Carpe Diem (Sieze the day) – You Haven’t a Moment to Waste….

So now that you know that there really is no excuse for following your ‘true path’ or ‘dreams’ I am going to examine how you can practically achieve your goals and follow your dream until you can leave your job.

So what is it that stops the average person from moving forward? What stands in the way of your (often solitary) journey in to another world? That is what it is. You must enter a new consciousness if you are going to rise above the monotony of a bog standard job and existence, If you do decide that you want to take that step -and you take ACTION – then you would be in a tiny minority of individuals who dare to be different.

Believe it or not there are very few ‘doers’ amongst us. The doers – have grappled with fear, tackled procrastination – and have left behind their excuses and lazy days. They have risen from the depths of the monotonous pits of daily life. They want more and they are prepared to DO, to get more. In the words of Goethe: To have more- you must first be more. As Jennifer Lopez famously penned: ‘Im still, I’m still Jenny from the Bronx…’ All sniggering aside that’s where the babe is from and she went all the way. (Group hug time – yeah!). There are countless such examples. if one can do it – so can we – with our own desires.

However, I know that making decisions to follow ones’ dreams are not easy and it can be high on nigh impossible to leave your job or daily income – especially if you are the sole breadwinner, with children and direct debits to pay for all the middle class trappings. One cannot possibly drive a car under 2 years old and Bill and Bob simply have to go to the best private school in the South.

So how can you hold on to such security and still work your way to success (however you define it). How can you live your dream safely? Well that does depend on the nature of your dreams. But if you want it bad enough you will find a way.

My top tips to live your dreams…and yes I am ‘trying my bestest’ to do them!

-Make time. Create space in your day. Get your derriere out of bed 2 hours earlier. Or an hour if that sound unbearable. Or failing that work through lunch. Or failing that – add the time on to the end of your day.

-You need a destination and a road map; get VERY clear about what it is you want to be, do or have. Then work out small steps to get you there. I’ve been to Rome and now I can appreciate the saying that- ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day!’ It will take time but you have to start somewhere.

- Avoid negative people and situations as much as you can. You cannot have anyone dampening your positive steps. If you cannot avoid these people, then do not ever, under any circumstances, discuss your dreams and goals. Negativity can make you feel that what you have decided on is hopeless and you’ll give up at the first hurdle. Only discuss your aspirations with those who are on the same journey as you.

-Emails, iPhones, Blackberries: these are probably the most subtle forms of dream blockers there are. Your time is VALUABLE. Do not waste every minute of every day answering emails or responding to non -urgent trash that ends up in your inbox. PLAN the times that you will devote to doing this activity. For example devote 10 minutes of phone and email time- for every hour of solid work.

- TV. My advice? Stick a brick through it. Pour Weetabix in to any open orifice you can see. If it’s on the wall – play darts with it. It won’t help you get anywhere. Use the time that you normally spend watching television, reading up on your area, studying the competition or surfing for more information.

- If you are too exhausted to read or do any research: pop an audio book in to the CD player or listen to your mp3 player. Go to www.nightingaleconant.co.uk I have ordered several audio books from this site. They are inspirational, motivational and just plain brilliant. You can have your own personal mentor or coach in your car, your front and at work! They are expensive, but less than a night out for dinner.

- Failing that then meditate and visualise your goals and aims. Get excited about your future. That excitement will push you to do more and be more.

- Failing all of the above? Why are you still reading this article? Go and be average.

- Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero – This is a latin poem by Horace. In translation this line means: “Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future” The ode is explaining that the future is arcane, and that instead one should scale back one’s hopes to a brief future, and drink one’s wine. Well I could get used the wine thing but I think you can understood what he meant.

- Procrastination is the enemy and the only way to overcome it – is to live by Carpe Diem in everything you do. In order that I don’t procrastinate on the bigger things I seize the day with small ones. For example as soon as I think ‘I can’t be bothered to….clean the floor, clear the sink, wash the bottles (baby), unload the dishwasher’: I do it then and there, I have Carpe Diem stuck on a tatty piece of A4 on the fridge. I may get a plaque.

- And last but by no means least. Life is all about self-discipline. Need I really say more? Those that have done what we want to achieve, have oodles of self discipline in almost every major area of their lives.

- You have got time. Some people work two jobs, have children, but still find time to develop that product, do that research, put their business plans together, hunt for investors, pursue marketing and make phone calls; amongst a myriad of other things.

It is these people that ultimately end up by pools, rubbing shoulders with the Osborne’s

and go shopping in Milan.

Develop a sense of urgency (as all the greats say), become busy, gather momentum, act as if your life depends on it….you haven’t a moment to waste…

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