Success and Failure Road Sign with dramatic clouds and sky.

As I look back on 2014, I realized I accomplished a lot. I wrote a book. Buy it here! We opened a forum. Join here! My blog grew tenfold, but I realize even though I talked about it, I wasn’t living a life of my choosing. Everything I had done depended on the circumstances and needs of others.

Things didn’t change for me until I was laid off. That didn’t happen by choice.

Things didn’t change for me until I was laid off. That didn’t happen by choice. Someone else made that choice for me. I remember sitting at an old job and during every evaluation I did something most employees shouldn’t do. I told the truth. Let me explain. At the end of the evaluation, the supervisor asked what I wanted to do with my life. I honestly answered, “I don’t know.” Yeah, that isn’t something employers want to hear. They want to hear I want to be with this company until I drop dead in my cubical, or you fire me. WOO HOO! Go company X; but not me. I am honest to a fault. I told the truth. Perhaps that contributed to me being laid off. It is what it is. Still that wasn’t enough for me to plan things out. I just went with the flow. I had some money saved, a husband and an online business so I waited to be saved. What changed? I woke up when one of my friends passed away, and I almost lost two relatives.

It was staring me right in my face.

For years, I wasted my time because I did not know what I wanted to do with my life. Why? Because I was comfortably miserable and lazy. Then it hit me. The what I wanted to do with my life was staring me right in my face. I dibbled and dabbled into creating life plans for others. I answered emails from my wonderful readers and friends. I even coached some people and enjoyed it. Realized I wanted to help others live the best life possible. Then another realization hit me. If I wasn’t living the best life possible how could I help them? So I sat down, created a life plan and here I am.

But do I regret a single moment of it? Hell naw!

Has the success come? Let me be honest. I am working on it. I work harder now than I did working a regular 9 to 5. I am up until 2:00 am answering questions, reading, and writing. I have to find steady streams of income. You see building your own business is hard. But do I regret a single moment of it? Hell naw! I am in control of my life. I LOVE what I do  and everything I do now has a purpose.

Learn from my lesson.

It shouldn’t take the specter of death to wake you up. Learn from my lesson. Life is too short to put your life in the hands of others. It is too short to worry  if your employer will fire you because you reek of misery. It is too short to walk around and not know what will happen next. Stop waiting for the right moment or the right time and write your life plan now.

Ask yourself why are you volunteering to be miserable.

If you are miserable where you are it’s because you have do not a life plan. Here is your homework for today. It is a toughie.  Ask yourself why are you volunteering to be miserable. That is what you are doing. You are volunteering. Is it money, security or whatever? Figure it out. Then ask yourself what tasks make you happy? You know the stuff that makes you tingle on the inside; the stuff that doesn’t feel like work. Well, guess what? That’s your life purpose. Create your life plan. Figure out what you want and where you want to be. I want solid goals and complete action steps. Next take that thing that makes you happy, incorporate it into your goals and monetize it. It will be hard. Times will get tough but if you stick with your life plan, you will live the life of your choosing. Let’s get it done.

Let’s talk about it at the forum exclusively for Black women. Join the conversation here.

If you like this post show me some love. Subscribe, share this post and or donate to this blog. If you want in-depth solutions on how to change your destiny for the price of less than a cup of coffee ($2.99) check out my e-book, Change Your Mind, Change Your Destiny. It is the lifestyle blueprint for the strategic Black woman who wants to win and master her life.

Since you made it this far in the post, as my gift to you, I want you to download my free Change Your Mind, Change Your Life Goals and Action Plan Worksheets. The worksheets will help you create your goals and stick to them. Thank you for reading.

The only limit you have is the one that you have placed on yourself. So think and be limitless.