What to Do When Life is Not As Advertised!

Did you fall hook, line and sinker, like I did, for the Hollywood version of the way life should turn out only to discover that your life is not actually as advertised? The disappointment and even betrayal that we feel when we see others living the dream in contrast to the way we are currently living can cause us all sorts of inner turmoil.

Self-doubts creep in. What did I do wrong? Maybe I’m not worthy enough. Am I being punished for something I did when I was younger? Is it ever going to be my turn?

Whenever life dealt a blow, or whenever I stumbled and fell, I was always afraid that I lacked the courage to overcome whatever obstacles were in my way. Many years ago, I can remember being insanely afraid to sell my training services to prospective clients. At the time, I was involved in a mastermind with three other women.

Each week I begged and pleaded with the universe to help me overcome my fear. At the same time, I asked my mastermind buddies to please envision success for me. This plea carried on for about six months, but I had no evidence that I was any closer to removing my fear.

A short time later we moved back to my birth city because my husband had accepted a new job. I only had one contact there, so it meant starting my business over. Surprisingly, as I began making phone calls to find new leads, I noticed that my fear of talking to all those strangers had disappeared. I was stunned! Where did all that fear go? It was a miracle!

Well, yes, it was a miracle and a huge relief, but really; I, with the help of my mastermind buddies had seeded the ground for that success which eventually bore the inevitable fruit. You do reap what you sew! What I have learned over many years is that we do, indeed, have the power to shape our lives based on those seemingly far-flung dreams.

Will there still be struggle? Of course. Will we still face pain, heartache, and hardships? Very likely. Reality, unlike most advertisements, offers us the full spectrum of experiences through which we learn.

Today I stumbled across the following piece of wisdom. I’m not sure who wrote it, but I suspect it comes from TUT (The Universe Talking).

“The trick with courage, Sue, is realizing that it isn’t so much about overcoming fear, as it is about not settling for less. And then, it comes as effortlessly as a midsummer’s night breeze.

Or put another way, Sue, it’s about wanting something so greatly that no perceived risk can keep you from thinking about it, and moving towards it.”

How often do we settle for less, then reap even less than that?

These days I find myself at another crossroad as I envision myself reinventing my business and expanding into newer and bigger markets. I’m getting ready to play big, not small.

As this all unfolds, I have been fearful of not being able to fund myself until the new venture takes off. Despite that fear, I shouted my commitment to this larger rich adventure, fully believing that I deserved to be financially supported in this rebuilding phase.

As is quite typical, I had some doubts and trepidation as time went by and nothing happened, but just last week some freelance opportunities came my way to re-fill my coffers – they came supposedly “out of the blue”.

That very thing has happened way too often to believe it’s random. I’m also pretty sure that if my life is not currently as advertised, I do have the power to change that.