Complete One Small Action

October 9, 2007 by · 1 Comment

In this post I offered a dare. I dared seekers of work life freedom to make both a decision and a declaration of their intention. It’s interesting that so many have chosen to remain in work that does not bring them alive. So many think that fulfilling work is so difficult to find that they need to be dared to just take the first step.

Why is such boldness necessary to awaken us from the work life slumber we’ve settled for? Could it be that we’ve so limited our view of what’s possible that we believe it’s unnatural to be excited about work? That’s bull and you know it. Snap out of that line of thinking and at least give yourself the integrity of telling the truth about what you believe is possible.

This post is about taking that next small step after you’ve made your declaration. Don’t over think it. Just one little thing that can get you closer to the work you love. Even if completing that thing only serves to give you greater clarity about another thing you don’t love to do. The true value comes from the completion and the resulting feeling of strength that comes alongside the action.

Don’t be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Here’s a method that works well to improve your chances of success.

You have four personal creation arenas to work with. Use all four in concert and you’ll increase your probability of success.

  1. Make a firm decision and bold declaration and you’ve aligned your metal powers. Mental power is activated by what we think and say.
  2. Imagine how wonderful it will soon be to enjoy work life freedom all the time. Really picture that freedom and deeply feel the accompanying natural euphoria. Emotional power is activated by our ability to fully feel.
  3. Ask and understand what such a life will mean to you. Understand why you were uniquely meant to enjoy it. Spiritual power is activated by the clear and deep meaning we give to our actions.
  4. Then, only after you’ve aligned your previous three powers, take that one small step and honor it with the dignity of a completion. Taking and completing a predetermined action activates our physical power.

Activate all four powers in your quest to engage work life freedom and you’ll be way ahead in this glorious game. Looking at it as a game is sound strategy. Lots of mistakes are made in game playing and players just laugh them off. In this process you’re rewarded for exercising a lighter touch.

Some get stuck in the physical realm thinking that hard work is the answer. But the self-created pressure that comes from trying to push so hard only serves to wear us out.

Others get stuck in the mental realm trying to figure it all out. The trouble with a mentally dominated approach is that it also invites all the reasons why we should not act yet.

But you and I both know that deep down you really want to live a lighter, freer life. Really, what do you have to lose? Complete one small action towards what you think you want, using all four powers.

But wait. What about those of you who don’t know exactly what you want?

You’ve got to begin somewhere. You’ve got to select something to take action on. I wish I could give you a direction that would be certain for you. But I can’t. I can only give you some possible openings. I like the light approach that Pamela Slim has offered in this post, Five Easy Ways to Discover What You Are Meant to Do With Your Life.

Try one of those or just take your best guess. At this stage of the process it doesn’t really matter. You’ve made the declaration that you want work life freedom. To honor that desire you must take and complete a number of small actions until you find your gold.

If it’s right for you, you’ll feel really good when you think about it. If it’s right for you, it will have some connection to something you love to do right now. If it’s right for you, it will put a smile on your face -and that’s more than worth the effort. Complete one small action and welcome to the land of full living.

Filed Under: Life Coaching · Tagged: , , , ,

Is it Your Time for Work Life Freedom?

October 5, 2007 by · Leave a Comment

Okay, it’s time to put up or shut up about this business of making your dreams come true. I’m directly speaking to those of you who have believed your own excuses for far too long, or who are biding your time, waiting for your ship to come in. (Update: There are no ships headed for your port, right now. And none are scheduled.)

Today, in this powerful present moment, you’re either in active pursuit of your work life freedom or you’re not.

We work 40+ hours in this society and that’s far too much to be at the whim of someone else’s wishes and desires. It’s time for you to declare total self-determination as one of your dearest values.

Work life freedom is simply this. A declaration that you have engaged your natural ability to work on exactly what you want, when you want to, and with whom you want.

Let’s cut through the bull. When you look deep within, you know that you’re destined for something far more enjoyable than you’ve settled for. Embrace this truth. Savor its promise and then you’ll be ready for authentic action. You might ask this. If this is all true, why is it so challenging to find work that I love that also makes me financially prosperous?

