What I should be doing right now...

My to do list this past weekend was at least a mile long. Realistically, there was no way I could complete everything on Saturday and Sunday. With limited time during the week, the weekend is the ideal time for most of us to get things done. And that's usually the case for me, too...my weekends are usually quite productive. In fact, I take great pride in how much I am able to accomplish in a single weekend. This weekend was a little different though.

As usual, I left the office on Friday and had to run one quick errand on the way to pick the kids up from school (got to start on that to do list, right?). So I ran into the store and picked up a novel that several of my friends highly recommended along with a couple of other things. While waiting for the kids to get out of school, I opened up the book and started reading. Well, I had to wait a little longer than I had anticipated, but just long enough to be completely drawn into the book. I spent much of the remainder of the weekend reading instead of tackling that gigantic to do list. I very rarely (ok, never) do anything like this where the majority of the weekend is spent doing what I want to do. The problem was that I still had to face the list on Monday morning.

Usually, this would lead to great anxiety for me. But this time was different. I'll admit I had a twinge of guilt about "wasting" the entire weekend when there were so many other things that I should have been doing. But when I really thought about it, I realized that I was starting the week relaxed and refreshed. Hmmm, that's very interesting, don't you think? I got nothing done AND didn't feel guilty about it at ALL! And because I felt so refreshed from the weekend, I have been able to attack my list with a vengance!

Obviously, it's not practical to spend every weekend like this. But it is important to take some time for yourself periodically and do something that gives you time to unwind, recharge your batteries, and keep you feeling balanced. The result will be increased productivity. I know this may sound a little counter-intuitive, but it's true.

My challenge to you is to find something (or nothing) that makes you feel this way. Schedule an hour or so (yes, write it in your calendar) to do this. Then look at your to do list again...suddenly it doesn't seem so daunting. Sometimes letting go of the things we think we should be doing better prepares us to face them.

What helps you unwind and recharge? I'd love to hear your comments!

Relax and enjoy life!
Coach April
www.nexuscoachingpartners.com
"Bringing Inspiration to Life!"

P.S. If you'd like help getting started, call me for a free 30-minute coaching session. I have many different tools and tips to help you create the life you dream about!

Changing your beliefs

Now that you have your list of beliefs, pick out the negative beliefs. These are the beliefs we are going to change. Transforming your negative beliefs will change your life. And you have all the power within you to make the change!

Here are a few examples of negative beliefs and the transformed beliefs:

Negative / Transformed
I can't. / I can.
I am not good enough. / I am always okay.
I can't change. / I am always changing and transforming.
I am a victim of events. / I control how I respond to events.

Although it may be challenging to overcome years of negative beliefs, it is possible to do. Write down your new beliefs and read over them at least twice a day.

I challenge you to try this exercise over the next two weeks and see what happens. If you need help transforming any of your beliefs, feel free to contact me and I can help you.

Get started on creating the life of your dreams!



Warmly,
Coach April
www.nexuscoachingpartners.com
"Bringing inspiration to life!"

Who are you?

Have you ever thought about who you really are?

Who you are is defined by what you believe about yourself. That's kind of a scary thought, isn't it? It's true though - our beliefs define who we really are. Let's first define belief - a belief is any habitual pattern of thinking. We hold beliefs about ourselves, others, and the world. While most of our beliefs were formed when we were children, some of our beliefs have evolved or changed altogether as we matured and viewed the world differently. Looking at it this way, it seems as though that would give us control over our own beliefs. Hmmm, there's an intesting concept. Let me say it again, you control the beliefs about yourself. Holding the power to our own beliefs gives us the opportunity to shift our belifs. How can we do this? We can shift our beliefs by making a conscious choice.

The first step to changing your beliefs to increase your self-concept is to identify your beliefs. That's my challenge to you this week - make a list of all of the things you believe about yourself. Keep in mind that these beliefs can be positive or negative - you will likely have some of both. Be honest as you create your list. Even if you find your list is full of negative beliefs, remember that you can change this. Don't worry too much right now about what is on your list. Next week, we'll analyze the list in greater depth and talk about how to change the beliefs you don't need in your life.

Remember that each of us is a unique and special creation.

Do your beliefs reflect that?


Wishing you much joy and happiness,
Coach April
www.nexuscoachingpartners.com

Are you a failure?

