Has Your Ego Been Blocking Your Success? One of the hardest parts of a change for corporate executives and solopreneurs is that it is an identity change. We are talking about an emotional attachment – not a business one. Remember the line from, “You’ve Got Mail” when Tom Hanks tells Meg Ryan, “It’s not personal, it’s just business” and Meg Ryan says, of course, it is personal to her. Her business is her, they are interchangeable! This is exactly why it is so difficult for you to leave. Huge obstaclesNo matter how much we might know deep down that we really should do something else, it is so scary to think about a completely different life. When we think about introducing ourselves as something other than a title at a cocktail party, it is unfathomable! When I was a stay-at-home mom years ago, I could be having a very intelligent conversation with someone new, yet the minute they asked what I did for work and I proudly told them I was a stay-at-home mom, they would quickly end the conversation and move to someone they viewed as more worthy. I know that since I’ve been in corporate or as a solopreneur, I’ve never experienced that since. And in asking other corporate executives who left corporate to stay at home, or men and women who’ve now retired, they’ve encountered the same! It seems people judge how intelligent you are by what you currently do for a job! So, how do you go about leaving the professional world with this huge obstacle in the way – this huge obstacle – called your ego! Well, the first thing I teach is to get some distance. It is very difficult to find a passion when you are immersed in the world of business. The best thing to do is to get some new friends. Or if you have non-business friends, hang out with them more. You may be tuning out your gut instinct. If you allow yourself to open up and be open to new ideas, opportunities will come to you. In fact, they already do come to you but you do not see them because you are not open to them. “Following your gut” is a skill that all people own, but it is similar to a muscle that needs to be exercised or it will waste away! This muscle may be a bit flabby on you and need some working out. Your assignment is to practice following your gut on small things in your life, including what to wear, where to eat, what invitations to respond to (yes and NO). Don’t think, just decide and move on. Dan Kennedy says, no more “paralysis of analysis”, (or at least no more of it in your personal life). Gardening Take a class Sign up for a class or pursue an interest that is not related to your business life. Try something you have had a long standing interest in. Even if it might not be something you could make a living doing, go ahead and sign up! Most of the time we spend so much energy building up this image that we know everything and are perfectly in control of every area of our life. We simply can’t let our clients and co-workers know we have any insecurities or might have to look something up (heaven forbid!). But oftentimes this causes us to lose touch with our instinct and put an enormous amount of weight on the title. We are particularly bad at being “new” or asking for help. Yet once we do this, we realize THAT’S what makes people connect with us! This can be a big stumbling block to moving forward in your next phase of life. That is, we are sure that in order to find a career we can be passionate about, we will first have to be a newbie and that is so painful we would rather plug away at a career that is slowly killing us. But, by taking a class in something you will definitely NOT be good at, you are flexing that muscle, learning a new skill, and finding out how fun it can be to not know everything about a subject. In that process, you will learn that it isn’t so bad to be new, it is actually really liberating to ask for help, it’s fun to be outside of your comfort zone and you may even meet some new people and enjoy yourself! Extra Credit: When you get to the class you are taking or however you chose to fulfill the assignment, be open. Don’t just sit there with a negative attitude and think, “I have heard all of this before”, or “this better work”, or “I have tried everything and this stuff doesn’t work.” By acting and thinking like this, you will be blocking yourself from any of this working. What are you waiting for? Remember, your time is NOW! This is your turn to be happy, to be passionate, and to live life to the fullest. Enjoy Living Life,

Tracey Fieber is founder of “The Secrets to Retirement Success System™”, the most complete Retirement Transition program for executives and small business owners.

Using her own principles, Tracey went from a corporate executive to a retirement filled with adventure, passion and purpose, in less than 8 months!

Tracey is the celebrated author of the Retirement Success Home Study System™, and author of the upcoming book “How to Retire to a Life of Adventure, Passion and Purpose”. Get your free CD “7 Steps to Cracking the Retirement Code”, available on www.NewFaceOfRetirement.com.

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