Unlimited: How to Build an Exceptional Life Read Free

authentic selves. Many of our greatest awakenings occur in the freefall of life. And please don’t take me for a fluffy New Ager—I happen to have a spiritual bent myself, but you don’t have to have one, or have discovered yours yet, to get everything there is to get out of this book. I’m also a science girl, as you’ll see in Chapter 3 , and everything I’m talking about can be looked at from that perspective as well.
    We were brought into this world at this time and place for a reason, and our one and only responsibility on this planet is to find out what that reason is, no matter how long it takes. The meaning of life is not some truth that is handed down to you—it’s something you create for yourself, by living authentically and by cultivating your passions in any and all circumstances. As Paulo Coelho, one of my favorite authors, said so beautifully in The Alchemist , “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” The only catch is figuring out what your passion is, what it is that you love to do. You may first have to relearn how to dream so you can identify what you really want out of life.
    Some of us know what we want and always have. If this is you, you’re way ahead of the game—A+ for you, you get to pass Go, collect your $200, and move on to Chapter 2 . Most of us don’t have this kind of clarity, though, which is how we end up feeling lost. Oftenwhen I talk to people about pursuing their passion, they confide in me, with concern, shame, or panic, that they don’t know what they are passionate about. Don’t worry, this is a common problem.
    A lot of us have shut down the part of ourselves that relates to and nurtures our joy and inherent passion. We’ve given up hope of enjoying life to the fullest because we’re scared of being perceived as selfish or ego driven, or because we’re afraid of disappointment. It can be scary to have dreams if you’re programmed to think that they won’t come true, or that you’re somehow a selfish ass if they do.
    Others may feel that dreams are just for children, like unicorns or Santa Claus. Grown-ups don’t dream—we’re practical, we do what’s expected of us, and we follow a bunch of rules even though we can’t remember who told us to or why. (Yeah, that sounds pretty grown-up to me.) We hide this load of crap inside what I like to call a responsibility sandwich, but really it’s glorifying the idea of being a martyr—and just another way of trying to make a miserable life more palatable. Awesome. If this is you, no wonder you’re unhappy! You’re wildly off base and out of alignment with your higher calling—and that SUCKS.
    Living life without a dream, an ultimate goal, is like being on a ship that’s lost at sea. Think about it. When you plan a trip, you need to factor a lot into your preparations: which direction you need to go; how far you’re going; how much fuel you’ll need; how much food you should bring; what clothes you should pack; and on and on. Seeing to all of these details prepares you for your journey and ensures that your trip will be smooth, right? But if you don’t have an end goal in mind, then how can you prepare? And as has been said before, failing to plan often means planning to fail.
    Why not apply this principle to your life? If you don’t have an end in mind, how can you work on getting there? It’s a surefire way to get lost.
    Some of you are going to tell me that there is no destination, that life’s in the journey. And while there is truth to that idea, technically you’re not on a journey if you don’t have a destination in mind. Without an end goal, you’re just engaged in an exercise of wheel-spinning. Sure, it takes a lot of energy and work, but there’s no real movement or progress. For your life to take the course it’s supposed to take, you have to get on the road first. Then you have to sit in the driver’s seat.
    You know that saying “Life is what