Want A Step by Step Guide To Follow Your Bliss?
We carry within us the wonders we seek without us.
- Eric Butterworth
Follow Your Bliss & Find Yourself
Are you looking for a way to follow your bliss? Have you struggled with trying to figure out what your bliss is on your own?
You might catch glimpses of it out of the corner of your eye, but clues are often few and far apart. And with a modern life full of distractions ... trying to follow your bliss can feel like you are trying to catch a falling star or slay windmills.
If you seriously want to be guided by unseen hands and live the life you were meant to, the question becomes ....
Where Do I Start?
Regardless of where you are in life, the first thing you need to do is realize that ...
Its Never Too Late ...
Whether you are in school, working or retired -- it is never too late to figure out what you love to do and to create a life around living your dreams. The second thing to realize is that ...
If you want to find your bliss, you are going to have to discover it yourself.
The answer to who you are and what you love is not contained in any book or sold in any store. Instead, the answers to what fires your imagination and makes your heart beat faster are found inside of you. The third thing to realize is ...
In order to find it, you will have to go
on a journey of self discovery.
And you will have to keep at it until you find what you are looking for. That means that you may have to create some new habits, such as ...
Turning Idle Daydreams Into Actively Imagining Your Future
We all have daydreams of working at the perfect job, making a great income and spending it to make all of our dreams come true. But often, that is as far as we get -- idle daydreams which we have no idea how to make real.
These daydreams are, in fact, seeds of possibilities that need to be nurtured. By actively imagining possibilities for your future, you begin to explore the clues your imagination holds about what you love to do.
Relying On Yourself To Figure It Out
We know that many people think they will someday stumble upon their bliss. But figuring out your potential is not taught in most schools. And few parents (old page), teachers (old page) or bosses know how to help.
No one else can know what makes your heart leap, keeps you up reading late into the night, or draws you to it like a magnet. So you need to put yourself in the driver's seat and take control of your search for your bliss.
Keep Re:minding* Yourself It Is Never Too Late
Your whole life is ahead of you -- even if you are retired or in the middle of your career. By any calculations even if your life is half over, there is still another half to be lived. Right now is the time to start improving your life. So why not take a few baby steps and see what you can find?
Realizing You Are Not The Only One
Millions of people all over the world graduate from high school, get up and go to work each day, and retire only a vague idea of what they really want to do with their life. Yet, everyone of them had childhood dreams of greatness, and most still think about what they would do if they no longer had to earn a paycheck.
So you are not alone if you are still searching for something more extraordinary out of life.
Translate Ideas Into Action
Finding your bliss is like learning to drive or ride a bike -- much easier if someone else can show you how. But once you have found what your bliss is, you need to turn those ideas on paper into action which brings your bliss to life.
That is why I started this site ... to help people like you who are searching for their bliss and do not know where to start ... or how to translate their bliss into their dream job, dream business or life's work.
Along The Way ...
In addition to creating new habits, you may also have to overcome some common obstacles that may hold you back. These include hidden fears and false beliefs such as ...
My Life Will Change
Learning what your bliss or potential is will change your life. It can transform everything from how you see yourself and the way you look at the world to what you believe is possible for you.
That kind of change can raise a lot of fears about losing your friends and alienating those close to you who are more comfortable with the old you. You may also fear that you are risking a safe job and a secure paycheck for a pipedream. Hidden obstacles that have been holding you back can also emerge from the shadows, blocking your progress.
If you are a student, you might find that you have a whole new perspective on why you are going to school. And that could mean realizing that you need to change your major, choose different classes or get serious about your grades.
If you are working, finding your bliss can mean you are no longer satisfied with your job and spark the desire to find new work that is more meaningful or fulfills your life calling. It could translate into needing to go back to school, starting a business or moving across the country to be part of the industry you feel called to.
And if you are retired, friends and family may not understand your becoming passionate and action oriented just when they expect you to slow down and spend your days enjoy your grand kids and doing your favorite hobbies full time.
I Cannot Make A Living Doing What I Love
Often, fears of financial hardship stop people from even taking the first step in discovering their bliss. They try to figure out how to make a good living before they even know what it is.
Which makes as much sense as trying to figure out what you are going to spend on airfare before you have decided where you are going on vacation.
All over the world people are being handsomely paid for excelling at the work their gifts and talents make them perfect for. If they can do it, doesn't it make sense to at least find our what you can excel at and love to do -- before deciding if you can afford to do it for a living?
What Am I Looking For?
To find your bliss, you need to know how to recognize it. So here are a few of the signs, symptoms and feelings that you experience when you find and follow your bliss ...
