Annie Anderson | Blog

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I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.

There. I said it. And it’s true.

Now, don’t get me wrong - I love design and writing and coaching and real estate but I still feel like there’s something else - something I’m missing, maybe. I don’t know.

(Yeah, I know - how could I be missing something with my plate so full, right?? Yep, I wonder, too.)

But even as a child, I knew I wanted to be a writer. It truly is my passion. The way words come together on a page is magical for me. But even so, I still don’t really know what I want to be when I grow up.

(Mind you, I’m in my 30’s. With 4 kids.)

It’s just that often, I don’t even feel grown up. Sure, there’s responsibilities and bills to pay and those little people (who are getting so tall, I nearly don’t recognize them) to take care of. A house to take care of, a car to maintain and all those good things and yet, sometimes I think “What do I want to DO with my life?”

There are so many things -

• Travel the world
• Go on a cruise
• Learn to fly helicopters
• Teach
• Build an orphanage
• Live on farm with animals and a huge garden
• Start a non-profit organization to help others in need
• Travel the US in a motorhome
• Learn another language . . . or two or twenty

And stuff like that.

I read Tim Ferriss’ Four Hour Workweek a while back and found I could relate to a lot of the information there, wanting to get to a point that my business runs itself more or less, leaving me free to do other things with my time. And frankly, by this age, I always thought I’d have it all together and be getting ready to do just that. Not so. It’s a little depressing at times.

All of this to say, it’s time to get there and ratchet this gig up to a new level. What do you think? Have you read the Four Hour Workweek? What are your thoughts and plans to achieve the lifestyle you want? Mine is finally beginning to seriously get somewhere.

Hey, I might even grow up soon.

Or not.

In the arena,

PS - Just found a great post by Cath Lawson called “131 Star Bloggers and Their Best Posts” and I’m honored that Cath would include me in the list. What a special way to say thanks to all of her commenters and readers. And so I’d like to say a very heartfelt Thank You to Cath for making my day, being so generous and for all the great things she shares with us on her blog. Do yourself a favor and check out Cath’s blog.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business - just as if it were her own.

I have a question I’d like to ask you today. And it’s sort of a serious question but before I ask you, let me share a little story.

The last time I wrote here a few weeks ago, I told you about my oldest daughters life threatening experience and how it pushed me into examining a few things in my own life pathway. And as the weeks have passed since then, I’ve sort of let a lot of things just coast - projects I wasn’t into whole-heartedly, books I couldn’t get into fully, tasks that seemed less important. Now, I wouldn’t say I deeply examined each of these areas but I did just sit quietly without distractions at times and just listened to my inner voice.

You know, a lot of people get so caught up in their daily lives - work, commuting, family, Little League, and all those things, that the true meaning of their lives is lost in the fray. Before you know it, life has passed you by and you’re left wondering where it all went.

When I was 18, my niece, with whom I was very close, passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer. She was 8 years old. I remember thinking that all the things I wanted to do life paled in comparison to the importance of family and relationships. I remember thinking that the inner voice was my best guide through life and I should listen to it at all times.

Unfortunately, as they say “life gets in the way” and I haven’t always listened to that inner voice. Periodically throughout the years, I’ve stopped to do so and always instantly felt calmer, happier, healthier and more wealthy. But something always distracted me from that. Or, I should say, I allowed myself to be distracted from that.

So, what’s this all about, Annie? I can hear you asking.

Well, it’s simple. The question I want to ask you today is Do you take the time to listen to your inner voice? Do you take the time to know exactly what you want out of life? And to go after it?

Or are you sitting on the sidelines wondering why things don’t go your way? Wondering why you have not yet reached any of those goals and ambitions you held as a young adult?

Let me tell you - it’s not too late to choose the life you want, beginning now. Remember that NOW is all we have. Yesterday is gone forever and tomorrow has not yet arrived.

Today, right now, I am making a pact with you - I will live each day in fulfillment of my desires, going in the direction of my life purpose and mission.

If you’ve looked at my “About” page, you may have seen my mission stated there. It says,

“To use my compassion, writing and intuitive gifts to inspire others to reach their full potential and discover their Personal Power.”

And that’s it. Yours is likely different. It could be to be the best mom or dad you possibly can be. It might be to the best wife or husband possible. Perhaps it’s to help others in some way. Whatever it is, I encourage you to start living your life from it.

Why? Because when you live from your inner-most purpose, everything else falls into place. I’ve seen this in my own life. And I can pinpoint each time I’ve fallen away from that. Things start getting harder, more complicated, less fun. I can always tell when I need to readjust.

I suspect the problem for most people is one of a couple different things -

1. You think things are too far out of whack to get back on the right track.
2. You have no idea where to start or how to get things back on the right track.
3. You have no idea where you’re going in the first place.

Well, I know from personal experience that it’s never too late to get things back on the right track. And that while it may seem like a daunting task to get things going where you want them to go, it’s truly liberating once you’ve begun. All it takes is getting started. Just one step. Then another. And another. And pretty soon, you’re there! And you feel good!

Start today.

We’ll speak again soon,

Annie

Since I haven’t updated here in a while, I thought I’d make my first post of 2008 one about my plans and goals for the year.

In 2008, I plan to:

• Lose weight, get fit and healthy
• Put my writing biz on overdrive
• Make a minimum of $10k per month
• Take my family on a vacation
• Finish my first of year of the Bachelor’s program with a GPA of 3.5 or better
• Replace my aging vehicle

And that’s the tip of the iceberg. There are some smaller goals and plans in between those and of course, most of those fit into the grand plan somewhere.

What are your plans and goals for 2008? Feel free to post a note in the comments or write a post on your own blog with a link back here. Just remember that whatever you do, make it fun!

~ Annie

PS - Check out my new site dedicated to losing weight and getting in shape at http://theweightlosspapers.com