I’ll tell you the secret.

You never get started. You never get started because you allow your own fears to keep you from getting started and from consistently following through.

It’s the active pursuit of work life freedom that puts you in position to see your next step.

When you follow your bliss….doors will open where you would not have thought there would be doors, and where there wouldn’t be a door for anyone else. Joseph Campbell

The first step to the active pursuit of work life freedom is to admit that you want this freedom. The second step is to declare that now you are actively engaged in the pursuit of this freedom. What’s next? Take these two first. I dare you. Then write – by commenting on this post – and tell me how wonderful (or fearful, or whatever) you feel. Stay tuned. I’ll help you take step three, but it can’t even be seen, let alone reached, until you take the first two. Dare you?

Filed Under: Freedom of Self-Employment · Tagged: , , , ,

You Can’t Go Where You’re Going Until You Feel What You’re Feeling

September 27, 2007 by · Leave a Comment

You’ll hate this post unless you’re already enjoying your work or on the verge of that enjoyment. Why? Because I’m going to ask you to fully feel what you are feeling, and for most people, that can be very uncomfortable. But being willing to fully feel everything is the one process that separates the whiners from the winners in the game of work life freedom.

If you have the gumption to accept the following tips, you can do more to advance the enjoyment of your true calling than by using any other process.

Why? Because the willingness to feel is the thing most missing, not only for delightful work, but for robust living in your entire life. I’ll share some ways to begin feeling fully in Part Two of this post. For now, I want to make a case for what you’ll gain by feeling fully. As you read this, just be open to the possibility that everything in your life can come more easily by feeling fully.

  1. Feel fully for greater clarity. When we aren’t feeling, we are living in the swampy murkiness of avoidance, confusion, denial, distraction or numbness. When we feel, we can see clearly what we want and engage ourselves in joyfully creating it. Some avoid feeling by hiding behind tension-relieving substances like food, alcohol and drugs. It’s worth realizing that these artificial inspirations never quite approximate the heights that could be realized by the natural high of creating the life you want.
  2. Feel fully for greater energy. It takes a lot of work to hide from our own truth. When we aren’t feeling fully and living in the present moment, we are trying to time travel to the past or the future. That fruitless effort just tuckers us out. Do you awaken eager to engage your daily work? Does it make you feel like singing? When we eagerly anticipate joyful experiences, we add energy to our reserves. But when we dread our work, we often deplete our energy before we even arrive at our workplace.
  3. Feel fully for less fear. Feelings naturally arise in our bodies. Essentially they are vibrations that alert us to focus points of awareness. Some gut feelings are legitimate warnings for us to avoid harm; others are unproductive triggers to prior events. Often our default position is to engage the same flight or fight response that our early ancestors did. We still have this system alive within us, seldom are we truly threatened enough to need it. With the noble, if unnecessary, desire to protect us, it will create fear when none exists.For example, imagine receiving mail with a law firm’s return address on the envelope. Often our first reaction is fear. Oh no! Now what have I done?! Most vibrations do not become negative emotions like apprehension, anger, sadness or disappointment until we attach a thought to them. We don’t feel fearful until we label something as potentially bad. So, in fact, we often create the fear that we avoid feeling! Isn’t that something? If we didn’t create it, it wouldn’t even exist. We always have the choice of feeling only the vibration as it passes through our body.
  4. Feel fully for greater opportunities. Imagine an ever-flowing circle of wonderful possibilities that are just outside of your vision. Then, suddenly, simply by feeling, you can see, and sieze, them! It’s a lovely development that I want you to experience. When our minds are less cluttered with fearful possibilities, our vision just naturally improves. And then we can see the opportunities that where there all along. Instead of frustration, a natural state of gratitude appears to sharpen our intentions.
  5. Feel fully for greater readiness. Readiness is a curious and illusive animal. In contrast, it is our self-declaration of not yet being ready that stops us the most. When someone says they aren’t ready, they probably don’t feel inclined, willing and available for action. Instead, they feel weighed down with things they think they must handle first. From that perspective, it seems as though the right time to act never comes. Perhaps it would if you could only give yourself the permission to feel all of your feelings, both high and low. Try it; you’ll be amazed at how freeing it is.

