Success Belongs to the Streets!
Today, on February 7th 2021, my baby sister Leah turned 18. I'm now the eldest of four adults.
It's a pretty mind-boggling thing to wrap my head around: she's always been my baby sister, but now she's preparing for university in September.
I'm incredibly proud to be the eldest brother to three incredible people. They're loving, funny, humble, giving, and extremely ambitious.
But what impresses me the most about them is their desire to live by doing the things they love.
Leah is pursuing her acting career by studying drama. She has loved drama and acting since she first started learning in school. Since then, she has gone on to frequently star in productions, and has received a number of university offers to further her studies.
My youngest brother, Jonah, has never known "what he wants to do" for his adult life. He's said he wants to do everything under the sun and more. So he decides to do what he loves in the present. Right now, that's baking and patisserie. Since he started these studies, he's gone on to win medals in baking competitions - and is an ambassador for a food production company.
Onto Luke. He's a police officer - a career he’s dreamed of having for eight years. And boy, did he work for it. When he was sixteen, he applied to study a public services course, as he was too young to join the academy. By the time applications were being taken, he was six months too young to join - opportunities didn't reopen for two more years. While he was waiting, he sought mentorship from high-ranking officers. He graduated last year as the most developed officer from his academy group, and is now thriving as an officer.
And then there's me. The one thing I’ve always been aware of is my purpose: to help others. I've spent most of my life trying to find out how I can do so. I’ve volunteered at mental health institutions; I’ve supported a number of charities with my time and effort; I've mentored; I've mediated; I've networked. Now, I've found my lane: I've found coaching.
We're four individuals whose interests are very different. And still, we've all managed to begin our journeys in the careers we want to pursue. Is it down to luck?
Of course it's not. As a family, our mindsets have been down to doing two simple things: things that you're also able to do right now.
The first thing that we all have done is explore our options. As kids, my brothers used to try a new hobby one week, and never go back the next. At the time, I used to see it as a bad thing. Looking back, I'm more than sure that they were simply finding out what was right for them. And it's worked out perfectly.
If you don't know how to start exploring what options you have, go back to the root: your purpose. As I said, I've always known mine, but 'help others' is an EXTREMELY broad one. There are countless numbers of ways to help others: I had to find out the right lane for me. The only way of doing that was trying everything remotely related to doing so.
I tried working in retail. I've worked in sales. I volunteered. I studied psychology at university. I found out about coaching through an online search: scrolling through different social medias, finding motivational video clips of coaches - thinking I could see myself doing exactly that. Lo and behold, here I am.
Once you've narrowed down your options to the one you want to do, then you need do the second thing:
START!
To quote most people on the planet, "You never know until you try". You will immediately know if you are in the right place - or entirely the wrong one - once you give something a go.
'Start' doesn't mean waking up tomorrow and all of a sudden you're a full time actress, baker, policeman or coach. It means to start the journey you're about to embark on.
Figure out how you can get your foot through the door. Are there any free webinars available? (I recently used one myself for coaching). Do you know anyone who's already doing what you want to do, that you can ask for a chat and some advice? Can you search "How to become a ____" online?
Once you make that first move, you'll discover very quickly that your dreams are possible and achievable!
This mindset is transferable to all areas of life. The perfect way to get what you want is to see what's available, and figure out how you're going to get it.
Even if it's a complete career or lifestyle change, you'll never know if it's right unless you give it a go. If you're on the fence about moving abroad, find different ways to explore your options! Connect with expats in different countries; compare lifestyles; watch videos. Start gathering information so you can at least give yourself the chance to know if it's right or not!
I'm extremely proud of my siblings for giving things a go, and finding the things in life that are right for them. I know they will all be successful in their lives - no matter if they stick to their current paths or not - purely because they'll give themselves the opportunity to try.
What's something that you've always wanted to do, or see, or try, that you've not yet done? How can you find ways of giving it a try?
(P.S. Happy Birthday Leah! I better throw that in there)