"It's a terrible thing in life to wait until you are ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now.” ~ Hugh Laurie. In this episode, I share some thoughts and a few personal stories on how to move past this dream-killing idea that you have to be ready and have all the answers before you can move forward with your dream.

 

Highlight’s from this episode:

Ancient Chinese Proverb: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”

Listen to your inner wisdom for guidance on the steps to take

When you commit to your dreams, the universe will conspire to show you the way

Reference: The 5 Second Rule, by Mel Robbins 

Thanks for listening!

If you want to learn more about what I teach around finding clarity and creating a life you love full of purpose, passion, and joy, I encourage you to join our community at Joyful Inspired Living. Here’s the link: http://www.joyfuljourney.ca/

About your host:

I’m your host, Anita Adams, an award-winning leader and the founder of Joyful Inspired Living, an organization dedicated to teaching people how to access their highest most authentic selves so they can find clarity and create a life of purpose, passion, and joy. In addition to hosting the Joyful Journey Podcast, I offer retreats, both live and online, and private coaching programs to further guide my clients on their journey to their highest selves.

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Leave us a review

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Anita Adams: 00:00:05

Welcome to the joyful journey podcast. If

Anita Adams: 00:00:08

you're uncertain about what you really want or unsure how to be

Anita Adams: 00:00:12

a force or good, you know this world craves, then this is the

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show for you. I'm Anita Adams, your host and guide to finding

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clarity and creating a life you love. Let's tap into our inner

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wisdom, access our highest self and unleash joy. As we raise our

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vibration, we heighten the collective consciousness and

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that, my friends, is the joyful journey. Let's dive in. Hey,

Anita Adams: 00:00:43

joyful journey years, Anita Adams here your host of the

Anita Adams: 00:00:46

joyful journey podcast. Before we get into today's show, I'd

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like to thank you for tuning in. And to give an extra big thanks

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to those who have taken the time to leave a review. Those reviews

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help the show become more discoverable. And as our mission

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is to raise the vibration and heighten the collective

Anita Adams: 00:01:04

consciousness. You are helping us do that by bringing this show

Anita Adams: 00:01:08

and our message to the attention of more people. I'm going to

Anita Adams: 00:01:12

start sharing reviews on my solo episodes. And today I'd like to

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thank jumble bug who wrote love this podcast, and Anita is very

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easy to listen to, as well as being a great interviewer honing

Anita Adams: 00:01:26

in on what the audience wants to hear. I particularly enjoyed the

Anita Adams: 00:01:30

episode The inner healer, with Anne crook, and all that was

Anita Adams: 00:01:35

shared in this conversation about not living in fear, using

Anita Adams: 00:01:39

your breath and tapping into your inner wisdom. Thank you

Anita Adams: 00:01:44

jumble bug for your kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed the episode

Anita Adams: 00:01:47

with an Kruk. I did too. She was such a wonderful guest who has

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become a lovely friend. Alright, let's move into today's topic,

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which is about being ready, and that there is no such thing. Are

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you familiar with the famous actor Hugh Laurie, he once said,

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it's a terrible thing in life to wait until you are ready. I have

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this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do

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anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is

Anita Adams: 00:02:18

only now what deep truth there is in these words, waiting to be

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ready is equivalent to a death sentence for your dreams as the

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waiting only gives more time to the inner critic to convince you

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that you are not smart enough, capable enough, talented enough,

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whatever enough. And soon, those dreams that could lead you to

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your life's true purpose begin to fade. So instead of waiting

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to be ready, where everything is perfectly aligned, and you have

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all the answers to every question imaginable. Here's

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another option. Don't overthink it, lean in and just take that

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first step. Like the well known Chinese proverb instructs a

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journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. You don't

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need to have all the answers to move forward. You don't need to

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have everything figured out. You just need to have a vision of

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the future you want to create, and an understanding of the

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first step to take. I get how uncomfortable that is not

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knowing all the answers. As a self professed a type control

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freak. This is something I struggle with. And I have to

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constantly remind myself that I don't need all the answers. I

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just need to understand that one single step. That's it. Once you

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take the first step, then the next step will be revealed. Do

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you know what makes it easier to take that first step or even

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those first few steps? You guessed it, learning to listen

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to and trust your inner voice of wisdom, that sole voice that is

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trying to guide you to your highest self and the grandest

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version of your life. The times in my life when I have listened

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to that voice and took action even before feeling ready, and

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having all the answers worked out. I've never been

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disappointed. When I started my film business 23 years ago, for

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instance, was acting on an impulse or call it intuition.

