Liberating Yourself from the Golden Handcuffs
and read the posts, scroll down!
This week I’m en route to Ireland with
my Mom, fulfilling a longing to reconnect with
the land of our ancestors. We’ll be hiking the
western coast of Ireland with David Whyte, one of my favorite authors and poets! It’s a dream come true!
But you know what’s even sweeter for me than
living out this dream? It’s knowing that the vacation, lovely and exquisite as it will no doubt be, is just one piece of loveliness in my life.
I do not dread coming back from this vacation.
I wasn’t living for it before I left.
And I didn’t kill myself to get ready to go.
But it wasn’t always that way.
You see, I know what’s worse than not achieving your goals.
It’s achieving your goals and realizing
you hate the life they’ve created.
At one time I was a success by most people’s
standards, and I knew how to get
what I had decided to go after.
What I didn’t know was how to tell
when the goals I was striving for would
make me happy.
I know how heavy golden handcuffs can be.
I used to wear them.
When I was practicing law,
I had an office with a view.
I had a glamorous sounding job.
I had a hefty, reliable paycheck
and the law school loan bills
that arrived just as reliably as the paychecks.
And after awhile, I had a pit in my stomach.
I had an ache in my throat that
wouldn’t go away and a fatigue so vast I
thought I would drown in it.
I had an avalanche of work,
which in itself was not so bad,
except that my to-do list managed
to seem important
without being meaningful.
I remember what trapped feels like.
And I figured out how to break out of the trap.
Maybe you don’t feel trapped at all. Maybe
you’re already doing exactly what you want
to be doing.
I hope you wake up every morning
with a passion for living so vast and unquenchable
you can’t imagine how you’ll ever get it all in.
If that sounds like you, I’m rejoicing with you
because the world can use more people like that.
But if you are thinking, “there must be more to life
than this,” then you’re right.
There is more.
There’s always more.
For many people, one aspect
of “more” is dreaming of creating a business
based on their passions and gifts,
a venture that allows them to serve
and also gives them flexibility
and the financial freedom to
do the things and have the experiences
that matter most.
If that describes you, then I’ve been
busy creating a map of sorts for you.
A map that will show you how to get you
from where you’ve been to where you want to go.
I started the map because I was thinking about
the things I wished I’d known when I was starting
my own business: the ideas, tips and strategies
that would have saved me time, money and frustration.
I’ve scoured the bookstores and the internet looking for
what I wanted people to know about being a successful,
profitable and happy entrepreneur…and it just
wasn’t out there: A practical and simple guide
to creating a successful business that begins at
the beginning, taking you step by step through the
thought processes and action items that success requires,
COMBINED with a metaphysical and spiritual consciousness
to support a spirit-driven person.
So I decided to create it for you.
I started talking to some of the most successful and
enlightened entrepreneurs I know: authors, teachers,
coaches, muses, internet gurus, radio hosts,
philanthropists and healers.
Some are famous. Some you don’t know yet
(but you want to, trust me!)
ALL are passionate, purposeful,dynamic, energetic,
engaged, and conscious. All are willing to invest in
themselves, their growth and their businesses.
And it shows in their success.
I asked each one of these people to share the ONE big
secret that made success possible for them.
Together, these magnificent specimens of humanity and I have
created your road map to living a passionate, purposeful life
flowing out of engaged and meaningful work.
It’s better than a road map, really.
It’s A Star Chart to your new life.
Together we’ve created a program to show you how to go
where you’ve never gone before! You’ll venture
into the Possible. You’ll SEE, HEAR and UNDERSTAND
The 10 Secrets of Enlightened (and Profitable!)
Entrepreneurship and we’ll help you put those Secrets
into practice right away.
Keep watching for all the details in this amazing program.
It’s going to include at least 10 audio classes where
today’s top entrepreneurs reveal what you need to know
to create a profitable and soul-filled business from
the start (or to fine tune the one you’ve already got.
PLUS I’m going to do 3 LIVE teleseminars where you’ll
be able to call in for hot seats and coaching with me
around how the concepts you’re learning from these
cutting edge business gurus apply to YOU.
