Three years ago my friend Colin was an accountant in Melbourne Australia with a dream.
Today he’s the Celtic Fiddle Guru at CelticFiddleGuru.com, traveling the US performing and teaching online through his Celtic Fiddle Guru Academy. And with his big heart, he gives 10% of his earning to help the homeless and to teachers in Nepal.
He’s created a life where he is truly living his passion.
How?
Colin knows he wants to create a business and life around his love of Celtic fiddle. Step by step he has persistently been building that life. It’s an ongoing process of discovery and creation.
He says, “Sometimes you’re not sure if you’re ‘on the path’ and can use help from others that assure you that you’re OK.” Don’t we all? I can assure you (and him) that he is and he continues to create.
I recently heard an interview with Rosanne Cash, Johnny Cash’s daughter, who’s become quite a musical star and advocate in her own right. Others have given up, but not Rosanne. The interviewer asked if she’d ever thought of quitting along the way. “No,” she said, “I have an engine that doesn’t stop.” How about you?
What To Do?
Remember the second big retirement question from my first article (“3 Big Retirement Questions“)? Here it is again:
“How do I balance my goals with my commitments?”
The key to finding that balance is to be REALLY CLEAR about what you want for your life and your lifestyle. The clearer you are, the easier it will be for you to find that balance.
And along those lines, as things become clearer, would you ever consider an “answering machine” (remember those?) message like this?
“I’m not available right now, but thanks for caring enough to call. I’m making some changes in my life. Please leave a message after the beep. If I don’t return your call, you’re one of the changes.”
Hmmmm. A little too brash for me, hah!
OK, So How Do I Get REALLY CLEAR?
How do you get clear about what you want for your life and lifestyle?
My suggestion is to follow these 5 steps:
- Lay out all the roles and relationships in your life
- Get clear about WHAT YOU WANT in each of those roles and relationships
- Step back and look at your answers with some perspective, looking for common themes and what’s most important
- Use those insights to write down your own priority list of the things that are most important (it’s important to actually write them down!)
- Start organizing your life around what’s most important to you.
An Advanced Bonus Tip
Here’s another tip: As you look at What You Want, there may be one or two things that really stand out as overwhelmingly important. Things you’d never want to compromise on.
One of my former mentees called these his “non-negotiables.” You ignore these at your own imperilment, because they’re the stuff that is central to what’s most important to you in life.
My mentee had unknowingly done that before we worked together, ignoring his acting passion and neglecting time on the weekends with his wife, who he loves dearly. He had created a successful business and was so miserable, he’d actually abandoned it. When we worked together and he got this new insight, he got back on track and began building something new.
A while later he saw that if he just put aside acting for 6 to 12 months, he could really build his business quickly into something big.
Then he said he heard my voice in his head saying, “You can do that if you want. How’d that work out for you last time?” He wisely respected his “non-negotiables” and balanced them with building his business. Now he’s successfully doing what he loves and is incredibly happy. So is his wife, who loves him dearly.
Isn’t it remarkable to consider the ripple affects you may be causing around you from being frustrated versus happy? Ask yourself, what are your “non-negotiables?”
What’s Next?
Want help getting clear about your retirement focus?
Get really clear about what you want for your retirement and practical steps you can take to start making it happen right now. Use that clarity and a simple action system to guide you as you transition to retirement and begin living your new retirement life.
- Get a new level of clarity about What Matters Most and What You Want, so you can powerfully create your Retirement the way you’ve always imagined™
- Get valuable (and perhaps surprising) insight into What Really Motivates and Satisfies You, plus insight into what additional work, learning, and education you might want to pursue.
- Create your “Bucket List” of the top experiences and achievements you hope to have.
- Determine your prioritized list of Retirement Goals and what you want to make happen this coming year.
- Discover how to Make It Happen!
The longer you delay, the less time you’ll have living the retirement you say you want. Don’t delay until it’s too late.
Go to Retire With Purpose™ and start creating the retirement you’ve always imagined.
I’ll be sharing more about ways I’ve been creating a great life.
And I’ve been developing some programs on ways I’ve done this, so you don’t have to invent them for yourself.
You can contact me at bit.ly/erc_contact_me. I’m happy to talk anytime you like.
Make it happen!
Eric @ ExploringRetirement.club
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