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I didn’t think anything would come of the conversation, I must admit. But Nancy proved me wrong.
A few weeks ago Nancy and I met for an early dinner at Julio’s, as we do every so often. We had recently reconnected at my CLARITY book launch, and soon after Nancy suggested that we meet for dinner.
My book had inspired her. She came to dinner with a written list of her dream goals. Armed and ready, we had a thorough go at them.
We really got cooking when Nancy shared her dream of living in the Northwest. She became impassioned as she described her connection to the environment and landscape there.
It turned out, some good friends of Nancy’s own a vacation home up there, and they had already proffered her a standing offer to use the home. Okay.
Why not take them up on the offer, I urged. For a month or two, to see if the Seattle area was viable as a home, rather than just a holiday?
Earlier, Nancy had told me that her employer was in the midst of lay-offs. I figured, then, that they’d be open to an unpaid leave. They’d save on her salary! And even if they didn’t go for the leave, Nancy could always quit and find another job if she returned to Austin. (Nancy had taken early retirement from her long-term employer several years earlier. It wouldn’t be difficult for her to find an equivalent position, since her financial needs were modest.)
The idea was for Nancy to give the Seattle area a two-month “trial-run,” a low-risk way to rehearse the life she wanted to build for her prime-time years.
And that was that, I figured, a great brainstorming session.
Until the next morning, when Nancy phoned. Her friend’s home was available to her for the early winter, and her son, now in the process of relocating to Austin, would rent her home here. But she wanted to wait until after the weekend to talk to her boss about a leave.
But the very next day I received an email: Nancy went ahead and talked with her boss, who was happy to grant her a leave. In addition, Nancy had already found someone to make the drive up with her and her cat. Everything was set. In a matter of days.
So, Nancy has set out on her road trip. I imagine her spending these Autumn days exploring the city and her evenings writing on the laptap. I’m eager for her first report.
In the meantime, Nancy’s story reminds us that we are often in a better position to move toward our dream life than we suspect. How close are you?
1. Target one specific aspect of your dream life
What one change would make the biggest impact on your transition? It could be a skill you want to improve, a place you want to live, a relationship you want to develop, or a job you want to land, etc.
2. Take an inventory of available resources
What resources (physical, financial, temporal, and human) are easily obtainable? Brainstorm a list of everything useful that you can you beg, borrow, or barter from friends, family, colleagues, and acquaintances.
3. Connect the dots
How can you combine these available resources to work together? Map the obvious and not-so-obvious connections among the resources you have.
The goal is to draft a creative plan that 1) doesn’t depend upon unlikely resources and 2) is greater than the sum of its individual resources.
