By Marianne Clyde
Looking back on my life, I realize I’ve had the privilege of doing and accomplishing some truly fabulous things.
It’s not that I sat around planning, “How can I live a fabulous life?” Instead, I made a series of decisions that shaped the life I have today.
As a young mom, I decided to live life on my terms as much as possible. I chose to stay home with my kids, a decision that I have never regretted. It was a choice that set the stage for many more decisions to come.
I made the decision to end my first marriage, a difficult choice but one that ultimately led to greater personal growth and happiness. I made the decision to remarry, finding a partner who shares my values and supports my dreams.
Then i decided to go to graduate school, a decision that opened up new opportunities and expanded my horizons.
I made the decision to start a family therapy practice, a career choice that allows me to help others while also pursuing my passion.
Along the way, I made the decision to make my schedule adapt to my life instead of making my life adapt to my schedule, a choice that has brought me balance and fulfillment.
Each of these decisions was not meticulously planned out in advance. Instead, I had an idea of a plan and took one step at a time, adjusting as I went. Each decision was fraught with obstacles and difficulties, but I learned to navigate them with grace and determination.
I’m a pretty pensive person, and I let ideas float around in my mind for a while. However, I am not willing to wait until I know all the answers and can predict all of the outcomes before I take a step.
This strategy has worked well for me as I have created the life of my dreams, one step at a time.
You may have some dreams that you’ve been considering, but you’re not exactly sure how they are going to play out. The truth is you never really know.
I had to become okay with the idea that some of my dreams were not always “approved of” by everyone, so I had to get comfortable enough with the willingness to take responsibility for the fallout.
By implementing this strategy, I said yes to many things: traveling around the world to developing countries to help trauma victims of war, poverty, slavery, hunger.
I said “no” to developing depression and said “yes” to running a marathon.
I climbed Mt. Fuji, trekked to Mt. Everest Base Camp, jumped out of airplanes, invested in real estate, been on some incredible vacations, and have met remarkable people all around the world.
And today, I said “yes” to another thing that’s been rolling around in my head. I took the first step to learning to fly an airplane.
Do I have any idea how that’s all going to play out? Not really. Are there risks involved? Well, yeah. Some big ones. But I will do the work of mitigating those risks as best I can.
However, the most important thing in any developing idea is that first step. So today, I signed up with a flight school to take a “Discovery Flight.” And I’m excited!
This is the life of a supernova woman. It’s a decision to live my dreams, to try to learn and grow every day.
Your supernova life may not look anything like mine, but it will resemble mine in this way: You are living your life on purpose, saying yes to opportunities that bring you joy and no to situations that you have outgrown.
Your supernova life is a choice to shine brightly doing what you love with whoever you choose to do it with, within the parameters of your values and life principles.
And have fun doing it!
Marianne coaches women leaders to kick it up a notch, think bigger, increase their impact and their income.
For 35 years she has been helping clients live more productive and abundant lives. As an award winning businessperson and psychotherapist, best selling author and speaker, Marianne has built multiple businesses, learning to adapt and adjust as circumstances changed over time. She is a MindValley Certified Hypnotherapist, trained by Paul McKenna. In 2016, she founded the Be the Change Foundation, a non-profit organization that trains and equips women to be entrepreneurs so they, like her, can live their dreams.
Marianne’s books help free readers from destructive thought patterns while learning tools to change them. They include:
Peaceful Parenting: 10 Essential Principles (2013)- https://www.amazon.com/Peaceful-Parenting-10-Essential-Principles-ebook/dp/B00EMEGBSU
UnLeashed: Practical Steps to Get Your Life Unstuck, (2017)- https://www.amazon.com/Leashed-Practical-Steps-Your-Unstuck/dp/1533017700
Zentivity: How to Eliminate Chaos, Stress and Discontent in Your Workplace (2018)- https://www.amazon.com/Zentivity-Eliminate-Stress-Discontent-Workplace-ebook/dp/B07964YY87