This information is life altering and…dare I say it?
REALITY SHIFTING.
It’s literally like a Star Chart to Enlightened and
Profitable Entrepreneurship!
And guess what? I’m GIVING AWAY one spot in this program!
All you need to do to enter the Contest to receive a FREE
Star Chart to Your New Life is post a comment on this blog!
Simply tell me WHY you want to win, what you’d like to
create with these ideas, how energetically aligning with
some of the best entrepreneurial minds in the country will
allow you to express your creativity and joy in the world.
I’ll announce the winner during a FREE tele-class on
Wednesday, August 12 at 7:30 pm Central time
(5:30 Pac., 6:30 Mount., 8:30 Eastern)
where I’ll ALSO talk about the 10 Secrets!
Keep your eyes out for emails about how to access that
free call! (And if you’re just stumbling upon this blog
and not on my email list, be sure to sign up so you’ll
stay informed!)
Remember, to be eligible to get the free spot in the program,
you need to post a comment here on the blog about why you
want to win a Star Chart to Your New Life!
So post your comment and then mark your calendar now for
Wednesday, August 12, 2009 at 7:30 pm Central
(5:30 Pac., 6:30 Mount., 8:30 Eastern)
and then watch for details on how to register
for the free call to find out if you’ve won!
Email this post
July 17th, 2009 at 7:42 am
a business,,well i think i have a million ideas for businesses, but the main thing i think i notice is in North America we are all putting something in our mouths,, and following the media propaganda(many of us) so with all those energydrinks out there, i have a life saving one…with a secret recipe
and a cool name haha as i am a comic/ pt nurse/motherof a teen girl(challenging) who smokes cigarettesand i her mom just decided to stop that habit…filthy expensive one
coming from a white middle class family ( now i am an orphan) as my parentsdied before their 70’s due to poor lifestyle habits, unfulfilling jobs they “had to go to” and alcohol addiction,, mom died of a heart attack at 61 and dad at 66 ofmeningitis complications
i am not repeating their patterns and since a teen have been interested in herbal healing,,
it takes a village to raise a child..so luckily for me i learned things in lfe from different families i lived with
recently i came across the famous yet very suppressed information on the reishii mushroom from China, 3000 yrs of use there and a healing herb. Carcinogens are all around us but nature has provided us with many foods that heal,,,using the 3 body(health) mind(optimism and successfulthinking) and spirit(whoknows ) what that means soul… or who you are in flesh form right now i believe…you can fight any disease…and for those who believe they are stuck in their illness…they are blocking subconsciouslyor consciously their healings
discipline is required , rest and movement towards these 3 balances,, yin/yang teaches the balance of life…this is Chinese again…those people are wise.in many ways…sometimes i believe the Chinese are aliensfrom another galaxy that came here,,we should not fear them,,although some do,,some are afraidof their symbols of dragons…etc or luck…you know
each country on this panet has different ways of being…where is our respect for that..who says we are the only ones …NO NO….but freedom is important..yes for all people and when people are not loved and nutured,,, disease happens
my dreams are to heal,, teach and smile to the public
high on life…and realize that you make your destiny each day by the right choices..
i would be happy to be a healer through my comedy acts..and also to be a ground breaker in reasonably priced energy drinks that could be popular and heal at the same time..not just buzz you out
i need an investor, patent trademark ..intellectual property lawyer(my brother ) is that haha and a good solid recipe from a close asian friend
Lotsa fung ..(sp) fun !!!! and no dung….rhymes….i am a great poet too
the very bestto the winner…(always wish yourself well) my motto
it works like majik oxox
sydney howell
July 17th, 2009 at 7:42 am
Hello Kimberly,
I’m very interested and in need very much so. I just jump out of a partnership business with my brother. Twelve years exactly, started on my Birthday 7-16-97 on quit on my Birthday, yesterday. I’ve been for sometime now seeing the numbers 716 all the time, everywhere. You name it there it was so often for about the past two years. I would bring to everyones attention and it was weird to them on how often. It was a sign? My last day to work with my brother was not planned to take place on that day it just happened. I know from what I’ve been learning that if a bad happens and you feel bad inside then it’s a bad thing, but if bad happens and you feel good all the way around, like knowing everything will be just fine, then I know I’m to follow my instincts.