I think it's pretty safe to say that we, as humans, enjoy success and dislike failure. No one sets out to fail at something - we set out to succeed. But what happens along the way? More often than not, we experience some degree of failure before succeeding and this failure can give us feelings of discouragement or make us quit.

Sir Winston Churchill says that "Success is going from failure to failure without loss in enthusiasm." A look at almost any historic figure will show you many failures prior to success. Look at Thomas Edison, for example. He is one of the most successful inventors of all time. Do you think he sat down with an idea and created the wonderful inventions that we enjoy today? It wasn't quite that simple. Many of his inventions failed 700 or more times. But do you think he gave up? Quite the opposite - he considered himself quite successful. How can that be with more than 700 failures? In his own words, he successfully discovered 700 ways that don't work. That put him that much closer to achieving his goal. Lucky for us that he chose to stick with it!

Admittedly, most of us (myself included) don't have the enthusiasm or the determination to keep going after 700 failures. But there are ways to keep from feeling like a failure. Here are a few questions that you can ask yourself:

* What is failure?

* Do you feel like a failure? Does feeling like a failure mean that you are a failure?

* Can you learn without failing? Does failing at something you do, make you a failure as a person?

* Can you think of anyone who has never failed at anything?

Carefully consider the answer to each of these questions. Although it can be quite difficult at times to separate who we are from what we do, that distinction is necessary. Just because we fail at something doesn't mean that we are a failure as a person. It simply means that we have something to learn. My challenge to you is to face your failures and embrace them as progress toward your success.

Wishing you much success,
Coach April
www.nexuscoachingpartners.com

What makes happy people so happy?

This is the second installment in our "8 Habits of Happy People". In part one, we identified 4 habits of happy people as acting happy, living in the moment, exercising, and getting enough rest. I challenged you to try at least one of these habits and see how it worked. Did you try one? I'd love to hear your comments about it.

Now, let's take a look at four more habits of happy people. Again, I challenge you to try at least one and see how it works for you.

5. Take care of yourself. At first glance, this may sound a little selfish but it's quite the opposite. We all need some time to ourself - this could just be alone time, finding a hobby, reading a book, taking a bubble bath, calling a friend, or whatever. Find something that refreshes you and make some time to do it at least once a week.

6. Do something for someone else. Try doing something out of the ordinary for someone else. This could be volunteering a few hours for a charity, sending a card to soldiers overseas, donating to a homeless shelter, or visiting a retirement home. There are many different options that only take a few minutes of your time but will lift your spirits immeasurably. Knowing that you've made the world a better place in some small way can bring you happiness.

7. Surround yourself with happy people. Have you ever spent time with someone that is really miserable? It likely didn't make you feel happy. Just as being around an unpleasant person can bring you down, surrounding yourself with happy people will lift you up. Find someone that seems happy and spend more time with them.

8. Take control of your life. Sometimes our lives feel like they are out of control. This leaves us feeling helpless, stressed, and unhappy. By taking control of the areas where you feel helpless, you create space for happiness. Identify the areas of your life that you need to take control of and focus on one at a time. If you are unorganized, strive to organize your life. If you need to lose weight, set a goal and develop a plan to move forward. Happy people control their own lives.

You can see that there are many different options for living a happy life. Embrace one of these ideas and get moving on it. Your happiness awaits!

Wishing you success and happiness,
Coach April
www.nexuscoachingpartners.com
"Bringing Inspiration to Life!"

What makes happy people so happy?

Have you ever wondered how happy people can always seem to be happy? I'll be the first to admit that I'm not happy all the time. I'd like to be, but I'm just not. How can we be happy when things around us just aren't going well? As it turns out, we do have control over our own happiness! That's great news, isn't it?

Over the next couple of days, we'll take a look at the 8 habits of happy people. These are relatively simple things that you can do to take control of your own happiness and begin to live an intentional life. Let's look at the first four:

1. Act happy. This is probably one of the most difficult ones to master but it can have a profound effect on you and the people around you. Acting happy includes laughing, smiling, being friendly, and maintaining a positive attitude. Pick one and try it out!

2. Live in the moment. Don't waste your time worrying about the past or the future - the past can't be changed and the future hasn't happened yet. You have today, so make the most of it!

3. Exercise. Studies have shown that daily exercise helps people feel better. I can't give you all the scientific reasoning behind it but I do know that endorphins are released when you exercise and these endorphins can elevate your mood. Even a few minutes of physical activity each day can help make you happy. Try something fun like a hula hoop or a scooter!

