Take My Advice...

From: http://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com

"I don't let myself stand in my way."

I read this statement given by a Successful Someone who was giving advice to a journalist. Just moments before, my sister and brother-in-law were telling me that sometimes the biggest obstacle to success was ourselves. When two very similar pieces of advice present themselves within minutes of each other it may just be time to listen.

The subject we were discussing was what I was planning on doing for the rest of my life after this Most Epic Trip I'm on. I explained the different things I had in my back pocket: bakery, non-profit, outdoor pursuits, etc. I kept getting cut short by my brother-in-law who continued to ask me: but WHAT are you doing?

It took a few repetitions for his meaning to sink in. It wasn't what had I done or what will I do or what do I feel like doing. He wanted me to pick one avenue and name my specific reason for wanting to go that route.

This one-avenue approach was a difficult channel to put my life into. I have, for so long, entertained all the many things I like to do and the different ways to I could make a living by them. When I responded with this, my sister chimed in with some powerful insight: sometimes we create distractions for ourselves because we are not sure how we will handle success.

I never thought of myself as being afraid of success, but I realized that perhaps I really wasn't sure what I would do if I were successful and what that would mean as far as making life sacrifices and new commitments. This is a new perspective that I am finding has kept me awake until now (3:50 a.m.) because I can't stop mulling it over, realizing it is something I need to face. Hmm.

What do you think? Is someone who pursues many passions avoiding putting all their "eggs in one basket"? What avenues have you forsaked in order to pursue one dream, or on the flip side, do you have your feet treading many roads?