Courtesy of Dreamstime
There’s nothing like a birthday, another milestone, to get you feeling depressed, anxious or excited about the future. You start thinking about all the things you have and haven’t accomplished in your life. You begin to see your final days on earth fast approaching.
And you’re wondering whether there’s any room left in the world for another dream-seeker, risk-taker, and career pioneer like yourself. I’m here to say that YES there is still room for YOU! And for ME!
STOP taking a back seat in life. STOP wondering whether you’re good enough to do what you really want to do. STOP the pity-party. STOP peddling your feet.
The world’s not going to wait for you to step into your greatness. You have to take ownership of it and start stepping out on faith!
Today’s my birthday! Happy birthday to me!
I began this morning with a bit of reflection as I rushed downstairs to prepare a bottle for my daughter.
It was short-lived when I decided to catch a bit more shut-eye before I really began my day. (I stayed awake until about 2 a.m. last night — as I usually do cause it’s the quietest time of the day– brainstorming about some of my newest goals.)
I confess: I have a bad habit of not using opportunities, such as birthdays and other milestones, to sit down to reflect and really make some decisions on how I want to live the rest of my life. Life is way to short to live vicariously –on a whim. As the saying goes: “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
So today, I’ve decided that I will carve out some time to plan for the next year or so, and develop a clear-cut vision statement for the next couple of years before I hit the big 3-0. (Yes, reaching another decade is big! But not necessarily in a bad way. So all of you 30 and older folks, don’t get it twisted. I’m trying to get to where you are!)
Here’s what I’ve mapped out so far:
- Continue to serve and meet the needs of others with words in print and on the computer screen.
- Write and publish my first nonfiction book.
- Start earning some (more) serious cash as a result of my published works.
- Garnish public speaking and media appearances as a result of my book, and platform.
I’m already on the right track with Number 1 and to completing numbers 2 and 3; with number 4 trailing not too far behind.
Within a couple of weeks from now, I will be releasing my first nonfiction book to the public.
As part of the book release, I’ll launch a spanking new website to promote the book along with my new platform.
(Keep in mind that I’m doing all of this on a shoe-string budget. So don’t hate if it’s not to up to your standards. . . It’ll look fresh. But the most important thing is that the content will be nothing short of high quality and meaningful, practical advice for the target audience.)
I’ll keep you posted on the progress and the step-by-steps to getting my book published. If you’d like to stay abreast before anyone else gets the goods, hit me up at info@thecareerpioneer.com. (At that address, you’ll reach me directly. But don’t spam me or you will get reported.)
If you do decide to email me, there’s no need to include a message unless you want to tell me a little about yourself and offer any free advice or encouragement as I embark on this self-publishing journey. Just make sure you write the words ‘New Book’ in the subject line of the email.
Keep the Discussion Going
Let’s do this. Let’s pretend that today is also your birthday. (I’ll let you borrow mine, but only for today.)
What would you like to accomplish this year?
Birthdays. Smurfdays. Don’t wait until it’s your birthday to consider what you’d like to get done for the remaining days left this year. Think about what you’d like to accomplish each day. Envision your future as you’d ideally like it to pan out. And carve out some concrete plans for yourself. Lastly, get cracking today!
I’m not trying to be morbid, but remember: tomorrow is not promised…
