There is someone calling to you right now - who is it?

It's the person you want to become. Who is that person? Is this person happier? Wealthier? Thinner? More energetic? More powerful? Whoever this person is, this person is inside you. This person IS you.

What prevents you from becoming this person?

I once knew a young man who wanted to become an actor. He studied acting and participated in many plays at his college and in his community. A director recommended that he study dance, so he did. He even took voice lessons.

Today, he still lives in his hometown. He's married and has two kids. He frequently says "You know, I could have been an actor.” When asked why he didn't pursue his acting career, he shrugs and says it just wasn't practical. Besides, it's too late now.

One day, his wife decided to push him on the topic. He explained that in order to pursue acting, he'd need to relocate to a big city, like New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago, and that just wasn't practical.

"Even though it wasn't practical, why didn't you do it anyway?” his wife pushed.

"Because I wanted to marry you,” he said, teasingly, trying to get her off the topic.

"You don't think I would have moved to a big city with you?” she asked. "Did you even ask me?”

"Well, I didn't have a job lined up. Besides, what would I do in a big city? I wouldn't know anyone. And it's not that easy to break into acting. There are a million starving actors waiting tables in big cities.”

"But you wouldn't have starved if I were working,” she persisted.

After more conversation along this line, he finally admitted the truth. He was terrified of failure. All through high school and coll

ege, everyone assured him that he had the makings of a great actor. What would they think if he failed? What would he think of himself? It was just easier to let everyone think (including himself) that he chose love over fortune.

He had never admitted his fear of failure to anyone before. Naming this fear made it seem less threatening, and even a little ridiculous. He wondered why he had let his fear of what other people might think deter him from following his passion.

He now says that if he had been more honest with himself, he may have been able to face his fears. He may not have become the great actor everyone had predicted, but he would have had a chance to follow his passion.

If you can name the fear, you can face it.

Sometimes you have to ask yourself tough questions to get there. When you ask yourself "What's holding me back?”, don't settle for answers like "I don't have enough time” or "I don't have enough money,” or "It's not practical.” Press yourself until you discover the real reason.

When you discover the true reason for holding yourself back, you can address it and even move past it, if you choose.

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