4. Get enough rest. This one can't be emphasized enough. Have you ever met someone who has only had a few hours of sleep? Likely not the happiest person you've ever met. Long term sleep deprivation can lead to more serious issues beyond a bad mood. Getting 7-9 hours of rest a night is ideal to maintaining a healthy, happy attitude. Make sure to get to bed at a reasonable hour and wake up refreshed and happy!

Pick one of these habits and get started on becoming a happier person! Check back tomorrow for the next four habits of happy people.

Wishing you much happiness,
Coach April
www.nexuscoachingpartners.com

Have you made a difference today?

It’s no secret that we live in a “what’s in it for me” society. In our overloaded and busy lives, many of us seldom take the time to do something that doesn’t directly benefit us. We defend our actions by saying that we just don’t have the time. We’re busy, we’re stressed, and we have other things on our mind. But how can we change this? In all honesty, it’s quite easy to change this and begin making the world a better place. And it doesn’t have to be a big action. In fact, little actions can compound and make a big difference. Here are a couple of simple things that you can do today to make a difference:

• Smile. This is perhaps one of the easiest things you can do. It doesn’t cost anything and tends to be contagious. Smiling at someone might be just what they needed to feel better. Because they feel better, they may pass the smile on and create an epidemic of smiling. It wouldn’t hurt for the world to be a happier place, would it?

• Do something nice for someone else. Look around and see what you can do for your fellow man. Perhaps you can allow the person in line behind you with only 2 items to check out before you. This will only cost you a couple of minutes and your kindness will brighten someone’s day. Perhaps you could call or send a card or email to a friend telling how much you value them. It just takes a couple of minutes and will really make someone feel great. The possibilities are virtually endless!

• Make a donation to a cause you are passionate about. Many of us have very busy schedules and find it difficult to volunteer our time. How about making a cash donation? When you sit down to pay your bills, send a check or online payment to the charity of your choice. Many of these organizations are able to do wonderful things with your money. If you are able, spend a couple of hours helping a charitable cause. You don’t have to make a huge commitment to make a big difference.

These are only three simple ways that you can make a difference in the world. The good news is that doing something for someone else makes YOU feel good. So go out and start making the world a better place!


Sincerely,
Coach April
www.nexuscoachingpartners.com
Bringing Inspiration to Life!

It's your choice!

I often hear people saying that they don't have a choice...about their job, their financial situation, their coworkers, their life, or whatever else. What a defeatist attitude! We always have a choice! From the most minute details of our lives to the major decisions, we have many choices - even if it is just our attitude. Granted, we don't get to choose certain things that happen in life, but we do get to choose how we deal with those things. In those choices, we determine whether we move forward and soar or allow ourselves to be held back, feeling sorry for ourselves. What do you choose?

The next time you find yourself saying that you don't have a choice, look closely at the situation and remember that you do have a choice. Ask yourself what the one decision is that will move you forward. Then take action on it. It's not always easy or quick, but you can learn and grow even from difficult experiences. You can create your ideal life with the decisions you make and the actions you take. IT'S YOUR CHOICE!

Wishing you success and happiness,

Coach April
http://www.nexuscoachingpartners.com

Why use a coach?

Throughout the course of a day, I find myself meeting many new people at networking meetings, association meetings, or various other meetings. When I tell them what I do for a living, most of them have never heard of a career coach, or, if they have, don't have a good understanding of what a coach really does. Because everyone understands why athletes use coaches (to improve their performance), I often use this as an analogy for what I do. My clients are already successful people - they just want to fine tune their skills to achieve more. By successful I don't mean only financially. Success is measured differently by everyone. My clients come to me with a specific challenge they are facing whether that is increasing their productivity, moving up the corporate ladder or starting a new career. A large part of the time, that challenge may be balancing work and life, getting unstuck, or overcoming other obstacles or challenges. I provide them with the perspective and support they need to move forward. It really is a magical process with truly amazing results! Clients are able to move forward and soar to new heights.

So what could coaching mean to you?

* More time
* More money
* More direction
* More success
* More of whatever you want

If you're not convinced of the benefits yet, contact a coach and try it out. Many coaches will offer a complementary sample session to let you experience coaching for yourself with no commitment. Call today and start getting MORE!

If you'd like to schedule a complementary session with one of our coaches, call our office at 972-625-5900 or visit our website at http://www.nexuscoachingpartners.com. We can help you get MORE!

