I love the famous words of Henry Ford:  “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right”.  He could not have been more spot-on, and instead of just leaving it at that, today it is my goal to convince you that “You CAN do anything you WANT to!”  I want you to believe that you CAN.

I have to say that this topic brings me so much joy and excitement!  It is so close to home for me since I have personally gone from not believing in myself to knowing I can do anything I want!  Details on that later in this post, but I’ll say now that it is so magical to have a dream and KNOW that you can achieve it! 

SO… I’ll say it again, you can do anything you want to do.  Let’s break that sentence down and talk about the words “Can”, “Anything”, and “Want”.

CAN:

You CAN do anything you want to.

Let’s start simple and say that you want to cook up a new dish from a recipe you’ve never tried before.  The instructions aren’t super complicated, but there are some cooking techniques that you haven’t had much or any practice with.

What are your choices and all the possible outcomes?

Choice A:  Don’t even try.

          –Outcome A:  You will not make the meal.

Choice B:  Give it a try.

          –Outcome A:  You succeed and it tastes delicious!

          –Outcome B:  It kinda turned out, at least it was edible.

          –Outcome C:  You botched the whole thing, and it ended up in the garbage.

(That’s the example, but while we work through this, think of something that you actually have always wanted to do!  Whether that’s learn something, do something, become something, etc.)

If you go with the first choice, you will for sure never do the thing you want to do!  Period.  You have no shot at succeeding if you don’t even try.  Or for any sports fans, you miss 100% of the shots you never take.

So, don’t you think it’s worth it to just try?

But what if you try, and you get outcome C, and fail miserably?  That would be really disappointing for sure.  All that time, energy, and money that went into what you were doing…  Making a fancy recipe could require buying expensive ingredients, and if they all end up in the trash, that could be very discouraging!

But what if you got outcome A???!!!  Would that not be AMAZING???!!!  How cool would that be to get your desired results on your FIRST TRY?!?!  Just sit and smile with me for a minute, imagining how that would feel!   Ooh, I get the chills just thinking about it!

Does this excitement entice you even the slightest bit to step into the unknown, and do that thing that you’ve always wanted to do?  Do you think you could make the decision to do it and take action?

Or does the fear of failure win out, and pull you back down, causing you to just leave it “where it belongs” as only a dream?  Let’s go down that rabbit hole…

Pretend that you tried.  Say you invested countless hours of your time and maybe quite a bit of money too, and you did not see the results you wanted in the time frame you were hoping.  You failed.

Now what are your choices and possible outcomes?

Choice A:  Just forget the whole thing and be done.

          -Outcome A:  You will never see your desired results.

Choice B:  Try again.  Keep at it.  Get creative and try things in a different way.

          -Outcome A:  You got it this time!!!  Hooray!!!

          -Outcome B:  You failed again.

Every time you choose to give up, you are CHOOSING to NOT succeed.  Because that is the ONLY outcome possible!

BUT if you choose to try again, there is a possibility for success!  That’s the ONLY way to success!!

No one knows how many times you will have to try again, but if you keep at it I can 100% GUARANTEE you that you will eventually succeed.  Every “failure” is actually a learning experience –you learned what did or didn’t work, you learned about yourself, etc.  The only true way to fail is to not try again.

**Please note that “changing your mind” does not count as a failure.  If you thought you always wanted to learn the cha-cha, and after one dance lesson you realize that it was not enjoyable, then “quitting lessons” is not “failing”.  Please apply this accordingly, but be clear in your reasoning –If you still wish you could learn the cha-cha, but didn’t enjoy the class because it was too difficult, then keep at it and get creative and look for other ways you could learn it (private lessons, different teacher, self-learn on YouTube, etc)**

So are we clear??  It’s entirely up to YOU to keep going or not.  YOU are the one who decides  whether or not you give in to failure or hold out for success!

You CAN!!!!

ANYTHING:

You can do ANYTHING you want to.

Ok, literally as I typed that, my daughter came in and asked if there’s any way to fix a broken headband.  My answer?  “No, I’ve tried so many times and there is no way”.  Hmmmm….. so is it really possible to do ANYthing?????  I don’t want to be a hypocrite and tell you that you can do anything and then turn around and tell my daughter (and myself) otherwise.

So in thinking about this a little more, I will say that “things don’t always turn out the exact way you thought they would or should”.  “Fixing” your favorite headband might look like buying a new plain headband, and switching the ribbon and bow over to it.  The creative ways to get from point A to point B are endless!

I’m also reminded of my friend who spent ten years trying to have children.  From trying naturally, to seeing fertility doctors, and finally being led to adoption.  She now has three darling children, and is the cutest, most love-gushing mom you ever saw.

So I can confidently reiterate that yes, you can do ANYTHING!!!

You can do anything from fixing a broken headband to creating a multi-million dollar business!  And ALL the fun hobbies in between!!!