I do believe there is a whole other side to living life and I’m starting now to find it. My beliefs in The Law of Attraction is a part of all this, a very big part.
I’m not sure on how things will work out for the best, but that they will.
I admire you for what you do in order for people to live a better life, so keep up the good work!!!
Love ya,
Dirk Hartwig
July 17th, 2009 at 7:47 am
Kimberly,
First- enjoy Ireland! Second- I want to win your contest. in 2001, I was a cigarette-smoking, heavy-drinking, single mother with an eating disorder. At the time, I thought I was fundamentally flawed – that I had an “addictive personality” or some other inherent fallibility in my soul. But then the towers fell, and the world changed. My mother, with whom I had a fragmented relationship, called me on Thanksgiving, so lonely in her isolated apartment as she ate a t.v. dinner that she was in tears. I don’t know if it was that happened inside of me- the intuitive knowledge that war was an inevitability? The realization that I was subject to the same rules of mortality that everyone else was? The idea that the world needed me, as a warrior for change, not as a bystander? That I really, really felt something? I don’t know. But I realized that everything in my life had to change. Everything but the caliber mother I was to my son was wrong.
So, I cashed out my tiny 401K and flew to Maine, and got my mother. I moved her to Minnesota – a block away from me. My brother was sent off to Iraq. I became like a woman possessed- it was like I was digging through a ramshackle, junk-filled garage to find something. I tore at the contents, throwing out everything ugly, rotten, useless to me- I quit smoking (something I never believed I would do). I started exercising regularly. I sought help for my eating disorder. I went back to college- something terrifying to me. I finished in 2 1/2 years, magna cum laude. I ended my abusive relationship. I asked for a raise. I enrolled in a Master’s program in advocacy and political leadership and graduated in two years with a 3.7 GPA. Finally, I stopped drinking to medicate myself. I did all of this in 7 years.
I emptied that garage, and at the bottom of that pile was a hole. The hole is a combination of fear and hunger. The fear is of death, and the hunger is for life. I don’t know what to do next. I know I am powerful. I know I am capable. But I need to do what I’m meant to do, or I will always be staring into that hole. I refuse to fill it with anything false. I refuse to cover it up. But I need to know what truly goes there.
I am hoping you can help.
July 17th, 2009 at 8:13 am
Dea Kim – Thanks for running this contest. My life is going through tremendous pesonal changes right now. I am recently seperated from my husband and we will soon be divorcing. After years of trying to fix our marriage and months of counseling, we now see we are both good people still able to be friends just wrong for each other as a couple. Now that the decision is made, I actually feel free, at peace and happy like a whole new world of possibilites opened up for my future. (see I even changed my e-mail name to match!) Currently I too am tied to the “golden handcuffs” in a corporate world. By I am now feeling the power to change it. I have a new idea for line of women’s lingere that will help women feel better about themselves and take care of their bodies. I am trying to gather my thoughts and resources to get going on this dream, but I am also overwhelemed by the current to-do list of selling my home, divesting our assests fairly between my husband and myself and transitioning our daughter through what for her is a terrible life change. Any help guidance or inspiration your new progam could offer me would be a blessing. Please keep your e-mails and good thoughts coming. They always arrive in my inbox just in the nick of time.
Gratefully yours. Kim Simon
July 17th, 2009 at 8:29 am
Hi Kimberly,
I am stuck in this no where job. I have been stuck in for the last 8 years off and on. I just keep going back because of one thing or another. I have wanted to open a business for years now. Never had the funding or been able to get a loan to get the business started. I wrote a book. Its fiction but in the same sense it also is very informative as I have taken some of the positive to the book. I can not get it published as I do not have the funding for that either. It just so happens to be about Ireland. I have started the second book. I’m only into the second chapter at this time. I am at this time just working to stay alive. I have tried to get other jobs but am stuck right where I am. I have tried to transfer out of my department but yet again I am stuck. Once you are in my position you are stuck. There is no getting out. Unless you totally quite. I can not quit because of bills and surviving.I was inspired to write after reading some of the things you sent me. Thats about me.