Take charge of your career

With the changing environment of the workplace, it has become more and more challenging to move up the corporate ladder than in the past. Gone are the days when the boss could walk by your desk and see how diligently you were working. As more employees are telecommuting or reporting to bosses in different geographical locations, being a visible employee and advancing your career takes careful planning and focus. It is now necessary to take responsibility for your own career advancement.

Here are several ways that you can take charge of your own career:

1. Talk to your boss. Have a direct conversation with your boss about your future with the company and your career goals. Stress to him that you are interested in being a valuable asset to the company. This shows both confidence in yourself and interest in the success of the company.

2. Ask for more. Let your boss know that you are willing to take on new projects or assignments that will further develop your skills and help the company. Taking on more responsibility will make you more valuable to the company.

3. Sharpen your professional and people skills. Continual learning is important to sharpening your professional skills. Because the marketplace is continually changing and evolving, keeping up to date on these changes will further increase your value to the company. Being professional, friendly, outgoing and helpful to coworkers, other departments and customers will help you develop relationships that could provide opportunities for you in the future.

4. Find a mentor or coach. A mentor can help you develop the skills you need as you move up the corporate ladder. Whether you have a mentor inside or outside of the company, a mentor can provide valuable career guidance to you as well as useful information. A coach can help you develop strategies and provide you with valuable perspective as you face the challenges of moving forward in your career.

5. Sell yourself and build your reputation. Careful self-promotion is a good way to create visibility within your department or company. Make sure that influential people are aware of your major accomplishments and the benefit to the company. Building your reputation as an innovative, dependable, professional, and valuable employee will further help you sell yourself.

To learn more about developing your career, check out Get Smart! About Modern Career Development by Dr. Michelle Casto or call Nexus Coaching Partners for a complementary consultation to get your career moving forward. During the month of April, we are also offering 20% off our career assessments. Call us today and see if we can help get you moving forward!

Warmly,
Coach April
www.nexuscoachingpartners.com
"Bringing Inspiration to Life"

Creating your life vision

Do you know where you want to go in life?

Do you know who you want to be?

Carl Jung, one of the founding fathers of depth psychology, once said, “Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens.” Those words are so true. By looking inside ourselves, we can turn our dreams into reality.

To get started figuring out where you want to go in life, think about these questions:
Where do you want to be in 2, 5, or 10 years? What do you want to be doing?
Imagine your future life…are you single, in a relationship, with children, empty nesting, retired? What job are you doing? What activities are you involved in? What are your hobbies? What quality of life do you wish to enjoy? Are you in a position to contribute to a cause or interest? So…How are you going to make it happen? Another one of my favorite quotes is from an unknown author and says, “Seeing yourself as you want to be is the key to personal growth”. Careful soul-searching on these questions will help you grow as a person.

Next, visualize what you want. Try envisioning the life you would like to live, your ideal life. Would you like a new career? Go back to school? Have children? Travel around the world? When do you want to retire? What do you want to have done by then?

Ask yourself “What does my life look like…”
In 12 months time?
In 2, 5, 10, 20 years time?

I know it seems a little weird to think about what you want to do in 20 years but it is important to know where you are headed so that you know how to get there. Much like a car trip, you probably wouldn’t want to set out with just the idea to head north. If you know that you are headed to a particular destination, you will take the roads that lead you there. If for some reason you get off course, you can look at your map and know you need to make adjustments and get back on course or to redefine your course altogether. Speaking of redefining your course, this can happen too, and is perfectly normal as you grow and change throughout your life. This is where a periodic review of your plan comes in handy.

After you’ve given some thought to your ideal life and envisioned what it will look like, you’ll want to write out your goals. Try writing goals in the following areas: relationships, career, family, health, financial.

Then commit to your vision and goals and take action. Joel Barker, an independent scholar who has done considerable work in the area of corporate leadership says that “Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.” This is a very powerful statement that shows the connection between our vision and our actions. And while you may not be out to change the world, these words are very applicable to our lives.

Even more simply stated, your goals will remain daydreams without action. So in this step, we are going to write down our commitments so you know what you need to do.

Ask yourself these questions:
· What do I need to do?
· What needs to happen to achieve my goal?
· What is something I can do today to move me a little closer to my goal?
· Who do I need to help, support, or hold me accountable for the completion of my goal?

