Last summer, after 2 years of working tirelessly to get my business off the ground, I was finally feeling solid and steady.
I had left my marketing agency job to coach full-time, filled up my 1-on-1 practice with awesome clients, and successfully launched 2 rounds of my signature group program for new coaches, Marketing Mastery.
Business was good…but I was restless.
I had been in DC for 7 years and felt a strong desire to travel…not just to go on a vacation…but to live a more nomadic + adventurous lifestyle.
With this clarity, however, came a flurry of anxiety and questions…
Where would I go?
Would I actually be able to do my work in the exotic places my heart longed to visit?
Would it be lonely?
What if traveling ruined the business I had just worked my buns off to build?
I began exploring options and doing research…
- I investigated a 3-week stint in Costa Rica…but the retreat center where I wanted to stay couldn’t guarantee electricity, let alone wifi.
- A friend invited me to work from her boyfriend’s beach house in Spain…but then they broke up and those plans fell through.
- I met a boy who really made my heart go pitter pat and for a swoon-worthy 48 hours considered spending a month in Colorado to explore the possibility there…but then things fizzled out.
- Then one of my best friends had a family tragedy…and really needed me to be in DC.
I temporarily pressed pause on my travel plans, forgetting them for a bit.
But The Universe didn’t forget about my desires (it never does) and was conspiring to bring me the exact right travel experience at the exact right time.
One sunny summer afternoon I was lounging by the pool at my Mom’s house and she mentioned a program she had just read about in the New York Times called Remote Year, where 75 young professionals travel to 12 countries in 12 months while working remotely.
My heart skipped a beat as her words sunk in, and I felt a sense of exhilaration coursing through my body. This was EXACTLY the kind of experience I’d been wanting but I didn’t even know existed.
I immediately began visualizing myself on the trip and saying affirmations, and when registration re-opened, I applied straight away. After a few essays and a Skype interview, I was accepted, and a couple days later I sent in my deposit.
It happened so easily this time…with none of the hiccups that I had experienced last spring.
I share this story because I KNOW how frustrating it is to have a big juicy desire or think you’re ready for your next up-level…but feel like things just aren’t lining up for you.
- Maybe you want to start a coaching business but have no clue how you would find your first paid clients, let alone replace/exceed your current salary.
- Perhaps you want to reach a wider audience….but hear crickets whenever you share content on social media or pitch a guest post to a publication you love.
- Or it’s possible you’re looking for a lifestyle shift like I was…but the “how” of it all feels totally overwhelming.
I want to remind you that despite current appearances, whatever you want is not only possible, it’s on its way to you.
If you keep bumping up against obstacles it doesn’t mean that your desires aren’t in the cards for you. It might just mean that you’re not quiiiiite ready yet and that something even better than you could have imagined is coming to you…in the perfect way at the perfect time.
The best thing you can do is to have faith, take inspired action toward making your desires a reality, and loosen your grip on the exact result/timeframe…allowing The Universe to do her thing (and even take your breath away every now and then ;)).
Desires are like seeds—when we keep watering them, they will eventually grow into beautiful plants…but in the beginning, when a seed is first planted, it can look like nothing is happening.
Whatever you’re currently manifesting, do your best not to get discouraged or give up just because everything is not going perfectly and it doesn’t fall into your lap immediately.
Trust in divine timing, you won’t regret it 😉