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Archived Essays:
#1 Beware
of Train Tracks
A funny thing
happened on the way to publishing a book. This process has
rocked my world. I’m grateful for the unexpected routes toward
spiritual and professional growth. There are key moments where I
have to stop and catch myself from being swept up in that train
ride of what you’re supposed to do (to be a successful
author, play a bigger game, et al). You know those kinds of
train tracks, don’t you?
A
conversation with a potential publicist added another curve. She
was very nice. And her “bare minimum of what any author should
commit to in money and effort” was four times what I had been
estimating (with other consultants’ blessings). After I got up
off the floor, the real opportunity here was another dive into
my deepest spiritual center. A long walk. A cup of tea at a
café- away from email and the phones. A piece of paper with the
words, “What do you really want?” and then “What are you truly
called to?”
It’s a
fascinating paradox. Things that upset me (at first) lead to
breakthroughs in knowing who I am and what I’m meant to be doing
with my life energy. The practice of seeking growth rather than
just building frustration is a choice we get to cultivate over
time. You let yourself have the initial “Oh Sh-t!” and then you
get curious about “Oh. Shift?” Something that appears to throw
you off course leads to feeling more truly on course.
Rock Your World
Think about
it. If everything works out according to our plans, we don’t get
to grow.
Dear clients
and friends—I wish for you a wonderful, peaceful, fulfilling
life. And, I invite you to allow something in that would rock
your world some. Or at least contemplate what that might be and
see what that brings up for you. What if you lost your job, won
the lottery, got offered some amazing opportunity, learned you
had three months to live? Imagine some wake up call.
Take yourself
away from your daily routine. Ask yourself “What do I really
want?” in a way you have not asked for a long while. Stare out
the window and let that roll around.
Challenge
some of your answers with “Why?” or “What’s so important about
that?... What matters more?” Try on “Who am I meant to be?” and
“So then, what is mine to do?”
Notice the
temptations of train tracks in your work and life. Develop ways
to reclaim your grounded, charting-your-own-course self and
higher guidance. Don’t just read this. Do it. You deserve that
much self-love and self-respect. You will sleep better and, yes,
wake up inspired.
I would love
to hear your comments and I really want to hear about how you
took yourself out for a time out to be with these questions.
With love and
admiration,
Marian
Selected as one of 50 top coaches in America, master certified
coach, author and speaker Marian Baker has coached and led
workshops with hundreds of clients from business and personal
growth communities since 1996. She loves this work, admires her
clients and falls asleep grateful. Excerpts of the new book,
Wake Up Inspired andother free resources are now available
at
www.MarianBaker.com.
Copyright 2006 Marian Baker.
Reprintable only when whole content copied and full credit
included. Thank you.
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