Big BOLD Dreams = Baby Steps
A 1-min hack to balance your brain with big-picture dreams and the tiny details to get you there.
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Storytime
"Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Winston Churchill
In the spring of 2005, after 10 years of teaching high school, I hit a crossroads. After three years in a new school, my probationary period was over. My fate was in the hands of my principal. One of two things would happen in that meeting. Either I would get tenure and likely teach the rest of my life, or I would get pink-slipped, and who knows what would happen next.
I got pink-slipped.
Evidently my Master’s Degree with 10 years experience ticket price was too expensive.
I made a BOLD DECISION.
I left teaching to open a yoga studio.
[gulp]
I had absolutely zero business experience.
I was just a baby in the yoga teaching world,
having received my certification the same month I got pink-slipped at school.
I had this massive dream.
And I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.
I could figure it out.
Four months later, The Yoga Path opened.
It flourished. And changed lives.
Until it didn’t.
Two years after opening, a number of circumstances out of my control changed the business market. I was forced to close and file bankruptcy.
I pivoted to an even more massive dream.
To travel the country to teach yoga.
And I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.
I figured it out.
I traveled to over 200 yoga studios,
teaching over 200,000 students
working 1-1 with over 2000 clients.
I flourished, until I didn’t.
The 2020 pandemic hit.
It was time to retire my yoga teaching mat.
I pivoted to an even more massive dream.
Build an online school and a virtual business.
I’m figuring it out.
One baby step at a time.
Lesson
"You must do the thing you think you cannot do."
- Eleanor Roosevelt
“What’s the best way to eat and elephant?” My business coach asked me, while taking a giant bite out of his omelet.
I stared blankly at him. “Who would ever want to actually eat an elephant?” I thought.
“One bite at a time,” he answered, taking another bite of his omelet.
If you focus too much on the tiny details,
you limit your potential for bigger possibilities.
If you focus too much on the big picture,
your big dream doesn’t ever really become attainable.
The best way to BE BOLD and REACH YOUR DREAM is to be BOTH big-picture-focused and tiny-details-practical.
Your brain and your actions need a healthy balance of keeping an eye on the prize AND and structure and plan for the step-by-step actions to get there.
Easier said than done.
My business coach was right. Write the business plan with a bigger than you can chew vision statement, and plan out the tiny bite-by-bite baby-step action items to reach that goal.
Personalized Support
Turns out, after 20 years, I’m pretty good at business - particularly the intersection of practical business planning with esoteric spiritual dreaming. If you are a small business owner feeling overwhelmed with your big picture goals and the tiny practical details to make those goals reality, I’d love to talk to you about your dreams. Book an initial consultation to see if Spiritual Business Coaching is for you.
And, I’m a mindfulness master.
I have a *mindfulness hack* for that.
With each of my big picture goals (getting a Master’s Degree as a school teacher, opening a yoga studio, building a nationwide yoga teaching business, creating an online mindfulness school), I did one simple mindfulness practice with my body every single day to keep myself in the big-picture-tiny-details mindset.
You see, big goals always start with the roots.
(the deeper your roots grow, the higher your branches reach)
🦶Your FEET🦶 (your roots) have nerves that teach your body about both the BIG PICTURE (the whole foot) and the TINY DETAILS (your toes).
Whenever I endeavor upon a new BIG BOLD AUDACIOUS PROJECT I use this simple mindfulness practice of working with my 🦶FEET🦶.
By doing this simple 1-minute exercise 2-3x a day (and whenever I feel overwhelmed) my body is able to tell my brain to balance the big picture with the tiny details. The overwhelm melts and I get a subtle flush of focus and clarity about what steps I need to take in what order. It works every single time.
The following content is for paid subscribers only. What follows is a 2-minute video with a 1-minute mindfulness hack for balancing your big-picture-focus with your tiny-details-practicality. Subscribe at this link. The first week is free.