As a success coach, I’m often asked what success means for me?
I’ve spent a lot of my life doing all the things that a smart girl should do. Going down a professional route at university. Taking the well-trodden career path for my vocational degree. Falling into jobs and promotions that were put in front of me – ‘you’d be great in this job!’. Getting the jobs and ‘succeeding’.
Never really knowing what I wanted in life beyond the expected norms of progressing in my career, marriage, family…
Except I did know what I wanted. I just wasn’t admitting it to myself. I wanted to work for myself. I wanted to learn new skills and try new things. I wanted to have adventures with my family. I wanted to live in another country and speak other languages every day. I wanted to sing and perform beyond the annual outing with my fabulous choir.
To have all these things is truly success for me.
But it took being pushed into a corner with my career where there was nothing else for me to start a sea-change in how I was living my life. To start taking risks and living a life that was aligned with my values and bringing success on my terms.
Since that day, I’ve set up my own consultancy business, moved abroad, trained as a coach, set up a coaching practice and joined a singing trio that performs around Andorra and Spain throughout the year.
I am truly living my best life.
Some days are more challenging than others. We have made some hard choices about what matters to us (we have one car and live in an apartment so we can work less and have more free time as a couple and as a family).
We still have business challenges and family concerns to deal with but living a life that is aligned with our values means we are far more resilient than we would have been when we were in the 9-5 rat race in the UK.
None of this is what I would have guessed if you had asked me where I’d be 5 years ago but I can honestly say I’ve never been happier.
I’m certain it’s not everyone’s idea of success, but for now it’s mine. And if that changes, I’ll go for the next thing.
What does success mean for you? I’d love to know!
And if you are not living a life that feels aligned with or moving towards success on your own terms, why not book a free 30 minute coaching experience with me to start to explore how you can start living that life and find the ‘success’ that you want?
