Twenty-five years ago I was rushed to the hospital. My heart was beating irregularly, and I wasn’t sure what was going on.

The ER ran the normal tests, found my vitals to be fine and determined that there was nothing wrong with my heart or me. The doctor asked a few routine questions about my life. At one point he asked, “How’s your job?”

To my surprise, I was unable to respond. Instead, I burst into tears.

At the time I was working in a high-pressure corporate marketing department. The tension in the office was thick. The pressure to perform was off the charts. It was challenging to go to work each morning, and for many months I lived in denial. Without even realizing it, I was keeping my job-related stress tucked inside my body. This ultimately led to my “unexpected” trip to the hospital.

Boy did that ER visit wake me up. It was a turning point in my life. Sitting in that ER I realized it was time to go in a different direction. My life depended on it.

Looking back, this was when my entrepreneurial spirit was woken up. I said “no not that” to that type of corporate life, and “yes” to doing my own thing.

I wasn’t sure what my “own thing” was, but ultimately, as a result of that trip to the ER, I became a coach (thank you Cynthia Loy Darst!), which led me to my passion in life: activating others to live happy, fun and fulfilling lives.

Can you imagine a world where everyone – and I mean everyone – lives a life full of passion and purpose?

I can; and I believe that we are on this planet to share our individual passion and purpose, no matter what it takes (and I’m not suggesting that you need to visit the ER like I did).

When we get to the end of our lives, I believe we all want to say “Gosh that was a great ride! I’m so glad I did this or that, and created x and y!” The alternative is to say something like “I wish I had” or “I never really chased my dreams.”

Here’s the truth… I know that our life circumstances can get in the way of what we really want. It’s easy to get distracted and let our focus drift away from what matters most.

Were you meant for something bigger than yourself? And you’re not really sure how to begin?

Did you have big plans for 2018 and already they seem to have taken a back seat?

Do you long to have big impact and really make a difference in your world?

Are you wandering through life, not really sure where to put your attention, but very clear that you have more to offer?

Take it from me; please don’t push your dreams aside. I learned the hard way that waiting could be detrimental.

Namaste-
Rick