1 - You're Crazy! You Are On The Right Track
When I decided to leave my professional career as a manager in a multinational and embark on this project to help other women, everyone told me:
"You're crazy!"
Crazy for losing social status,
crazy for losing economic position,
crazy because how are you going to launch a project when you're close to 50?
Then, I remembered a quote from Ophra Winfrey "Do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do".
I have gone all out on every job throughout my career and have tried to do it with the utmost professionalism, love, and dedication.
However, I was not born to dedicate myself to any of them. Therefore, I was not feeling fulfilled. Do you feel the same?
Even so, for several years, I looked the other way and decided to stay in my comfort zone.
At 40, I thought it was clear that I had no specific vocation, and I was envious of people who knew exactly what they wanted to do for a living. I discovered it little by little, learning, listening to my inner voice, accepting, and loving myself.
And I took the first step.
"Change begins with action!"
For a long time, I lived with lots of contradictory emotions like fear and confidence, doubt and certainty, and a feeling of not knowing where to start or wanting to do it all simultaneously.
The first year was a real hurricane, but everything that happened has helped me get here.
And No, I wasn't crazy!
I had a clear path to follow for the first time, and I was willing to overcome all the obstacles necessary to achieve my dreams.
Now, I want to share with you three limiting beliefs I had to face during the first year and how I overcame them and kept moving forward:
"Think it through: you have to start from scratch."
I had a hard time getting around this statement that was thrown at me by many people, and that I even at one point came to believe myself.
In reality, you never start anything from scratch. And I'll explain why everything you do throughout your life is not lost because your knowledge, values, strengths, and experience help you take the steps you need to create the path.
That is why, to make a change in any area of life, the first exercise to do should always be to put all this information on the table.
This new vision of yourself will make you shine with your light, and you will understand that you have all the ingredients to leap.
The secret to moving forward is not to be afraid, and if you are, to understand it, embrace it and walk with it.
"You're too old."
So what?
Age is not a barrier; it’s a limitation you put in your mind.
Free yourself from it!
Age is an advantage because it means wisdom, experience, and know-how. With age, we also have greater perspective, flexibility, and probably a network of contacts that can help us succeed.
So, use age to your advantage!
Look for inspirational female role models; I’m sure you have plenty around you.
"There's too much competition; you’re not going to succeed.”
"But, You're already succeeding!"
What you think of yourself will determine your future. And to succeed is to dare to be yourself, is to take the first step, is to stand firm in the face of adversity, is to recognize your limitations without conforming, is to learn from mistakes and smile, is to focus on the positive, is to follow your passion, is to persevere, is ultimately believe in yourself.
Your goals, what you consider "to succeed,” you have to define it yourself and not base it on the opinions or criteria of anyone else.
Limiting beliefs like these stifle our dreams. If you believe in them and internalize them as your own, you impede your personal development, and it will be more difficult for you to take the plunge at decisive moments.
Steve Jobs said, "don't let the noise of other people's opinions drown out your own voice.”
Listen to others, but create your own truth. And when someone encourages you to limit yourself, remember: get the ball, analyze the play and throw it in the direction you decide. "The future is not a place you're going to go; it’s a place you can create."
With lots of love,
Silvia