- your feel at one with the world, as if everything is in its rightful place and all interconnected
- you feel totally alive, as if your body is resonating at a slightly higher frequency
- you eyes light up and you feel like you could spend hours talking about the subjects you love
- you see things more clearly, as if a mist has cleared or a fog has lifted and now you can see more clearly or deeply understand
- you feel totally at home within your skin and so comfortable within yourself that you the ideas of who you are fade
- time ceases to exist when you are following your bliss - whether that is researching at home or being on stage
- you feel surrounded by kindred spirits when you find other people who are passionate about the same things
- you have deep, insightful discussions with people you have known only a few minutes
- you experience leaps of insight and the profound understanding of concepts and ideas that go beyond words
- you find yourself creating at an extraordinary level far beyond your normal abilities
- worlds of ideas and knowledge that you never knew existed open up to you
- the world becomes a place where synchronicities start to make sense and form a subtle path pointing you to the things you need to discover
- you find yourself (many times unknowingly) amassing a collection of resources built around your bliss
- you feel the touch of unseen hands guiding you
- you feel like a light deep inside of you has been turned on
- days you follow your bliss start to feel a bit like Christmas morning, making you want to jump out of bed and see what the day holds
- you surprise yourself by the things you say and do because they make you seem much smarter and gifted than you usually think you are
So, know that you have a few ideas of what it feels like to have found your bliss, are you ready to go find it?
A Step By Step Guide
So, here is the step by step guide I promised you.
One: Go on A Journey of Self DiscoveryThe first step in finding your bliss is taking a journey of discovery, where you get to explore your past and discover all the things you love. Think of it like this ... all the things you love are sprinkled throughout your life like powdered sugar on a donut. Most people do not pay much attention to it, but it is there if you look for it. And it is what gives life its sweetness. Read More ... |
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Two: Describe Your Recipe For BlissStart by exploring what you love, what tugs at your heart, makes you catch your breath and stay up all night or travel to the ends of the earth. Instead of waiting for the clues to manifest in your life -- go looking for them. Your own recipe for bliss is made up of eight categories of things ... that turn into a list of 50 - 100 items. You might want to take several weeks or a long weekend to get in touch with your list of ... Read More.
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Three: Reflect on Your Personal Bliss IngredientsNext, you want to focus on the ingredients of your bliss recipe and see how and where they are reflected in your life. If they are not already there, think about how they would be if you had the time, money and resources you dream of. You may want to take anywhere from a weekend to a month to muse about each of your bliss ingredients ... letting the ideas sink in and then keeping an eye out for how they manifest in your life .... at work, at home, at school and in volunteer or community projects. Your favorite TV programs, hobbies, songs and books all give you clues and reflect what your bliss is.
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Four: Explore "The WHY" Behind Your BlissNow, it is time to look"behind the scenes" and find "the why" behind your bliss recipe ingredients. To understand why you love them, why you care so deeply about them, the roots of your passion for them -- and through them your passion for life. Finding "the WhY behind" is a critical step. It is where you start to hit pay dirt. Why? Because this is what lights up your world, makes life worth living and is the flame of your passion for life and the world around you. Don't miss this step!!
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Five: Write out A "My Bliss Is .." DescriptionNext, you are ready to craft a "working" paragraph or page that describes your bliss is in your own words. A statement that you can use to "follow your bliss" and guide your life ... from choosing a college major and profession to crafting a business plan or life plan, as well as make everyday decisions that lead to your own idea of happiness. (See an example here.)
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Six: Test Drive & Refine Your Bliss DescriptionNow it is time to "test drive" and refine your statement. First you want to try it out to see if it is an accurate, positive compass that points reliably to your bliss. In the real world is where you need a profound and courageous guide ... and that is what your statement needs to be. So start using it on small things ... making small everyday decisions and life enhancing choices. See if it works for you, and work on refining your statement to make it better. If you have followed all the steps, you have done the work to create a statement that defines in your own words what your bliss is and acts as a compass pointing your way through the world of everyday decisions, life defining choices, and uncertain life events. And as you grow and evolve, you can evolve your statement so it grows with you, always reflecting the way to more bliss and your own personal experience of exquisite happiness ... surrounded by the people and places that inspire you ... having experiences you love ...
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Seven: Describe A Life Following Your BlissThe next step in following your bliss is translating your bliss into a clear, inspiring statement of the life you would love to live ... the life you dream of living. A life that allows you to follow your bliss in the everyday real world.
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Eight: Describe Careers That Follow Your BlissOnce you have defined the life you want to live, it is time to define the careers that will pay for that life and it part and parcel of it. Don't settle for following your bliss just on weekends, holidays and summer vacations. Get paid to "follow you bliss". Or start and build a successful business that allows you to pursue your passion ... so the costs involved become a business expense.
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Nine: Start Living Your BlissThe final step is taking all the self knowledge you have gained and using it to start living your bliss. That means following the clues and signs ... and staying awake so you can be guided by the invisible hands that open doors you never knew existed. Truly living you bliss means not slipping back into your former life or settling for the state of suspended animation that have most people sleepwalking through life.
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What Are You Waiting For?
Creating a life following your bliss starts with taking the time to discover what your bliss is, and then start changing it so your life starts to reflect those things.
With a shopping list for your bliss in hand, how can you go wrong?
recognize, find & experience your bliss