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I'd like to share that story with you now. And how taking

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that first step 23 years ago, got me on to an unexpected and

Anita Adams: 00:04:49

most delightful path.

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The year is 1999 It's a cold winter morning and I'm attending

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a We can workshop hosted by women in film and television

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designed to kickstart or reboot your film career. I'm a new

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mother with a three month old baby who my husband generously

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brings to the workshop every few hours so I can nurse her. I'm

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also a woman with a dream to relaunch and build her acting

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career. On day two of this workshop, the facilitator a

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tall, beautiful and immaculately dressed woman takes center stage

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and asks, Does anyone have anything to share that has

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bubbled up from our first day together? I look around and see

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a room full of creative people, writers, directors, producers,

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actors, and suddenly I feel inspired to share an idea that

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has just popped into my head seemingly out of nowhere. My

Anita Adams: 00:05:54

hand shoots into the air. Yes, we have our first enthusiastic

Anita Adams: 00:05:59

speaker. What would you like to share? Anita? Well, I

Anita Adams: 00:06:04

tentatively begin. We have so many people right here in this

Anita Adams: 00:06:09

room. Why don't we? Why don't we put together a script reading

Anita Adams: 00:06:12

event where the writers can have their project showcased by some

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of the actors and the directors and producers can discover new

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projects and talent to work with what a brilliant idea explains

Anita Adams: 00:06:25

the facilitator boosting me up, she then calls to a volunteer at

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the back of the room to circulate a sheet of paper.

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Here's what we're going to do, she announces. If you are

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interested in participating in this reading initiative, write

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down your name and email address on the sheet of paper that's

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coming around, and Anita will follow up with you. Oh, wow. Now

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I've done it. This workshop is all about making commitments and

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following through. So I have to do as she instructs, I have to

Anita Adams: 00:06:57

follow through on this idea that came tumbling out of my mouth

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before I had a chance to self check before my brain had a

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chance to jam on the brakes. Many years later, I read a

Anita Adams: 00:07:10

brilliant book by Mel Robbins, the five second rule that talks

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about this very phenomenon. She says we have precisely five

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seconds to take action before our brain gets in the way and

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convinces us otherwise. I can tell you she's absolutely right.

Anita Adams: 00:07:29

If I had stopped to think about everything that would be

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involved in this plan, there is an extremely high chance I would

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have talked myself out of it. And my life would be very

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different today. Regardless of whether this idea was thought

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through or not, though, the focus here is about taking that

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first step. And in this case, that first step was simply

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sharing an idea. That action then made clear the next step,

Anita Adams: 00:08:01

email the 120 people that said they were interested in this

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idea what happened next was pretty remarkable. Not only did

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those on that list, respond with enthusiasm, word spread, and

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many more came forward and wanted to get involved offering

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to volunteer their services to move this vision forward. With

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each step taken, a new step was revealed. Eventually, I learned

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enough and built my confidence enough to map out a bigger plan.

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To be clear, I do believe in the value of creating a roadmap to

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your success. I just don't believe you need to have it all

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figured out before you take that first step. Answers will come as

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you move forward with your vision, and the universe will

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conspire to guide you along the way.

Anita Adams: 00:09:02

There's more to the story. I ran my script reading event for

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seven years. And during that time, I got to know a lot of

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filmmakers. Around year five, a new idea emerged. What I

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discovered in my work with writers and directors is that

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Canadian films have a hard time finding their audience simply

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because they don't have the same marketing dollars behind them,

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as do our American counterparts that dominate the screens.