It’s very important to be very specific in detailing your commitments. The more specific you are, the better your chances for success.
These three steps can transform your life from a vision in your head to a reality! You first begin by visualizing what you want from your life. Then use that vision to set your goals. Once you’ve set your goals, commit to them and take action. Robert Collier, one of the first success authors, once said “Visualize this thing you want. See it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin.” It doesn’t matter how big your first step is. The point is that you took the first step!

These are the basic steps to get you started. I want to emphasize that your goals and action steps be written down on paper, not just stored in your head, and reviewed periodically.

I challenge you to get started on creating your life vision and see what happens! Start living your ideal life beginning now!

Overcoming obstacles, challenges, and disappointments

I was recently faced with a major disappointment that really made me question my abilities. I felt like giving up. Looking back on it, it wasn't that big of a deal. I accepted it for what it was, learned from it, and moved on. The truth is that we are all faced with disappointments and challenges in our lives. The way we handle these situations affects the ultimate outcome. If you look at some of history's most successful people, you will find that many of them endured significant obstacles and disappointments and overcame them. How did they do this? The main way is with perseverance and determined focus. They never gave up. Thomas Edison said, "I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have proven 700 ways that won't work." Wow! That's some kind of attitude. Considering that he is one of the greatest inventors around and we use many of his inventions every day, I think we're all pretty lucky that he didn't give up. Where would we be if he accepted failure? Perhaps we would never have had the phonograph or a lightbulb.

What can we learn from people like Thomas Edison? We can learn to never give up and to learn from what didn't work. The learning part is so valuable. Like Edison said, he never failed. What if we looked at our failures and chose to not consider them failures? What if we chalked up the experience as successfully learning what didn't work? The situation is the same - only our reactions are different.

My challenge to you this week is to approach your obstacles, challenges, and disappointments differently. See if you can turn a potentially negative situation into a positive one by learning from it and persevering. I would love to hear what impact this has for you!

Wishing you much success,

Coach April

Going the distance

Last night as I was running on the treadmill, it occurred to me how much life is like a marathon. For those that don't know, a marathon is 26.2 miles - a long distance by almost anyone's standards. Running any distance requires preparation and training - you can't just run the entire distance immediately. It takes weeks, months or even years of training before you are ready to run a marathon. Isn't life a lot like that? We start out as infants, learning to crawl, walk and talk. From there we move on to childhood and then adolesence, learning more about life and the world around us. These first 18 or so years of life is our training to prepare us to go the distance. We get an education, develop our morals and values, and learn the skills we need to be successful in life. Then the race begins. The rest of our lives are a test of this training and preparation. Sometimes we find it necessary to revisit or adjust our training. Other times, we are well prepared to keep running. But we're all in it to go the distance and finish our race!

Happy running and I'll see you at the finish line!

Don't forget to breathe!

During my fitness class yesterday as we were doing a particularly challenging modification of crunches, the instructor reminded us to not forget to breathe. At the time, this struck me as a particularly odd comment. After all, breathing is one of our natural biological functions - we don't have to think about doing it - it just happens. Then I realized that I was holding my breath!

How often do we forget to breathe? Maybe not in the literal sense, but in the sense that we take things too seriously, get wound up over little things, and just don't take the time to relax like we should. A well known benefit of yoga is the increased awareness of breathing. Meditation also focuses on breathing and the clarity and calm that deep and controlled breathing can bring.

My challenge to you today is to focus on your breathing. Take several deep, cleansing breaths and notice how it feels to both your mind and your body. Use this technique frequently and see how calming it can be.

Don't forget to breathe!

April Mims
Life Coach, Nexus Coaching Partners, Inc.
http://www.nexuscoachingpartners.com/

Let's GO!

I thought I was an organized person but it turns out that I'm only a surface level organized person. What does that mean? Well, it means that my house is fairly neat, all my bills are paid on time, I never miss appointments, and I know where to find just about everything. However, if you were to visit my home, I would die of embarrassment if you looked in most of the bedroom closets or at my filing system or in the kitchen cabinets. If you tried to open my front hall closet, I would likely throw my entire body in front of the door to block the view (and to keep things from falling out). Granted, most people don't look at my house in that much detail but I figured that I would need to be completely organized if I wanted to call myself an organized person. That's what started my mission to organize and lead to the developement of my "Let's GO - Get Organized" program.

The mission is to develop a plan over several months to get everything organized and decluttered. It took a long time to create the mess so realistically this isn't a weekend or even week long endeavor. Once one area is organized, the challenge is to KEEP it organized while moving on to other areas.

