Face your fears and conquer them. Fear is a monster that dwells within all of us. It robs us of our dreams. Fears are like shackles. Fear of failure, fear of looking foolish, fear of ridicule, fear of rejection―all paralyze and keep us from moving forward.

It takes courage to let go of fear and focus. We must focus on what we have―skills, experiences, wisdom, relationships, mentors, etc. Know that on the other side of those fears are our dreams. Perhaps your dream is freedom―freedom to realize potential, to live happily, to define our own destiny, or simply to live with inner peace. Freedom lives on the other side of our fear.

Do you ever feel that something important to you isn’t working in your life but you don’t know how to change it?

Perhaps it’s your career, business, relationships, or lack of a clear vision and purpose. My story and poem below may help you to see an opportunity to create the life you really want.

How writing a poem during a time of crisis changed my life…

I was stuck in a career that was wrong for me from the very beginning of a long and unhappy 25 years while working in the healthcare field. During that time I felt trapped. I kept trying to make it work by going back to school, getting more training and advanced degrees, and changing jobs. After 25 years I was more miserable than ever. Then one day my boss gave me gift when she laid me off. Although it was painful at the time, losing that job was truly a blessing in disguise. Over the next few weeks as I went through the motions of looking for another job, I felt confused and depressed. I knew I was never going to be happy as long as I was doing the same type of work. But that was all I knew how to do. Or so I thought.

I couldn’t believe God put me on earth to be so unhappy. I prayed that he would give me a sign and lead me to my real purpose. Oddly enough, as I was looking for a job in the Sunday paper, I came across a poetry contest. I didn’t know why I kept returning to that contest as I was not a poet – nor did I care for most poetry. But I thought that writing about my feelings might help me to figure out what I was put on earth to do. What happened next was extraordinary and life changing.

I put pen to paper and began to write my contest poem, Going Not Where I Know. Then I couldn’t stop writing. It was as if everything I needed to know and do was pouring out of me expressed as rhythmical inspirational verses. Ideas I had never been exposed to through books, mentors or my family were suddenly in my head, telling me to follow my dreams, listen to my heart, let go of fears, take risks and live my own life. This was as close to God as I had ever experienced and I knew I must listen. I wrote for almost three weeks – sometimes 12-14 hours a day. There were days I neglected myself, my home and my family. Finally the day came I will never forget. I told my husband and daughter that I would never return to working as a nurse ever again.

My heart was guiding me to live my dream. Before long I was back in school to learn about the Internet, web design and marketing and to start my own company. That was back in 2000. Since then I have never looked backed with a moment of regret. I only revisit the past to see how far I have come and to inspire others to live their dream too. Here is the poem that was the catalyst to transforming my life.

Going Not Where I Know

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Choose to be happy and you will be. Choose to be sad and you will be. Life is filled with challenges. Dwell on the negative and you will attract more of it to you. Napoleon Hill said that “every adversity has an equal and equivalent benefit.” Find the silver lining in each adversity and you will find inner peace.

Opening Doors

Opening Doors, a life changing inspirational poem for women, can be found in Visions in Verse paperback and eBook and is available as beautifully illustrated framed artwork that makes the perfect keepsake gift. Opening Doors helps us to understand that every adversity is the seed from which something better can emerge. Give your female friends a much needed lift with a message of hope when you share Opening Doors and RePin it.

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“All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.” -Benjamin Franklin

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” -Winston Churchill

What is your favorite quote by a famous person and why? Share your comment below.

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