Sometimes the book of our life doesn’t exactly go how you think it will, you find yourself caught up in the flow and going where you think the plot should go rather where you really want it to.
This episode is a little reminder that we all have our own story, and until it reaches it’s finale there is always time for a new story arc or plot twist to shake up the narrative and ensure you have the career and life you were meant to have !
So get comfy, grab a hot drink and let’s talk about your story!
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I adore reading! Some of my earliest memories are of me curled up in a corner, lost in the exciting and absorbing world of a book. Every birthday and Christmas I would be given a bounty of books and I could not wait to start diving into the new stories of adventure, mystery or drama.
I love that when you read a book you’re taken away to another world, and that world can look like whatever you want it to be. Yes, the author guides you with their words but what you imagine a fictional world to look like will be quite different to how another person sees it. You can decide exactly how a character will look, what they wear, how they speak and the world they walk through is yours to dictate.
My love for reading has stood the test of time, and although I confess I don't read as much fiction as much as I used to, I do read a lot of non-fiction to help motivate, inspire, guide and educate me. In a future episode I’ll share with you some of the books that have had the most impact on me and helped me in my career change journey. It might be a long episode as I have many to share!
Having read the works of others for so many years, it's always been an ambition of mine to write and publish a book. In fact, I’m going to let you into a secret...I’m writing a book! Now, before you either think ‘ooh great when can I get it’,or ‘oh no she’s going to try and sell me something’, let me tell you that I’ve been writing it for 10 years now and it's still only half finished!
I’ve only been able to dip in and out of it when I was working in the corporate world full time and starting my business on the side, and then my time has been spent building my business. There are only so many hours in the day right! But now I’m determined to carve out some time each week to get back working on it, it’s my new side hustle! I feel like my characters are patiently waiting for me to tell them what to do next!
What has that got to do with you and how can you bring your passion to a new career path?
Well, I want to remind you that you are the author and the hero in your own life story. Just like I can choose to have my characters do anything or go anywhere, you also have that choice in your life. You are writing your own story as you go and you can decide on the characters in your life, the path you take and how you will react to circumstances that you come up against. Although some people will try and co-write or sometimes even become your ghostwriter and write your life for you, you have the power and the choice to go your own way. You just have to believe in yourself and your story.
When writing a book there are 5 core elements to consider: the characters, the setting, the plot, the conflict, and the resolution. Let’s have a look at them in relation to your life story...
Characters - they include the hero (that’s you!) and other key people in the heroes’ life.
As the author, you can choose who you want to have in your life story and those you don’t.
Setting - Is the location of the action. This will change as your life progresses. You can choose to have the whole story to be in one place or you can choose to change to somewhere new one or more times! What would your ideal setting be for your life? Are you there already. Do you have dreams of somewhere for the future? Why not be there now?
Plot - The plot is the actual story around which your life is based. It has a clear beginning, middle, and end. What you do in the middle will affect the end. Will your plotline stay the same or will you create a new story arc?
Conflict - Every story has a conflict or challenge to solve. What is your challenge? What do you need to solve or overcome to achieve the career and life you want? Maybe it’s fear of failure, fear of losing your security or perhaps more practical issues such as lack of time or not knowing what you want next. Whatever it is, you need to identify it so you can overcome it and reach the climax of your story when the big changes are made and actions taken.
Resolution - The solution to the challenge brings the story to a close. What is your solution?
Be under no illusions, if you don’t write a change into your next chapter no one else will do it for you. In the immortal words of Stevie Nicks, ‘ No one can change your life except for you’.
The bottom line is….If you want to have the ending you dream of in the book of your life, you’ll have to make some edits and maybe even re-write some chapters, before overcoming your challenge to reach your dream finale.
So will your hero have a riotous adventure or will they play it safe? Will they conquer the challenge, walk away from it, or hide from it never to reach resolution? When you get to the end of your book, you can’t go back, so it’s time now for you to write the story of your life that does justice for you and your loved ones. So make it a blockbuster!
Join me in the next episode and remember, everyone deserves to live their passion, so get started this is your time!
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Join me in the next episode and remember, everyone deserves to live their passion, so get started this is your time!