More details about the program will be coming soon and will be fully explained in my free telecourse on February 5th. To find out more about the teleclass, please visit http://www.nexuscoachingpartners.com/new_classes.

Let's GO!

April Mims
Life and Career Coach, Nexus Coaching Partners
http://www.nexuscoachingpartners.com

Your Most Valuable Asset

As I prepare for an upcoming teleclass about taking care of yourself, I've spent considerable time pondering the subject and looking at my own life. The premise of the workshop is that we are our own greatest asset - we have so many different roles to play in life that if we don't take care of ourselves, then everyone and everything else will suffer in some way. Because many of us spend so much time caring for others, I wondered how we would answer these questions and what those answers would tell us.

* Do you take time out for fun?
* Do you feel guilty when you aren't "doing" something?
* When was the last time you did something "just because"?
* How well do you take care of yourself?

Honestly answering the first three questions answers the fourth question. This leads to one more question:

What are you going to do to change this?

This is my challenge to you today: Do something for yourself today, even if it is only for a few minutes. You may just be surprised how taking care of yourself can help you take care of others.


Take care of yourself today and every day,
April Mims, Life and Career Coach
http://www.nexuscoachingpartners.com
"Bringing Inspiration to Life!"

Progress of New Year's Goals

Now that we are halfway through January, how are your New Year's resolutions going? Have you stuck with your goals? Or have you given up already? Research has shown that it takes 21 days to create a habit. If that's true and you have stuck with your goal, you are well on your way to creating a new habit!

If you have given up, what made you give up? It's a good idea to evaluate the reasons that you gave up so that you'll know how to overcome those reasons in the future. Some of the most common reasons that people give up are: procrastination, lack of discipline or accountability, and not having a plan. Do you fall into any of these categories? In a study done by the Gail Kasper consulting group, 99% of respondents felt they needed to improve in more than one area of life. The surprising news is that only 9% are actively doing anything about it. ONLY 9%!!

Do you want to be a part of the 9% or the 90%? If you are already part of the 9%, keep up the good work! If not and you'd like to be, what can you do today to recommit and refocus on your goal?


Wishing you much success as you work toward your goals,

April Mims, Life and Career Coach
www.nexuscoachingpartners.com
"Bringing Inspiration to Life!"

Living with an Attitude of Gratitude

I published an article yesterday about living our lives with an attitude of gratitude. I've received quite a bit of feedback from it and it seems that this is something people really struggle with. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how hard this is for some of us. How can we be grateful when we are so darn busy all the time? I admit that is a challenge but let's look at why we are so busy. Are you so busy at work because your business is thriving? Hmmm, sounds like something to be grateful for. Do you feel like you are constantly doing laundry? There are plenty of people that only have the clothes on their backs. The point is that we have so much to be grateful for, no matter what our situation looks like.

My challenge to you today is to look for all of the blessings in your life and write down at least 5 of them. Try doing this every day for a week and see what happens!

April Mims, Life and Career Coach
www.nexuscoachingpartners.com

Transitioning from the Corporate World

December 28th marked the end of my time in the corporate world. Due to a restructuring within the department, my job was eliminated. This was GREAT news for me! Because I had lots of notice that this was coming, I was able to get my own business going on the side. So, now the time has actually come to completely make my exodus from the corporate world and completely immerse myself in the entreprenuerial world.

I wasn't sure how the transition would feel. I've worked in the corporate world for my entire career, always too afraid to get out there on my own. It has taken some adjustment, but so far it's been great. Although I was quite ready to leave my previous profession (as an accountant), working for myself was both exciting and scary at the same time. It is exciting in that I get to pursue something that I'm passionate about. It's scary because I no longer have a steady paycheck. The really cool thing is that I am now my own boss and get to create my own destiny. My deadlines are self-imposed and I get to pursue more of my creative side. Not only that, but I get to help other people that are dealing with career transitions. Not a bad deal!

I've talked to many people interested in changing careers. The question I hear quite often is "How do I find a career that I will love when this is what I've done for so long?". The only way to anwer that is with another question. I'll leave you with a couple of questions for consideration:

What are you passionate about?
What gives you energy when you think about doing it?
How can you take action on this?

You CAN find a career that you love and are passionate about! It may take some soul-searching but it's worth the time and effort!

Keep moving forward to achieve your dreams!

April Mims, Life and Career Coach
Nexus Coaching Partners
"Bringing Inspiration to Life!"
http://www.nexuscoachingpartners.com