People thank me for making things easy. Which is a surprisingly difficult thing to do for yourself.
It’s easy to know what you love and what you’re good at. It’s quite another to accept that the easy way really is the right way. Even more difficult to embrace it.
People thank me for dreaming the big dreams. No matter how brave we are, we have a tendency to censor our own dreams.
But when you see someone (me!) say, “I’m going to make it happen.” You feel a little better about upping your goal just one more notch, a little steadier in pushing yourself one inch farther. Permission granted.
People thank me for making them think. Is this my numbero uno goal in life? It just might be.
Dyana Valentine asked me last week, “What do you want more of in the world?” The question had stumped me previously. But I blurted out, “I want more people to think about everything.” And I want less people to take things at face value, accept what they’ve been told. Blind faith has it’s place but experience rules my roost.
Taking the easy road, dreaming big dreams, and relentlessly thinking for myself is my code of conduct. Some would find these qualities contradictory. Crazy. I find them calm & collected.
It’s my journey & I choose to take this road.
Of course, my particular road map is not the one everyone wants to follow. I like it that way. My street is not crowded. But I don’t walk alone.
What do people thank me for? They thank me for being me and helping them to be more of who they already are.
Thank you Danielle LaPorte, Marie Forleo, and Selling Your Soul for the prompt. You have already prompted me to do big things.
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So beautiful. So true.
Love the path, love it.
Thanks, Hannah! I love my path too.
Love this Tara! “It’s easy to know what you love and what you’re good at. It’s quite another to accept that the easy way really is the right way.” – can’t wait to see you in May!
Thanks, Marie! We spend so much time trying to make life more difficult, huh? Finding the easy way seems icky until you’re in it, doing it, loving it, and helping so many people. Bam!
Can’t wait for Selling Your Soul!
Hmm…interesting question that I don’t think I’ve ever posed to myself, but one I should. Guess I know what I’ll be pondering today…
Right?! Can’t wait to hear what you come up with. I’m sure you have lots of answers!
Tara, thank you for sharing so much of yourself.
I’ve been speaking with friends a lot lately about bravery and how it feels to put yourself out there. Once you’re on a roll, big dreams and ideas really start to take shape and it feels easy, not complicated with questions about where to go next. It seems to fall into place kind of organically as you continue to say yes to what you really want and work hard to get it.
For so many people, taking that first step and saying, yes! to what they really want and then running with it, can be very painful. And then of course there are those voices in one’s head that can stop someone from feeling they deserve their big dreams.
This initial pain far outweighs never saying yes! Eventually, that discomfort of putting yourself out there and standing tall behind your dreams subsides and you’re left with, a truly authentic you! And more often than not, your authentic self you will surprise you! You’re way bigger than you ever thought! Amazing!
Thanks for all the continued inspiration Tara!
Hey Andrea! I completely agree. But I have to add that after that initial “yes” – after you discover that the other side is easy – there’s also this sticking point of, “Wait, shouldn’t this be harder?”
And a lot of people try to struggle to making things more difficult for themselves all the while they’re saying “yes!” instead of accepting that your skills/talents/passion really can make your journey pretty easy if you let it.
I second your numero uno goal in life.
See you soon in NYC.
xo
Rock on. Thank you for challenging me and making ME rethink the way I view my world.
Love this, Tara! What a great question to ask to unearth your natural gifts and strengths. I’ve only recently come to the realization (thanks to some very smart people I’ve interviewed and worked with lately) that the things that come most easily to you are your highest-value offerings — the ones you should be charging the most for! Your question plugs right into that.
What do people thank me for? I get a lot of emails from people thanking me for inspiring them. And you know what? Not much could make me happier!
Thank YOU for inspiring ME, Tara! You’re an amazing role model, and I’m doing my best to follow the path you charted (in my own way, of course!)
They ARE are highest-value offerings but they’re the ones we always charge the least for. Not me, not anymore. My easy is sexy AND highly profitable. And dammit, I’m good at it.
Thanks for your support, Melissa!
What an awesome post.
“It’s quite another to accept that the easy way really is the right way. Even more difficult to embrace it.”
I’ve spent most of my life completely undervaluing my talents because I felt that if something came easily to me, it probably came easily to everyone. And even now that I know I can do things that a lot of other people can’t, I still struggle to find value in those abilities.
But my ability to achieve a reasonable level of proficiency in ACL (a data analytics program for auditing) in a matter of days meant that my department at my day job can test 100% of a population faster than we could test a small sample, which provides for a higher level of assurance in our audits. My ability to navigate a vast array of information at my part-time library job helps patrons find books, articles and website they might not otherwise have been able to find, and these things help them further their education, find a job, or otherwise improve their lives. And my creative streak and steady hands help me design custom jewelry for friends, family, and even total strangers – jewelry that they wouldn’t be able to find a retail store and can’t make for themselves.
All of these things are second-nature to me, but in some way or another they add value to someone’s life.
This is so common:
“I’ve spent most of my life completely undervaluing my talents because I felt that if something came easily to me, it probably came easily to everyone. ”
We always underestimate our own uniqueness. But the more you discover about yourself, the more you realize just how unique & valuable you are.
Thanks for stopping by!
Found your site and this article through a tweet from Danielle LaPorte.
Love the look and feel of it… it just oozes clarity and kick-arse confidence. Which I really like.
So what do people thank me for? Raw, authentic honesty and courage.
“it just oozes clarity and kick-arse confidence.”
Thank you! Can’t wait to get to know you better.
I love this reminder about the ease-y road. Thanks for putting it so beautifully, Tara! I’ve been thinking and blogging about it as well, and while my hunch is that it’s true, it helps to see you out there PROVING that it can be true. We can do what comes naturally to us and it doesn’t have to be hard to be successful. I’m early on in my biz, but finding that when I relax and let my gifts shine — oh, and ask for what I want — that clients turn up and things click into place. And I exhale.
Thank you.
What do people thank ME for? Clarity, deep connection and utter faith in the power of individual magnificence.
Hey Tara!
I love this post and the fact that everyone is grooving to the idea of what it means for things to be easy.
It reminds me of one of my favorite lines from the Tao Te Ching “The Great Way is easy. Yest people prefer the side paths.”
Whenever things get hard, I remember that I can always choose easy way. It’s usually not a hard choice.
Thanks again for this wonderful reminder!