I went to Los Angeles for the Harry Potter Bachelorette Party of my friend, Stephanie. We went to the “Wizarding World of Harry Potter” at Universal Studios in Hollywood and re-watched several of the movies.
We had a blast!
I am a total Harry Potter fan.
I’m fascinated by this story.
In front of Hogwarts.
Happiness and silliness in front of the Hogwarts Express.
At Hogsmeade. Yes, I ate lots of candies and drank butterbeer!
As I was chatting with a friend about how JK Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, is such a great example of someone who followed her calling despite financial hardship, my friend asked:
What if JK Rowlingdid not follow her calling to write Harry Potter?
…What if she resisted writing it and let her fears take over?
…What would the world be like?
Imagine a world without Harry Potter… or without your favorite hero/heroine or bookif you are not into Harry Potter.
Think about the books or stories that truly made a difference in your life and imagine your life without these books or movies.
How would that be like?
Really ponder that for a moment.
a world without the inspiration that changed your life for the better.
a world without the stories and characters you cherish.
It sounds pretty sad, doesn’t it?
Well, this is what is going to happen if you don’t go for your own career dreams.
Yep. Exactly.
Have you ever thought about that?
Have you ever thought about what the world and people around you are missing out when you hold back on your dreams and callings?
Really ponder that for a minute.
This is not just about you.
This is about the world and the difference you are here to make.
The world is missing out when you hold back on your dreams.
JK Rowling, through Harry Potter, touched millions of lives worldwide.
The idea of Harry Potter came to her while sitting on a delayed train from Manchester to London. She had this surge of inspiration and she conceived the story in her mind for the next four hours.
She was so compelled by the story that she wrote the first book despite being single mother on welfare and all the internal and external voices telling her she would never make money writing children books and she should find a more “practical” job.
She had no idea the book would become such a success. She wrote it because she was called to do it and she followed her calling.
Imagine.. if she did not follow her inspiration?
and gave away to fears, or so-called “practicality.”
Imagine a world without her talents being expressed?
How sad that would be.
How the world would be missing out.
So, here are my questions for you,
Are you holding back from going after your dreams and callings?
Are you letting the fears stop you?
What is the world missing out from you holding back?
Be honest with yourself.
I’m doing this work because I did not let the fears stopped me or hold me back.
I had fears, LOTS of them, and I still do at times.
But I did not let them stop me.
What would you do if you did not let the fears stop you?
What would the world benefit from your presence and gifts?
If you (or people you know) are truly committed to finding the answers to these questions, I have a few slots available right now in my coaching practice for a few selected people serious about investing in themselves, and who are a do-what-it-takes kind of people.
I am selective about the people I work with. I only work with people who have a do-what-it-takes mindset. If this is you:
Her dream came true: she is featured in a leading newspaper.
Wow!
My client, Corinne, who graduated from my Roadmap to A Career You Love programis featured in the Boston Globe. Her vision of starting her own business and being featured in a newspaper came true.
I am SO PROUD of her.
and I know that if she did it, so can you.
I just received this email from her:
Isabelle,
I hope you are doing well. I love seeing your name pop into my inbox when you I receive your newsletter.
I wanted to let you know that I have found deep joy in building a business over the last six months. See the link below – I was just featured in the Boston Globe!
I know that all of our hours and hours of work together got me to this point today. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I hope you are doing well!!
My fondest regards,
Corinne
Like most of my clients, Corinne came to me with lots of doubts and confusion about the direction of her career and what she wanted to do.
Through our work together, I helped her gain clarity and confidence about her dream career.
As I helped her visualize what her dream career would look like, she saw herself starting her own business and being featured in a newspaper or magazine.
Well, here it is! Her vision is now a reality.
She made the jump and her dream is coming true.
This is only the beginning for her. She has an even BIGGER vision that I helped her clarify. And I know she will do it. She is on her way, one milestone at a time.
She was very confused, had her doubts, but she persisted, she did the work. and it paid off.
If she did it, so can you.
I know it and I’m here to help. I regularly receive emails from past clients sharing about their successes.
And please, do me a favor. Don’t give up, even when the time gets rough. Because it will. It is part of the journey.
Corinne has her lows on her journey and she did not give up!
To your dreams coming true,
Isabelle
P.S. What will it take for you to be a success story? — and if you are already a success story or on your way to one, please share with me. I want to hear and cheer you on!
Do you sometimes think that the thing you love doing is weird? or not cool?
or do you discount it, and think you don’t actually have anything you love or any passion? When people ask you what you enjoy doing, you cannot find an answer.
Well, I did. I used to think what I love was weird and “not cool.” … and this stopped me for a long time from doing the work I love.Since my early twenties, I have been drawn to personal growth. In bookstores (when bookstores where still popular!), I would spend hours in the Personal Help and Psychology section. I would totally dig learning more about me and how I could be more fulfilled in my life.When I went to my first therapy session at age 20, I totally loved it and I loved how I felt after! I discovered how cool it was for me to dig deeper within myself, to travel within, and learn more about how I function, how others function, and how we can grow.