What’s that?  You’re saying that you’re just a little ol’ nobody, and there’s no way that you could ever become a famous singer on Broadway??  Ha!  Remember our formula for success above?  Nothing will stop you, even if you can’t currently carry a tune!  Sign up for singing lessons!  Everyone can sing; many of us just need to learn how to use our voices!  Research everything about auditions, “when, where, what they’re looking for/etc”.  Just TRY!!!  Once you start trying, nothing can stop you except yourself.  Even if you don’t get accepted, learn more and then try again the next time!

Can I tell you a secret?  I want to become an inspirational speaker!  Can you believe the audacity I have to think that I could possibly speak at Time Out For Women someday???!!!!!  I mean, come ON!  I’m a nobody of all nobody’s!  But that’s been a silent dream of mine for years, and I have come SO far in believing that I can actually do it. 

In fact, it was a little over four years ago that I admitted it to myself and finally wrote it down.  I was giddy inside just thinking about it!  Then my husband came in the room, and I wanted to tell him, but instead I just started crying.  I felt like the biggest fool and thought that he would think I was dumb for even thinking I could do something so huge. 

Oh, I cried and cried!  But as I started journaling my thoughts more, I realized that it wasn’t that I thought HE would think I couldn’t achieve that dream; it was that I didn’t believe I could.  Deep down, I “knew” I was an insignificant, unimportant, dumb little girl, who would only be an embarrassment to myself if I were to openly admit and go for this dream.

How sad.  I was so sad.

But I didn’t let it keep me down.  I journaled some more and talked my way up to believing in myself again (even if I kept it to myself for a while).  Sometimes we just need to let our thoughts marinate in our minds for a while before they truly become a part of our soul.

Now, over four years later, I’m not just telling my husband that I want to be a public speaker, I’m telling you and everyone else in the world!  

(P.S. If you have a small gig for me to get some experience under my belt, book me now for FREE!  Haha).

So… I know first-hand how scary and intimidating it can be to dream big.  But if you just let yourself daydream and add a pinch of action here and there, soon your dreams will seem reachable.  And when I say that I believe you can do ANYTHING, I ….. mean….. ANYthing!!!

Chances are you’ve seen Susan Boyle’s audition on Britain’s Got Talent.  Take a look at it again and put yourself in her place -a nobody, coming from the middle of nowhere, who had everyone thinking she was going to make a fool of herself, and look at what she did.  Who is laughing now?  I like this video because it has some after-the-fact footage with Simon talking about just that!  While you watch it, keep your dream in mind and feel yourself succeeding too!

If that’s not inspiring, I don’t know what is.  Brings tears and chills to me every time.  No matter who you are, or what your background is, I know you can…

…do ANYthing!!!!

WANT:

You can do anything you WANT to.

This is the kicker right here… I do not believe that you can just “do anything”.  I firmly feel that you MUST want to do it.

Sure, there are plenty of things you can achieve that you don’t necessarily “want” to do.  But how motivated are you going to be to keep going and continually try after so many unsuccessful attempts, if you’re not working for something you actually desire?

If you want to use your love of cooking to make some money, and you go about it by opening a restaurant, what would happen if you are met with one difficulty after another in jumping through all the hoops and regulations, not to mention all the physical struggles?  What if things were so bad that giving up really sounded a lot better than moving forward?

In this situation, if what you truly WANTED was to open a restaurant, then I know you could take a big breath and continue on!  However, if you didn’t actually WANT to open a restaurant (you just WANTED to do something with cooking) then you may or may not go forward with the restaurant idea.  Maybe it would be time to think of other creative ideas –look into a food truck instead, sell your goodies at markets and fairs, teach cooking classes, make cooking tutorials on YouTube.  There are always going to be so many different ways to use your talents and interests to achieve what you actually WANT.

Remember, switching directions to get what you want is NOT quitting, it’s just trying a different way.

If you don’t happen to already know what you WANT, go figure that out so you can make it happen!!  Read this post to help get you thinking!

Once you know what you desire, I absolutely believe that you can do anything…

…you WANT to!!!!

 *     *     *     *

Ok, we’ve talked about “can”, “anything” and “want”, now let’s put them all together!

You CAN do ANYTHING you WANT to!!!

With that sentence, and understanding all three points, you will be unstoppable!  Say to yourself everyday: “I can do anything I want to!”

Say it three times!

“I can do anything I want to!”

“I can do anything I want to!”

“I can do anything I want to!”

Awesome!!!  I love you!  You got this!!

Now go for it!

If you feel ready to share your dreams, I would absolutely delight in cheering you on personally!  Email me or drop it in the comments!  I am excited to hear what it is that you’ve always wanted to do!

Wish you the best!

Kayleen

SDG

If you are putting off reaching your dreams because you are waiting for more convenient timing, check out my post on why to start NOW.  Remember, “A year from now you may wish you had started today.”

If you liked this post but aren’t sure if you even have a dream, read Define Your Desires and Claim Them to help you through the first steps of finding your dream.

Last, if you haven’t already joined my email club, make sure to subscribe on the home page!