I've learned that sometimes you need to retreat in order to move forward. I am not suggesting you should go backwards, or give-up, but that you hunker down (preferably alone) for whatever time and place feels right to you. This will provide you the space to check in with yourself and listen deeply to the answers that come up to basic questions like, "Who am I?" and "What do I really want to get out of life?" and "How can I best use my gifts to serve the world?"
As you work through your process of self-discovery, first identify your natural talents and skills. Then, figure out a product or service that you love and how you would like to deliver it. Put them together and you've got a career or business-venture. Okay, there is a little bit more to it than that, but you get the gist.
One of my favorite bloggers, Chris Guillebeau, suggests that you conduct an interview with yourself and open the conversation like this: "Dear Self, you are xx years old. What do you have to show for it? Are you living your dream?" He provides great follow-up questions, as well. Chris is a young guy with a very old soul. He recently published a book, The Art of Non-Conformity, which I highly recommend.
You may find yourself on a radically different journey than you were before. Or, it may be that you just require a few course corrections to get unstuck and happily on your way.
For example, I discovered that I love coaching creative multipreneurs, using my design education and tech skills to build websites, and sharing my internet marketing knowledge. However, my delivery process, which was too open-ended, was not working for me nor did it serve my clients well.
What I prefer is to work fast and bring in big results for clients who are ready to soar. So, I've changed my process to offering only coaching programs with a beginning, middle and end. Even one that combines all three of my loves. Nothing radical was needed, just a few course corrections.
I've heard it said that the best life is "living to work, not working to live." I would also offer that most happy, successful people I know have designed lives where work and play are so intertwined that it's hard to tell where one leaves off and the other begins. What bliss!
