It’s only by saying ‘no’ that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.
Steve Jobs
I come from a family of hard workers and entrepreneurs. My mom had her own medical practice, and all three of my siblings AND their spouses have their own businesses. My brother even invented something (show off!). I’ve always wanted to have my own business, but I never did the work. Maybe I thought I would get the talent and will power through osmosis, I certainly didn’t think I possessed it myself.
Truthfully, some people would call me a workaholic, but that was just a disguise for my inability to say “no” and if I wasn’t at work I would’ve been in bed. I was always doing what came easily to me and never challenged myself. It seemed to me that all the good things that had come to me in my professional life, had fallen in my lap. Maybe I’m not giving myself enough credit. I was a restaurant manager by age 22, and a General Manager when I was 23. But again, when you don’t say “no” to anything, you become a pretty desirable employee, but not a great human being.
I was pretty good a being a restaurant manager. My employees liked me, I am excellent at customer service, I love teaching people about food and spirits, and I can multi-task with the best of them. But as a restaurant manager my job is to execute someone else’s dream. How depressing! What was my dream?
That’s the real challenge? What was my dream? Forever, I thought my dream had to be my career. What did I want out of my career? Did I want to open my own restaurant? Not really. Did I want to keep running other people’s restaurants? Definitely not. What I just learned is that your “dream,” doesn’t have to do anything with your career. Sure, it can, but it certainly is not required. Your dream is what you want you life to look like as a whole. From how you want to dress to how you want to feel to what kind of stove you want to have and if you want a door knocker or a doorbell.
You never ever learn how important it is define your dream, when really we should be doing this first before making any kind of decisions about your life. Your dream will evolve and change as you learn more about yourself and your desires. I write it all down. Anytime I think of something I want. I write it down in a journal.
Start writing.
To the Limit 