“I am both scared and excited.” This is what I told him.
I just hired a new mentor to support me in the expansion of my thought leadership and the message I am here to share in the world.
And it’s a big investment… bigger than what I’ve done in the past.
But it feels right.
I am in the phase of expanding my business and my visibility to the next level so that I can touch more lives. I know I am being called to help more people worldwide. The people I am here to serve are waiting to hear my message.
I also know I need support to do that. I cannot do it alone.
I am both excited and scared. I am stepping outside my comfort zone and into the unknown… …and I am moving forward despite the fear.
Because I know that if I don’t, I will regret it.
This is what happens when you want to make a big change in your career or your life.
You cannot do it without fear. Fear is going to be there every single time.
I guarantee it. I’ve done it so many times. There is always fear.
What matters is your ability to feel it and do it anyway, and not back out, not surrender to the fear.
This is key. This is an essential skill to move towards the life and work you love.
You are going to have fears. If you expect not, you’ll stay stuck forever where you are.
Even more so when you stretch outside your comfort zone, whether it’s changing careers. hiring a coach or mentor to support you, or investing in your growth and development.
I’ve done it many times in the past 10 years. I would not have a successful business and work I love without it.
Many times, I stepped outside my comfort zone… …after I was laid off from Yahoo!, …when I decided to start my business. …when I hired my first business coach. …when I decided to stay in the US despite all the obstacles.
I did it over and over. I’ve invested over and over in coaches and mentors. Because I knew that without that, I would not fulfill my dreams and desires. I would not be where I am today.
Don’t be fooled. If you think my success and me doing the work I love is pure luck. It is not. I’ve had a team of support and have invested in myself…. and to do that, I had to go over my fears every single time.
What about you?
Do you have dreams and desires to fulfill? Are you waiting until you don’t have any fear to act? Are you letting the fear in the driver’s seat of your life? Do you back out on your dreams because of your fears?
Here are two ESSENTIAL ingredients to create the work and life of your dreams:
Feeling your fears, being willing to face them, and to move forwards with them.
Having a team of support to help you in the places where you get stuck and can’t figure it out all alone. As my mentors say: “Getting help is not being weak; it’s being wise.”
I’ve done it over and over. This is why I know the courage it takes for you to do it and the courage it takes my clients when they decide to work with me.
As I was losing my job, I was also losing my Visa to stay in the U.S.
I wanted to stay in California and change careers to pursue my passion.
It was time.
I kept hearing voices telling me otherwise.
An HR person told me that “I had to choose. I could not have both: staying in California and changing careers.”
My heart was screaming at me: “no, I cannot choose. I’m not buying this. I think I can have both and I will.”
People were telling me: “What about you stay in the field of User Experience for now. It will be easier to stay in the US.”
I knew in my heart that this was not my path.
Despite the fears, despite the shoulds, despite the voices—internal and external—telling me otherwise…
…I chose the path of my heart and I forged ahead.
I went back to school to study coaching and psychology.
Two years later, I started my business to do what I love the most: helping successful professionals and entrepreneurs stuck in a career they no longer love, discover the next career they absolutely love, and the confidence to make it happen.
Eight years later, my business is thriving, I work with clients I love, I’m excited about my work… and I’m doing it from California!
If it was not for the layoff, I would not be where I am now.
Looking back, I see that the layoff was a blessing in disguise to help me on my path.
Are you facing a crisis that is trying to tell you something? Are you listening?
I’m where I am now because I listened and I did not choose the path of fear; I did not let the fears—inside and outside—stop me.
I followed my intuition and it led me to where I am now.
One step at a time. One day at a time. One victory over fear at a time.
This is what I tell my clients every time, to choose the path of intuition over the path of fear.
To do the work you truly love, you need to choose the path of your intuition.
Which path are you choosing?
the path of fear?
or the path of your true desire?
If you are ready to choose the later but are scared and need help clarifying the career you love, I’d love to help.
If you love your work but know people (spouse, friends, relatives, coworkers) who don’t, please share this email with them.
Isabelle
P.S. Erik started where you are now.
“Working with Isabelle has quite literally been life-changing. After a 23-year career in Project/Product Management, I was burnt out and didn’t know what to do next. I wanted to find a new career direction but didn’t have the first clue how to do so. During my first consultation call with Isabelle, she just reached me on a deep personal level I was not expecting.
Over a 4-month period, I completed a group course with Isabelle that allowed me to discover my ‘authentic self’ and truly discover what work I’m passionate about and what values drive me. Long story short, Isabelle’s course helped me see bad behaviors I had been perpetuating for years, and learn to appreciate the things that motivate/drive me. With Isabelle’s guidance and wisdom, I am now on the path to the career of my dreams that I’m excited to have for the next 25 years.
To say Isabelle’s work is life-changing is an understatement!” ~ Erik Z., Oakland, California.
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