Yet, I did not think it was a passion, or a least a legitimate one. When people would ask me what I love, I would not think about mentioning it. I thought it was a weird thing to love and I discounted it.
At the time, I could not find anybody who had this passion or who did work related to that passion.
In my family, it was non existent.
In my close communities, I would never heard of it.
In the medias, I rarely heard about it.
At school, it was not mentioned at all.
So I thought it was odd or weird to love it… and that I should love something else, more “normal.”
Like the “traditional” careers I would hear of and see around me: teacher, doctor, farmer, librarian, nurse, and so on.
I thought I had to choose one of them. There was no other choices.
So, I conformed.
I did the “cool” thing or what society says it is “cool.” Or I did what was available and known to me.
First, I chose archeology, more because people thought it was “cool” than because I had a true passion for it.
Then, I went into information science and user experience. I worked in the field of user experience for 10 years. There was definitely a part of it that I enjoyed, yet that was not my full passion.
When I would share what I do, I would hear “wow, this is so cool.”But inside, I was doubting if it was really that cool for me…It is only in my mid thirties, when I reached a point I was very unhappy in my work, that I started seriously considering my love for personal development as a potential career path. Growing up, I did not fit into the “traditional career” category because what I loved was different. There was not category for it at least I could not see any. My love for personal development was not valued in my immediate environment and in the mainstream culture.
Can you relate?
Do you discount what you truly love?
Do you think what you love is not cool?
Do you conform to what others or society think is cool?
Do you think that what you love cannot be part of your career?
Or do you think you cannot make a living out of it because you don’t know anybody around you doing that?
It is a common block I see with the clients I work with.Well, I am a proof that this is not true. My passion for self-discovery and personal growth is an integral part of my livelihood now. A lot of my friends and acquaintances are people who do the same.Last Friday, I was at the book launch of my friend, Brandon who like me, coaches people to align their lives and careers with their purpose. I was surrounded with so many people like me, who love personal and professional development and work in that field. My tribe! Where I belong.
I don’t feel weird anymore.
So, I know these old beliefs I had were not true. The more I feed my passion for personal growth, the better coach I am. All the classes and books I read helps me in my work. There is no more separation between my passion for personal growth and my work. Both are integrated!
Wow! Imagine…. what that would be like if some of your passions and your work were integrated?
What is a passion you are discounting that is right in front of your eyes? … that is so obvious you cannot see it.
or you discount it because you force yourself to fit the traditional career trajectories you see around you or what you hear is “cool.”
Have you even thought they could become an integral part of your work?Don’t let your environment influence you!
It is not because you cannot see it around you, that it does not exist or it is not possible.Whatever it is, I’d love to hear! Please feel free to comment on this post!I have your back.
Isabelle
P.S. Don’t ask what is “sexy” for others, ask what is “sexy” for you. and go and do that!
“Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” — Howard Thurman
Do you know what saddens me the most in the work I do?
It is when I see people give up on themselves.
…give up on their talents
…give up on their dreams
…give up on their potential
…give up on the work they love.
I see their brilliance; I see them light up when they talk about what they love. I get so excited for what I see in them, the beauty I see, the amazing potential they have, the vision that is possible for them. I see amazing possibilities for them. I see who they are and who they can become. I see the fulfillment that awaits them if they tap into their true potential. I know it is possible for them if they would just reach for it…
They do work that is NOT who they are. They do somebody else’s work. They use someone else’s gifts instead of tapping into their unique talents and potential. Day in and day out, they work hard at being someone else and living someone else’s purpose.
They spend their whole life living someone else’s life and work. Often what society told them they should do.
And when it comes time to choose…
They choose the short-term comfort over their long-term fulfillment.
They abandon who they are. They abandon their brilliance, their potential, their dreams. They are wasting so much of their amazing resources.
Why do they do that?
They may give a lot of excuses (not enough money, not enough time, etc) but often this is not the true reason.
The true reason is: FEAR
They are scared: scared of change, scared of the unknown, scared of not being good enough. And they let the fear makes the decision for them and be in the driver seat of their lives.
Change is scary.
But this is the only way to a life and work of fulfillment. A life fully lived with no regrets.
What are you choosing?
Are you choosing fear? and to live an unfulfilled, half-lived life, stay in the comfort of not making any change, and have regrets at the end of your life?
OR
Are you choosing to discover and embrace the amazing potential and talents you have, and go after your dreams, live your purpose, find work that is meaningful?
The choice is yours. No one else.
This is not society’s choice, your parents’, your friends’, your spouse’s, nobody else but your choice, and you do have a choice. You may think you don’t, but you choose every day even by the decisions you don’t make.
You are the captain of your destiny. Nobody else can make this choice for you.
What will you choose?
If you choose a career of meaning and fulfillment and need support clarifying what it is, I would be delighted to help you.
My program Roadmap To A Career You Love is still open for a few more amazing people, and I’d love to see if we are a match.
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