Think You Are The Only Person In The Universe Who’s Not Living The Dream?

Why Give a Damn:

Ever feel like everyone else in the world other than you has their act together? Guess what, it is a myth! Read this excerpt from Jane Miller’s upcoming book to learn why you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself.

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The author of this post, Jane Miller, CEO and founder of janeknows.com, shares common myths in her upcoming book, Sleep Your Way to the Top (and other myths about business success), to set up common problems experienced when starting out in business. She then debunks those same myths using humor and practical advice based on her thirty years in the corporate world. Here is an exclusive excerpt from her upcoming book.

I could be a drug addict; do you realize how lucky you are?
– Hannah Horvath in HBO’s Girls, after her parents kick her out of the house.

I could be a drug addict; do you realize how lucky you are?
– Hannah Horvath in HBO’s Girls, after her parents kick her out of the house.  Tweet This Quote

Myth: You are the only person in the universe who is not living the dream

You’re in that half dream state right before waking up. The room feels so familiar. So cozy. You’re tucked under a fluffy comforter snuggly and warm with the smell of bacon wafting in. Mmmm. Coffee, too. Does it get any better than this?

“Honey, breakfast!”

You sit upright in bed. Fuck. You have just woken up in your childhood bedroom. Hermetically sealed by your parents, every detail looks like it did four years ago when you went away to college. Debate club ribbons. Soccer trophies. Prom pictures (what were you thinking with that Goth look?)

You grab Teddy, bury your face in his nappy little belly and try to hold back the tears. But you can’t. It’s just too damn sad. Twenty-two years old, college-educated, and here you are.

Back home.

Where did the big plans go? The cool apartment? The fabulous wardrobe? The to-die-for job?  Tweet This Quote

Of course, your parents are great. They don’t rub it in. They don’t ask when you’re moving out. They don’t tell you to keep your room clean. They don’t even say a peep about the cost of four years out-of-state tuition. They’re actually happy you’re with them. And you should be happy, too. Your old room, three square meals a day, Netflix on demand.

But you are not happy. At all.

Where went the big plans? The cool apartment? The fabulous wardrobe? The to-die-for job? You had a perfect picture of your post college life.

What you did not have was the plan to get there.

My friend, you are not alone.

Time to get a plan of attack so you can quickly sort through the fog and be on the road to making that picture a reality.

First step? Buy a journal.

You do great things every day. Don’t lose sight of them. Build your confidence and be in control.  Tweet This Quote

I know, I know, you’ve heard that before. But this is a different kind of journal. This is your What Obviously Works (WOW) journal. And this is the big bad baby that’s going to see you through. The WOW journal will not only get you through living in your old bedroom when you were positive you were going to be a rock star at Google, it will help you through every step to your top.

You do great things every day and I don’t want you to lose sight of them. I want you to build your confidence and be in control. The WOW journal will help you do both.

Any size notebook is fine. Ruled, blank. Fine. The WOW journal is critical to plotting your journey and tracking your success. A long time ago they did a study interviewing Harvard grads about what they wanted to do with their lives. The grads that wrote down what they were going to do followed through about 99.9% of the time. The ones that only said what they were going to do didn’t. Writing it down makes it happen.

Where to start? Write some non-work goals in your WOW journal.

You are in control of your goals. Writing it down makes it happen.  Tweet This Quote

It’s tempting to sit around, checking your horoscope and stalk your ex on Facebook but it’s better to do at least one thing a day that makes you feel productive. Go running. Take the dog for a walk. Volunteer at your grandma’s old folks’ home. Cook dinner for your parents. Read a novel. Do some non-work things routinely. These activities will give you a sense of accomplishment a few hours a day. You are IN CONTROL of these goals. Write the accomplishments in your WOW journal.

That’s a great start for today. More to come in the weeks ahead…