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Consequently, few people hear about Canadian films and those

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films then quickly disappear. The idea I had that came from

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this awareness was to help spread the word about new

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Canadian films through my growing mailing list. I call

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this new initiative the first weekend club. The first step of

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moving forward with this vision to help Canadian films was to

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email everyone on my script reading list to let them know of

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my plan and why it was important to support a film on its opening

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weekend. I told my audience, I would be creating a separate

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email list specifically for that purpose. And if they wanted to

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be on that list to let me know, my inbox exploded. Not only that

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the media got wind of what I was up to and wanted to interview

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me. And a federal funding agency suggested I apply for funding to

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support this initiative. I seem to be on to something here. What

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started as a little nugget of an idea grew into a national highly

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respected film promotional agency. And we promoted over 700

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feature films and countless talent. I ran that business for

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18 years, and in 2018, earned the Woman of the Year Award

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through Women in Film and Television. I had no previous

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business experience when I started down this path, and I

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certainly didn't feel ready to embark on launching a film

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promotional agency. I felt confident I could figure it out,

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though with the right people in my court. And that was the next

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step that became obvious, secure a kick ass board of directors

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who did know what they were doing. I ended up with some of

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the most powerful film industry professionals from across the

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country, sitting on my board of directors. Sometimes I would

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feel like a complete fraud walking into our board meetings.

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But that's a different story altogether. Imposter syndrome is

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huge, though. So if you ever feel that way, understand you

Anita Adams: 00:11:50

are not alone. And don't let it stop you. I want to share

Anita Adams: 00:11:56

another short story to illustrate how taking action

Anita Adams: 00:12:00

before being ready can lead to amazing life giving experiences.

Anita Adams: 00:12:07

This story is about the time when my husband and I decided to

Anita Adams: 00:12:10

move the family to France for a year, we didn't have a clue what

Anita Adams: 00:12:15

would be involved making that kind of transition with two

Anita Adams: 00:12:18

teens in tow. There was so much to think about that if I allowed

Anita Adams: 00:12:24

myself to try to figure it all out before taking action, it

Anita Adams: 00:12:28

would have paralyzed me. Instead, we made the declaration

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we are moving to France, and then set out to figure out what

Anita Adams: 00:12:39

the first thing was for us to do to make that team dream a

Anita Adams: 00:12:44

reality. The first step we decided would be simply to

Anita Adams: 00:12:49

research France and where we want to live. Sounds like fun

Anita Adams: 00:12:53

right reading about a country and looking at places to move.

Anita Adams: 00:12:57

It was indeed very fun. And that research led me to discover a

Anita Adams: 00:13:02

blog written by a Canadian woman living in Montpellier a the town

Anita Adams: 00:13:07

we decided to make home. And that woman ended up becoming

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instrumental in helping us with the transition. She fed me the

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next step, and then the next. And before we knew it, we had

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secured a lease on a home in our city of choice got our kids

Anita Adams: 00:13:25

registered in a French school and sorted out our international

Anita Adams: 00:13:29

banking needs. Everything else from there felt easily into

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place one step at a time.

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A final example of moving forward before feeling 100%

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Ready, is when I decided to launch this podcast and offer

Anita Adams: 00:13:47

retreats and build a coaching program. Even though I didn't

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have all the answers about the how and certainly didn't feel

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ready. Once I did make the decision to go for it, I was

Anita Adams: 00:14:00

able to move confidently into these roles because I understood

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one really important thing. There is no such thing as being

