If you don't know, you don't know.

If you don't know, you don't know! You may have your foundation built, you may have all the support you need, but if you have no idea what the steps are to building the life of your dreams, you aren't going to be going forward.

One of my dear friends just introduced me to this summary of a basic truth. He says he never knew what he needed to know in order to do what he needed to do. I've thought for a long time that our children rarely are taught what they really need to know. I've been lucky. I love to read. So, from an early age, I went to the library and looked up what I needed to know. I got a lot of useless information and often didn't find what I needed. But if I kept trying, I eventually got enough information to move forward.

Now we have Google. Now we have the internet. We also have people in our lives that know all kinds of things. I once heard that S.H.A.M.E. stands for Should Have Already Mastered Everything. Let's admit our ignorance and get the information we need to get where we want to go.

Foundation for Change, continued

So far we've been working on getting touch with what we REALLY want for the life of our dreams, getting rid of our negative and "victim" thinking and then preparing for change by resting, sleeping and giving ourselves the best nutrition. We've also made a "NOT-to-do" list to make room and time for new behaviors. We now realize that we do not know when we or anyone else will leave this earth, so we may have only a little time to express who we really are and live the life of our dreams. However, we are not going to be able to do this by ourselves and without an environment that will support us. "We wouldn't order a spider to spin an exquisite web in empty space," says Barbara Sher in How to Get What You Really Want. So, now it's time to think about what kind of support we want and need.

One of the hugely important things I've learned is that when I want to start something new, making a list of people I know, calling them or emailing them and telling them about it and asking their input is the absolute best way to get going. I've learned that I have the most amazing friends and acquaintances. It doesn't matter what my latest thing is, I find that some of them know where the resources I need are and others that can help. This where I always start. Over time I've done some things people have told me were impossible. "How did you do that?," they've asked. The answer always is, "I called up everyone I knew and asked their help."

Foundation or Preparation for Changes

Besides rest, nutrition is next on the list for the self-care needed in preparation for change. Unfortunately, many of us think that means endless trips to the grocery store, hours of food preparation, and heaps of healthy but not too tasty food. Luckily, this is a myth. There are a lot of different ways to get the nutrition I need without all of that. There are many healthy frozen dinners. There's a salad bar at one of my grocery stores. Across the street from that store is a deli with inexpensive but delicious vegetables, fruit and high quality meats. Really - it's just not that hard when we quit telling ourselves it's hopeless!

Preparation for Change

Taking care of ourselves is always the foundation for change. Enough sleep is key in this time when everyone rushes. Without a foundation, any changes we make will only last a short time because we are too tired to keep trying.

Never, Ever, Never, Ever GIVE UP!

I've decided that the secret to success is never giving up. Well, okay, I know that there are other factors involved but anytime we give up, there's no doubt as to the outcome. As long as we don't give up, there's always a chance of a favorable outcome. I am an undisciplined but extremely stubborn person. As a result of my bullheadedness, I've actually been able to accomplish quite a bit - in spite of my lack of self-discipline and habit of procrastination. If it works for me, it will work for anybody.

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable."- Helen Keller

Here was a woman born without sight who lost her hearing also when she was very young. She was a free spirit in the world even though she had very little with which to protect herself. Since we have so much more to work with than she did, let's behave like free spirits too.