts and aspirations. You can list ideas all you want, but they're only ideas until they become actions. Actions, actions, actions... that is key! I'm writing this because I'm on a quest to have big things happen to me... I own several blogs, am constructing a portfolio website, I've lost 35 pounds, I'm 2 years or less from finally getting a black belt, I've gone to open mics to put myself out there, have auctioned for several game shows in hopes of getting on one, and much more!
Sometimes, when you're getting down on yourself, it may not be your time "right now", but the more you keep trying, the more chances you have of something happening. Never giving up is key! If your goals and dreams extend past Pluto, you have to work for it. Actions speak louder than words, dear friends. If you have an idea, go start now! Right now! Stop reading articles and stories of other people succeeding while you wish to be them and start acting! You'll thank yourself later when you stop letting fear control you and decide to try something uncomfortable despite the possibility of failure.
Failure is ok. Failure is a part of life, and just means you learn a lesson after. Stop reading this and fearing and start doing! That's how you follow your dreams! Listen to that Yoda quote play on autopilot broken record mode in your head basically telling you that trying doesn't exist unless you're doing. Go freely frolic into life... go... right now! What are you waiting for! Life is right there! Go and get it!
