When I finally got my act together to finally go after my 32 year old dream of living at sea, it took a lot of soul searching and planning. It wasn’t an overnight thing. It never is. There is a lot of thought, sacrifice and diving deep into your fears, vision and insecurities.
To some what I am doing may seem incredibly inspiring, to some scary, and to some selfish; especially as I have two boys aged 11 and 15 back at home in the UK, especially as I am a mum. Not many people would raise an eyelid if I was a man, but because I am a woman, their own internal dialogue and belief system makes me wrong for leaving my children behind whilst I go off and complete my circumnavigation, writing my books and upleveling my business.
Living your dream takes courage to face up to your fears, to ignore the nay-sayers, to let go of social stereotypes and to own who you really are; and it is not easy, especially when it means being away from your children. In fact, it is far from easy. It is confronting, it is painful and it can leave a void within you that makes you feel as though you have ripped part of your being from deep within you; but to not do it would eventually leave an even bigger void in your life and leave you with the phrase “I wish I had”. I don’t want to be a “wish I had” kind of person; I want to be the kind of woman that said “I did it!” I want to be able to hold my grandchildren on my knees and tell them endless stories of how Grandma had adventures and followed her dream, her purpose and answered her soul calling, instead of just settling for a life that society told her she should live, or a life that was acceptable to others. That’s not me. I am a free spirit, some may say a rule breaker, but like I say to my boys “smart people don’t follow stupid rules”.
Living your dream has so many great benefits; the joy, the freedom, the realisation that so much is possible. You get to step into the dream and then dream the next level, and the next, and the next. BUT…. There is the reality of living the dream. You still have to choose it EVERY DAY. You have to choose to keep making the sacrifices, you still meet people along the way that do your head in, you still have to deal with the system, and those who would rather live in a space of not understanding, or wanting to understand the bigger picture. The people who do not have vision, the people who do not understand a soul calling or a purpose in life. You still have to deal with people who would rather bury their head in the sand and ignore what life is actually truly about. There is no escaping these people, sometimes even when you are in the middle of the ocean. You see the trail of debris they leave behind them, lakes of plastic, the poisoned fish they have contaminated by throwing goodness what into the deep depths of the abyss, and sometimes it can be other members of the crew you are sailing with.
Becoming aware of the things that may impact your dream negatively is essential before you jump, preparation is key after all. Yes, you may not know exactly what you are walking into, but to figure out what the worst will be, the best will be and what the most likely will be is a good grounding before you leap. The unexpected that happens along the way is half the fun, the excitement, the adventure. It is where the personal growth is, it is where the next level vision extends, because the next level begins before you even embark on your current level. Having your next 3 levels visualised helps remove any fear you may have. It helps you navigate your way through the current level because your mind is prepared and releases any fears you may have into upleveling your life this time, next time and the time after that, and then the time after that, until your ultimate life becomes your normal, and you have blown your own mind into thousands of tiny pieces only to scoop them back up again and put them back together into a masterpiece Leonardo di Vinci would be proud of (or Salvador Dali… which ever works for you!).
So be prepared when you step into living your dream it is the ultimate ride of your life, and one that will never be forgotten; a ride, a legacy that will be remembered by your family nad friends for decades to come… and if you are like me, an author, it will make sure a positive impact on people that read your books, follow your blog and will be a legacy long after you have passed from this life into another.
So go live your dreams, embrace your own power, unleash the courage within and say a big up yours to anyone who tries to stop you being a full self-expressed version of yourself. This is your life, go live it! You owe it to yourself and the universe.
To purchase my books, visit Amazon.com https://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Bates/e/B01N6YEC2K/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
If you would like me to coach you, then message me via ww.dawnbates.com/coaching