Anita Adams: 00:14:13

ready. There is only now and now is a brilliant time to take

Anita Adams: 00:14:18

action. You can bet that most successful people in life didn't

Anita Adams: 00:14:22

always feel ready when they started down their path. They

Anita Adams: 00:14:26

just took action. They took that first step. There is one more

Anita Adams: 00:14:33

thing I want to share before wrapping this up. Around the

Anita Adams: 00:14:37

same time I participated in that women in film workshop. I also

Anita Adams: 00:14:41

took an acting workshop with this la guru who was brought

Anita Adams: 00:14:45

into Vancouver for the weekend. This coach shared something that

Anita Adams: 00:14:50

I still like sharing with my clients. You have to pursue your

Anita Adams: 00:14:56

dreams with full abandon. He said oh In this way, will you

Anita Adams: 00:15:01

find the path you were truly meant to be on. At the time, I

Anita Adams: 00:15:06

was following my dream to be an actor, and I was giving it my

Anita Adams: 00:15:10

all. This path led me to launch my own business, which became my

Anita Adams: 00:15:15

new dream. I distinctly remember sitting on a movie set one day

Anita Adams: 00:15:19

waiting for my scene, I had a small recurring role on the

Anita Adams: 00:15:24

deadzone and wishing I could be working on my business. Instead,

Anita Adams: 00:15:29

you could say there was a tug of my heart. A few months later, I

Anita Adams: 00:15:35

called my agent and told her I was hanging up my hat. The

Anita Adams: 00:15:42

backup, that was an aha moment. A few months later, I called my

Anita Adams: 00:15:49

agent and told her I was hanging up my acting hat, my dreams had

Anita Adams: 00:15:53

shifted. I found the path I was meant to be on, or at least for

Anita Adams: 00:15:58

the time, a number of years later, my dreams and desires

Anita Adams: 00:16:03

shifted again, which led me to start up another business, which

Anita Adams: 00:16:07

then pointed me down yet another path. I look at where I am

Anita Adams: 00:16:12

today, loving this life I have created and I can clearly see

Anita Adams: 00:16:16

how all the dots connected to get me here, and how all the

Anita Adams: 00:16:20

experiences have taught me the things I need to know to be a

Anita Adams: 00:16:23

better teacher and coach and businesswoman so I can better

Anita Adams: 00:16:27

serve the people I am here to serve. Even some of the stories

Anita Adams: 00:16:31

I share in other episodes, such as the hard times in married

Anita Adams: 00:16:35

life, have served to guide me to where I am today. I'm grateful

Anita Adams: 00:16:41

for the lessons learned, despite the pain. Two decades ago, when

Anita Adams: 00:16:47

I raised my hand to share an idea I didn't have the vision

Anita Adams: 00:16:52

I'm living into today with running retreats and coaching

Anita Adams: 00:16:55

people how to listen to their inner wisdom. And yet I followed

Anita Adams: 00:16:59

the breadcrumbs and took action before ever feeling ready. And

Anita Adams: 00:17:03

those steps have led me here. Am I at my final destination?

Anita Adams: 00:17:09

Probably not. And who's to say all you and I need to do is

Anita Adams: 00:17:16

listen to the calling of our hearts, and then take the first

Anita Adams: 00:17:20

step. Maybe that first step is simply declaring your intention.

Anita Adams: 00:17:25

It doesn't have to be to a roomful of strangers either. You

Anita Adams: 00:17:28

could just declare your intention to one person. Soon

Anita Adams: 00:17:33

the next step will be revealed. And the next as the universe

Anita Adams: 00:17:38

will conspire to support those who commit to their dreams. If

Anita Adams: 00:17:43

your dreams change along the way as mine have, that's all right,

Anita Adams: 00:17:46

your heart and soul will never misguide you. So don't doubt

Anita Adams: 00:17:50

yourself just because your dreams have changed. You may not

Anita Adams: 00:17:54

see the bigger picture of where your heart and soul is guiding

Anita Adams: 00:17:57

you to. So lean in to the whispers of your heart, and then

Anita Adams: 00:18:02

take action one step at a time. And then one day, you'll look

Anita Adams: 00:18:07

back and go wow, look how far I've come look at all the cool

Anita Adams: 00:18:12

things I've done.

Anita Adams: 00:18:14

keep tuning in to your inner voice of wisdom as it's always

Anita Adams: 00:18:18

there ready to guide you. When you let go and trust that

Anita Adams: 00:18:23

guidance, you'll also be able to let go of this dream killing

Anita Adams: 00:18:27

idea that you have to wait until you are ready. You are as ready

Anita Adams: 00:18:33

as you need to be right now. So what are you waiting for? Do

Anita Adams: 00:18:38

what your heart soul spirit is calling you to do. Just take

Anita Adams: 00:18:43

that first step. Thanks for being on this journey with me

Anita Adams: 00:18:49

joyful journeyers we'll catch you next time. Thank you for

Anita Adams: 00:18:54

joining us today on the joyful journey podcast. If anything

Anita Adams: 00:18:57

resonated with you, please visit our website at joyful inspired

Anita Adams: 00:19:02

living.com Sign up to receive a free download of our three

Anita Adams: 00:19:06

guiding principles to inner wisdom and become a member of

Anita Adams: 00:19:10

the joyful inspired living community. For a deeper

Anita Adams: 00:19:14

spiritual dive. Check out our retreats we offer both in person

Anita Adams: 00:19:18

retreats on beautiful Bowen Island in British Columbia, as

Anita Adams: 00:19:21

well as online retreats that you can do from the comfort of your

Anita Adams: 00:19:25

own home. And finally, if you liked our show, please leave a

Anita Adams: 00:19:29

review so more people can find it and learn how to access their

Anita Adams: 00:19:32

highest self and together will raise the collective