At the age of 38 I left the only career I had ever known to start over. Like many people I was looking for a better standard of living for both myself and my family. I had invested over 20 years in a military career and was at the top of my chosen field -- for which I received about $40,000 a year. Although the thought of starting over when I was almost 40 was daunting, I set a goal to make $100,000 a year within five years, hung up my guns, and ventured into civilian life. That was 20 years ago. I hit my goal of $100,000 a year in less than three years and went on to become a corporate director with a salary of over $200,000 a year in just over 10 years. But that's a story for another time. This article is about starting over.
In the past 20 years I have learned that there really is no starting over in life. We torture ourselves with self-depreciating thoughts that we have failed, wasted x number of years, or squandered our youth climbing the wrong mountain. When, in reality, we have gained new viewpoints, new skills, and new energetic patterns. You see, you can't start over because every day when the sun rises, you start from where you are and where you are changes with every life experience. I'm sure you've heard people say "if I could only go back to when I was 17 and do it again, things would be different!" But, as we know, we can't! It's the same with thinking you have to start over; it's not only a misperception, it's impossible! There is no regression - life moves forward!
If you have saved your money for the past 20 years to buy a house and then you change your mind and decide to buy a boat, do you tell yourself that you are starting over? No! You are simply redirecting your investment toward a new goal. It's the same with life. If you have invested the past 20 years running a log mill and now you want to sell real estate, do you tell yourself that you are starting over? Yes, most people do, and that's the flawed premise! The energetic truth is that you are simply redirecting your investment toward a new goal. In those 20 years running the log mill you learned supply & demand, interpersonal communications, finance, planning, and a host of other things. You also developed your intuition, learned the value of integrity, made friends, fell in love, walked your dog, and marveled at nature. All of those things changed who you are both intellectually and spiritually. Given all those millions of events, experiences, and feelings, you could not go back to who you were 20 years ago and start over if your life depended on it! As Dr. Wayne Dyer was famous for saying "if you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." You did not spend 20 years, you invested 20 years. You are not starting over, you are redirecting your investment toward a new goal.
And one more thing (my tribute to Steve Jobs), you are never too old to redirect your investment toward a new goal. I'm 58 and planning to redirect my investments from the past 40 years into a new goal. I'll check back in with you in 2038 and let you know how it went!
David T Lang
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10004984
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