At Least Open a Window!

Mid-January, I posted an article, “Success Really Does Come in Cans,” where I mentioned conversations with two individuals. One was a Can’t-Do person; the other was a Can-Do type.

I haven’t heard from the former, but I heard from the latter. She called to say she was utterly confused and desperate to find a job. She’d once had a dream job that disappeared when someone bought the franchise and put all new people in. She’d been spoiled, and nothing she’d done since then gave her the same level of enjoyment and satisfaction, or compensation and benefits.

As we spoke, she said she’d tried everything and didn’t know what to do next. One thing we learn as coaches is not to believe people’s stories about how they view their situations. I let her talk a while longer, heard enough, and began to address the fact that she hadn’t tried everything yet. We identified at least three things she hadn’t done or considered. I also recommended that she get in touch with what her former dream job had felt like, not the details, just the feeling of having it.

Two days later, we spoke again. She’d taken action on one of the three suggestions and by the next day, had a meeting with someone who offered her another dream job. Mixed in with the details is the fact she’d decided to move from where she lives now to another state where she has family and lots of friends. Where she lives doesn’t suit her and hasn’t for a long time. Part of the dream job is that she’ll be trained where she lives now, then relocate to the state she planned to move to anyway.

This gets even sweeter. As we spoke about this new development, I asked her if she’d connected how this business is going to allow her to incorporate the skills and talents she originally wanted to create her own business around. She hadn’t. When she realized this, her energy went straight up, and it was already pretty high.

What happened was she’d shut her mind to possibilities, believing she’d thought of and tried everything. She knew she wanted another dream job, but believed that only happens once in a lifetime. She even said she was being arrogant by not accepting something less and should get over it, “bite the bullet,” and take what she could get. My response was that when we know something about ourselves, are clear about what we want and don’t want, we sometimes have to keep going despite the comments and opinions of others who think we should settle for less. She opened a window and something magical flew in and landed on her life. Very little effort beyond an inner shift was involved.

There are times we may believe there’s no way out of a situation based on how it looks. At least open a window. The first window to open is the one called Feeling. Find the feeling you choose to experience and hold it. The Universe, which is your personal genie, will say, “Your wish is my command.”