[VLOG 102] Your Journey IS Your Key

I’ve been on a mad journey these past three years and in that time I’ve come to understand something above everything else.

Happiness is uncovering your purpose and being brave enough to build a life around it.

When you wake up worrying what people think of you, when you act out of fear, when you do what you’ve been told or asked to do by others even though it makes you unhappy you’re sacrificing your happiness to fit in; to be accepted.

What might this look like?

Well, it might look like you taking that promotion because it’s expected but you hate the job and really want to run retreats in Bali. It might look like you staying too long in a relationship because you don’t want to be alone or hurt the other person. It might look like you dulling your light because you’re afraid other people can’t handle your truth (you know, laughing at jokes you don’t find funny, holding your tongue in a meeting even though you know there is a better way, letting someone treat you a certain way because you’re afraid of what will happen if you don’t).

When I was 23, I was mad enough (or rather sane enough) to set up my first company but it wasn’t hard, not really. I was young, I had nothing to lose and I had this mad desire to be a millionaire pushing me forward (lol!). Four years later, I’d built two six figure companies, I had a team of 8, offices in Manchester and Newcastle and I’d built a life around it all. Leaving that all behind to write blogs, build an online course and vlog was a damn hard decision – my soul craved it but my ego wouldn’t allow it! I had too much to lose in a material sense. And I’d built my identity around that life. Who was I without it?

Plus how could I explain to my parents and my clients I just wanted to make videos and write about how to change your life for a living?! What would people think when my Linked In profile changed from MD of a Marketing Agency to Transformational Speaker? How would I pay off the loans in my business whilst building a completely new business?

In time I realised these were the wrong questions to be asking and so would always lead to the wrong answer. The right questions looked more like this: what lights me up? How can I turn up fully in the world? Who do I need to become in order to express my highest truth? What will it cost me if I don’t act?!

When I asked these questions I scared myself. I mean, could I really do it? Could I become a speaker? Could I really teach people how to change their lives? Could I get away with vlogging every day just for fun?!

Again, I was mad enough to try and now I know why: it was my purpose pulling me forward: my desire to express myself and my truth. It was my passion for helping other people find happiness that made it all inevitable.

You see, we all have a unique and special purpose and that purpose is to express the highest version of who you are. If you’re an artist – express yourself in paint. If you’re a writer – express yourself in words. If you’re a speaker – express yourself on stage. What makes your purpose unique isn’t how good you are at painting, writing or speaking: it’s the way you’re able to connect with people through that medium to make their lives better just because you’re being yourself and using your gifts.

For example, my purpose is to empower other people to take a punt on themselves and build their dream lives. I have a gift for creating a safe space for people to express their truth, take a punt on themselves and dare to grow. It’s a natural gift and it’s easy for me to do it: it’s who I am.

You have a gift like this too and it will be so easy for you to do it you’ve probably overlooked it. What is it? What is that gift? Do you make people laugh? Do you make people feel safe? Do you help people to speak their truth? Do you challenge people to grow? Are you great with children or the elderly or pets? Are you fab at speaking or cartooning or making videos? The answer to your happiness is down that path.

Oh but someone has already done it? Yes, there are speakers and artists and meditation teachers but there is no-one like you.

I am not the only person who can create a safe space for people to change. But I am the only person with my unique story. My unique approach. My style. When I embrace my story of change, when I embrace my passion for speaking and vlogging, when I share my truth I’m able to connect with more people on that deep soul level – that level of truth, when my spirit sees your spirit – and therefore spark that flame in people that enables them to change their lives. I can’t do that by being fake. I can’t do that by telling you what to do and I never have, have it? I do it by being myself, by sharing my journey and by daring to go first. What I’m sharing with you through DARETOGROW isn’t ideas and strategies I’ve never tried; it’s stories and experiences of what I’ve been through. And guess what? It looks like that’s enough.

So what I’m saying is this: you have the right to be happy but I can understand why you might not feel happy. It’s our natural state to be happy but somewhere along the line we got caught up trying to please other people, trying to fit in, trying to survive. To find happiness, we’ve all must go within to uncover our purpose and then find the courage to build a life around it.

Go on the journey. And on that journey you’ll make new friends, you’ll learn new skills and you’ll discover happiness. Share that journey and you’ll find happiness, you’ll help others to grow and you’ll change the frickin world.

Please, today, say what you want to say. Do what you want to do. Be who you know you can be.

I’ll go first. I’ll lead the way. Every day, this is my purpose.

LET’S CONNECT **

BLOG: https://daretogrow.co.uk/
MAILER: https://daretogrow.co.uk/hoorah
THE ONLINE COURSE: daretogrow.co.uk/theonlinecourse/
YOUTUBE: search “daretogrowtv”
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/daretogrowuk
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/daretogrowuk/