Feeling fully could be the practice you’re missing the most. Emancipate yourself by feeling all the time and you’ll enjoy such wonderful benefits that you’ll never return to the life you once led.

Filed Under: Life Coaching · Tagged: , , , , ,

How to Get Up When You’re Really Down

September 21, 2007 by · 9 Comments

Ever been so stuck that you couldn’t see a way out? Even when stuck, we always have an optimum path to choose. If we can see it in hindsight, we could have seen it in foresight. There’s always one choice that will work best to get moving again. But how do we to find it? What’s the best way to find our optimum path when we are desperately stuck?

In 1997, I lost a business, my home, my marriage and, just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, I ran over my daughter’s kitten.

For a couple days I raged from anger to sadness to every color of guilt and back. I was not yet a life coach, and I didn’t have the perspective to realize what was happening. Plain and simple, I was stuck in a deep hole. And I hated it.

When we sink that deep, it seems like the light will never shine again. If that’s you right now, then I feel for you. But is it time to quit wallowing in self-pity and start moving?. Of course, with my situation, my light did shine again. I want to share with you the lesson I learned during those dark days.

Movement works… any movement. Get up, get out and get moving! Do something differently. Anything! What did I do? I marched into the woods and played Little John by beating dead trees until I was emotionally and physically spent. That released my anger. Then I boldly marched back and forth while singing about where I was headed. It was the lift I needed to see things differently.

Any movement, even physical movement, works because it changes one’s perspective. If you’re looking from a different vantage point, you’ll soon be able to see new opportunities to which you were once blind.

Begin by walking to a hilltop or any expansive place and feel the new energy rushing into your body. Notice how your view has changed and speak about that. Out loud. Bold actions generally follow bold proclamations, and you need to be bold. You need to first stride boldly. Then you need to speak out boldly in your own name. Forget about what others want. It’s your own desire that will lift you from the pit of despair. Then naturally you’ll see an opening that just wasn’t there before.

You’ll be like the running back who keeps churning his legs because he doesn’t know when or where the opening may appear. But if he doesn’t keep moving, he’s not ready when the opening develops.

Know this. There are always five or six available options in any situation. Just keep moving with your eyes wide open until you see them. When you see more options, you can seize your optimum path. But first move your body or you’ll never see them.

Then, as you walk in bold fashion, find a bold action to take that was unavailable to you previously. Take it and realize the new consequences. Even if the action was a mistake, the realization will hold value – because you will have moved from stuck into momentum.

Momentum is energy gained by movement and it just doesn’t come from mere analyzing or planning. One must act and act boldly for new opportunities to be seen. You have an optimum path available to you right now and it will come by way of a bold action. Get moving so you can see it, and then seize it boldly and quickly before doubt comes to visit.

Really, what do you have to lose? Let go of your stale and stinking paralysis. Choose and move boldly right now and you’ll soon be blasting out of your funk.

Enthusiastically Yours,
Tom Volkar

Filed Under: Getting Unstuck · Tagged: , , , , , ,

Who Are You?

September 18, 2007 by · 3 Comments

Good morning friends. I think it’s high time that I explain exactly whom I intend to serve with this blog. It starts with my mission: to increase the number of folks on the planet in active pursuit of their work life happiness and freedom.

But who among you has the highest probability of being helped by working with me? Those who have the following characteristics have a higher probability of getting desired results with my guidance. This post is a profile of those clients who have had the most success working with me in my ten years of life and career coaching.

  1. You are curious, a life-long learner who is willing to look within and self-examine – even when you don’t like what you see.
  2. You are a risk-taker – brave enough to stand tall without compromise when it comes to defending your values.
  3. You are a natural optimist who has always felt that you were destined for greatness.
  4. You are independent by nature, ambitious and unconventional.
  5. You tell the truth to yourself about yourself and embrace self-responsibility.
  6. You are willing to ask for help, and boldly ask more of yourself as well.
  7. You know exactly what you want or else you are willing to make finding what you want your #1 priority.
  8. You are willing to take action now.

