WHAT WOULD YOU RATHER DO…?

“It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for – and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing. It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool – for love – for your dreams – for the adventure of being alive.” - Oriah Mountain Dreamer

A HEARTFELT POST FROM ME TO YOU:

Upon some contemplation and reflection recently, I have come to the conclusion that I need to clarify a few things.

I was recently having a chat with a dear friend of mine and she mentioned how when I continuously post photos on Facebook of me at the beach, working from a café on my laptop or indulging in a mid-week long lunch down by the sea shore, that it causes her a bit of ‘angst’ and frustration.

I know she’s not the only one who feels like this.

I asked what it was that bothered her about these posts of beautiful beaches, sunshine filled photos or me simply enjoying myself, when I know personally, I love seeing other people’s picturesque photos or seeing them enjoy their days.

‘Because I’m stuck inside an office all day. I don’t get to work in and enjoy the sunshine or the beach like you do.’ She said.

Therein lies the KEY, the crux of the matter.

This is partly WHY I put such posts and photos online.

The photos I post on facebook are of a genuine desire to share my positive and fun experiences with friends and family, certainly not to rub anything in anyone’s face or to make someone feel bad about their work situation/life/circumstances, but rather to encourage, motivate and inspire people:

+ To look beyond the partition of a cubicle or the four-walls in an office

+ To contemplate and consider if they are truly happy with how they are spending their days, weeks, months and YEARS

+ To offer an insight into what is possible when we move beyond our self-limiting beliefs and fears

+ To see that I was once stuck in an unfulfilling and soul destroying corporate job, but now I am creating and living life based on my terms

Am I sailing the Whitsundays every week and earning millions of dollars currently? No (at least not yet), but I am living life how I want to live it, not according to how society expects me to ‘live’ it or spend it, not how others think I ‘should’ live it, but how I desire to live it.

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When I worked full-time in the corporate world, working for someone else, I made very good money, especially for my age at the time in various roles, however, I felt Miserable. Unfulfilled. Stuck. Joyless. Waking up each and every morning doing almost the exact same thing Monday-to-Friday with bite sized pieces of fun or joy if I was lucky, was not how I imagined my future.

Sure, I got to buy nice things and live a pretty comfortable lifestyle, but I look back now and think ‘was it worth it?’

I don’t regret the time I spent working full-time in the corporate world for I learnt many lessons, met some wonderful people, and also some not-so-nice-people, but they too have taught me a pocketful of life lessons, however, I know that the time I spent in various ‘9-5′ jobs could have been put to far, far better use and used to work on and build my own dreams, not somebody else’s.

I didn’t feel as though as I was really achieving anything, being productive, working towards beautiful goals, and most importantly, being the creator of my own destiny.

The goal was never to be so rich that I could jump up and down on oversized beds with all my bundles of money or drive around in fancy cars (although I’ll admit the thought of driving through the Amalfi coast in a gun-metal coloured Astin Martin makes me giddy with delight); the goal is to FEEL wealthy and healthy in all areas of my life. To be FREE to go to the beach on a weekday if I want to instead of fantasizing about what elaborate lie I could come up with to get a day off from my corporate job (true story).

The goal is to have FREEDOM OF CHOICE to spend my days how I see fit. I love to read and write and I enjoy the luxury of being able to do that down by the seashore on a Sunny Monday if I please.

The goal is to HELP others create and live the life that they deserve and want to live. You can start right now, here.

Allow me to ask you this: if we aren’t actively working towards a goal (or enjoying the payoff of achieving one), working on creating our desired reality or putting into practice the very life that we want for ourselves, then what is the point?

As time goes on, I’ve come to learn a thing or three.

:: No-one is going to create your dream life for you.

You have to be willing to create that life and go after it yourself, for YOURSELF, consistently, unwaveringly, bravely.

:: People are always going to be quick to judge, comment or express opinions on things they are not yet brave or bold enough to do themselves.

I think they call it ‘tall-poppy syndrome’.

:: Time truly waits for no-one.

It’s hard when you watch time disappear day after day, week after week, year after year and wonder what you gained (or lost) in that time. But what’s even harder is knowing that all along the power lied within your hands to do something different, to choose differently, to go down a different path and use the time you have on this earth in the best possible way.

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A game my sisters and I used to play when we were growing up was called, “Would you rather…?” where we would sit around the dining table and proceed to ask each other trivial and fictitious questions like, ‘Would you rather be bitten by a spider or have to eat one of its legs?’ or ‘Would you rather camp in the woods alone for the night or run around the block naked?’
Note: I didn’t say it was the most mature, educational or intellectual games.

So, in light of keeping up with traditions, I’d like to invite you to play a game of ‘Would you rather…?’ right now, just you and me, only this time, I vow to offer more compelling and profound questions than those a ten, fifteen and sixteen year old could collectively come up with.

+ Would you rather: Wake up ten, twenty or thirty years from now knowing you could have done so much more now OR wake up ten, twenty or thirty years from now and realise all your dreams have come true?

+ Would you rather: Live your life doing what you’re ‘supposed’ to and ‘expected’ to do, OR live your life according to your true heart’s desires and passions?

+ Would you rather: Listen to other peoples opinions, judgments and fear-based comments about your life and how to live it, OR listen to the only truth there will ever be: that which your heart and Higher Self speaks?

+ Would you rather: Wish, dream, fantasize, OR plan, execute and truly enjoy?

+ Would you rather: Live the rest of your one wild and precious life doing what the majority of people have been taught to or bullied into doing, OR, challenge the status quo and start exploring and creating the life you truly desire and deserve?

I know change can be daunting or scary at times, in fact I wrote about that recently over here, but I also know that what is on the other side of those big, brave and beautiful choices, may very well be what you’ve been waiting for.

Imagine what could be possible in your life if you started making decisions knowing you couldn’t fail. Imagine how that would feel and what that would look like.