After reading some of the other responses I see others in more need than I am. I see how they have worked really hard to get out of their ruts. I feel that My needs are not as important. I feel I will accomplish mine but it will take time.
July 17th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Kimberly, I like millions of others am so in need of financial freedom. I just today heard that my refinance loan is not going to happen and nothing other than sorry and the fact about their timing not being right leaves me in the process of having to visit a bankruptcy lawyer next Wednesday. Today has been one of those turning point days for me where I feel like something good has to happen from this somehow – I don’t know how much worse I could feel. I do know that I have many blessings and that I certainly could be worse off – I could be suffering some fatal disease where money wasn’t an issue at all. I’m trying to be positive which I held onto for 7 months to get the refinance and debts all combined. Now I definitely have to look to other options which I’m sure are out there for me. I don’t think we’re meant to live in despair. I (living alone) would so much love the opportunity to start my own business out of my own home which I love and will never give up. I’ve gone thru alot and survived over the years for some reason and I’m so ready to make a positive change in my life to have that INNER HAPPINESS that I’ve always searched for. I know something good is going to happen for me as small miracles happen everyday. I would be honored to have the chance to work with professional people to get my life started in the perfect direction. Thank you for this kind offer, Kimberly.
July 17th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Hi Kimberly,
I am on a journey. A journey that at times seems more frightening then other journeys in my life yet exhilirating as I cannot wait to see what opens up for me next. Since meeting you and taking your intutition workshop, I am learning to follow my intutition, I am eating healthier then I have in a long time, I am exercising, and I have made a geographic move that logically did not make since but things have unfolded, people have come back in my life that I have not seen in a really long time, I am happy about that. Up until recently I wore the golden hand cuffs until I was layed off 4 days ago. I feel a little stuck in that aspect in terms of thinking outside the box as what I want to do when I grow up. So this is why I am entering the contest. Have fun in your travels!
July 18th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
A Star Chart to (My) New Life will help me to cut through the haze that has enveloped me over the years and prevented me from seeing the clear path to the accomplishment of my entrepreneurial, career, and life dreams.
I am tired of jobs with little pay, few or no benefits, little (if any) future,
and periods of unemployment and having to live off of what little I could save. I am tired of not having the means to build the life I want, and that for giving to charities to aid others in getting started in doing the same. I want to use my God-given talents and potential to do God’s work on Earth and to glorify Him as a way of giving thanks for my being in this world! God has given me the power to get wealth, the Bible says; I want to know how to use that power, and to use it in the best way for all!
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:45 am
Hi Kimberly,
I am very interested in learning from you and your team about creating a Star Chart for my life. This year has provided me with an incredible journey and opportunity to enjoy freedom from the golden handcuffs of a corporate career of over 20 years. I am also very thankful for the guidance you have provided to expand my personal and spiritual growth. Although it has taken me awhile to really appreciate it, I m finally at peace with myself and eagerly anticipate all the new and exciting possibilities that the universe will present to me.
My (conscious, practical) thoughts for the next phase of my life seems to revolve around things such as education, or a different career focused on environmental/green areas. Additionally, my belief is that whatever I choose will also need to provide benefit to others.
However, recurring, totally different ideas keep ‘popping up’ in my mind (from the universe?) about starting a business with various options being presented, ranging from an estate sale business to providing senior services as well as other interesting options.
I believe working with your team in this program will help provide me with the insight and guidance needed to start a business while remaining aligned with my instincts and values.
Regardless of the outcome of the contest, I feel grateful and blessed, knowing that everything will work out for the best.
November 30th, 2009 at 11:47 am
I wish I had some more to add to this, but I’m just posting a comment in the hopes that I’ll win the contest. Thanks!