Do you remember that something special you wanted to be when you grew up?  Go back to when you were about eight or nine years old.  This was the time in life when you could dream of becoming anything you wanted to be – Superman, the Bionic Woman, or world’s smartest kid. Heroes aside, my dream was to become the world’s greatest teacher or artist. I absolutely loved reading, writing and spent hours drawing my favorite Disney characters believing that one day I would become famous. Despite this sweet dream, I pursued a completely different career.

Fast forward to the present. There are two loves still competing for my attention.  Growing and learning more about my current field or on more creative pursuits. My childhood dream is alive and well.  Yours may be too.  So how do we find time to do both in an already packed life? We’re hard at work, raising children and taking care of family.  We are always trying to keep up with all of life’s demands that seem to get bigger every day. Perhaps to lessen the busy tug we tell ourselves that its too late to go back and start tinkering with our earliest hobbies.

Friends, it is never too late to start again. To pick up a paintbrush to create something, find a marker to draw again and begin doing something that you always wanted to. I just met an accomplished professional who just started to take drum lessons.  That’s awesome.

Here are some steps that you can take today to get started:

1. First spend time to reflect on your earliest dreams – what captured your heart? what did you always dream of doing someday? Write these down
2. Make a list of the ways you can get these interests started again.  Want to build an old skill? Look into a reading up on the topic – how about going to an art store to buy some supplies if your dream involved some creativity – Sports dream? Look into a joining a gym to get the gears moving.
3. Look for open time slots that can be dedicated for your other life “purpose” – I get up extra early so that i can read or write for 15 mins – with a hot cup of coffee nearby.
4. Network – find people who excel in your “other” interest area. How did they get good at that speciality? Do they have a website or blog? I just recently signed up as a member of a new communications organization that offers lots of benefits – webinars, meetings, whitepapers – all of these are tools that can help build my own skills and personal interests.
5. Set specific goals according to a timeline – set benchmarks for when you want to complete certain tasks – don’t leave these goals open ended – set key dates so you can track your progress. By next month i will have completed my first two steps…

enjoy your weekend!