So, can you honestly say “yes” to at least four of the above eight? If you can, we can bring you up-to-speed on the others.

If the above describes you, then feel very good about yourself. You might as well stop all that self-flagellation right now. Praise yourself because you are truly magnificent! If you are ready to begin active pursuit of your true calling, then prove it. Read what my pleased coaching clients have to say about my coaching.

Take the action that can save your life. This glorious path has many possible entry points. But they’ll all remain hidden unless you take action now.

Contact me today for a no obligation discussion about your work life freedom and happiness.

Enthusiastically Yours,
Tom Volkar

Filed Under: Career Coaching · Tagged: , , ,

10 Raw Truths about Finding Your True Calling

September 12, 2007 by · 8 Comments

  1. Some are born with such a compelling drive that their true calling surfaces early and they pursue it their entire lives. For others, it may take decades of active pursuit.

  2. We complicate the process way too much because of our fears. It can be far easier than we make it.
  3. No one will have all the answers for you. But I do have many of the questions, as well as methods that work for some people.
  4. Ultimately you’ll have to trust and follow your own gut.
  5. Fear of making mistakes will keep you from exploring and experimenting. Without experimentation and exploration, you may never stumble upon your own gold.
  6. We care way too much about what others think. The joke is they don’t really think about us – they are too concerned caring about what others think of them.
  7. We worry about security yet the only real security comes from following one’s own true path.
  8. Any movement works. Movement changes our perspective. And when we change our perspective, we can see possibilities that we were once blind to.
  9. It’s up to you my friend. No one cares about you as much as you do. It’s your responsibility and your reward. How sweet it is.
  10. There’s no “right time” to begin. And waiting is never the right time.

Stumble It! Stumble It!

Filed Under: Career Guidance · Tagged: , , , ,

Is Your Work Life Delightful?

September 11, 2007 by · 10 Comments

Delightful work is: amusing, attractive, captivating, clever, engaging, enjoyable, fascinating, gratifying, luscious and thrilling.

RobinHiggins / Pixabay

Does your work invoke any of these, or something less?

If you’re not engaged in work that you love, you have chosen less than you could have. If your career, job or business does not feel like a true calling, can you even expect it to be a delight?

Here is your wake-up call. If you aren’t in active pursuit of work life happiness, prosperity and freedom, get in the game my friend. Get in the game now. Know this: each of us has a special something that can be expressed as our unique, fulfilling work. In the engagement of that work we’ll be in service to others and financially prosperous.

Writer Frederick Buechner said it best. “Vocation is the place where your deep gladness meets the world’s deep need.”

Have you always had this hunch that you were destined for greatness? That hunch was your deep gladness calling out to you from within. Your first step is to acknowledge that whisper of greatness and declare yourself in active pursuit of your delightful work. The path needs to be your own, but you needn’t walk it alone. Let’s boldly stride out on this path together.

My mission is simply to increase the number of folks on this planet who are in active pursuit of work life freedom and happiness. I’ll be your guide and together we’ll move all obstacles now standing in the way of your deep gladness. My name is Tom Volkar.

The world has a deep need for what only you can give it. This is your time. It’s your time to stand tall and pursue what was meant for you, with honor and commitment. Author of Coaching Into Greatness, Kim George, shares this very inspiring thought. “What is meant for you can’t be lost.”

What was meant for you is still there waiting for you to give it life first by making a bold proclamation. No obstacle, real or imagined can stop you once you commit. I’ll prove it to you.

Tell me what scares you the most. What stops you from pursuing your delightful work? Really. What do you run up against when you entertain the thought of creating a happier work life? What circumstance, belief or fear has caused you to settle for less than you could enjoy?

Be bold and share, and I’ll post it here. But we’ll do far more than post it. We’ll work together with other committed adventurers to show you how to move through it in active pursuit of your deep gladness.

For you brave souls who are already enjoying work that brings you alive, what once stopped you and how did you move forward anyway?
Stumble It! Stumble It!

Filed Under: Career Guidance · Tagged: , , ,