Written by: Adele Chee, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
We all have dreams. We’re at the halfway mark to the year, how are your dreams for 2022 panning out?
Are your dreams to achieve in 2022 feeding into your dreams for 2032 or 2042… maybe 2052 and beyond?
Were your dreams in 2012 achieved or have they been left on the back burner, maybe even shelved into eternity?
Have you ever wondered, what life would be like living in the reality of all your fulfilled dreams?
This was my nonage wonder. Having had a less carefree childhood than a lot of my peers and being exposed to the realities of adulthood at a tender age made a huge impression about the future on my young mind. I had multiple versions of how my grown-up life could look like and the theme always centered on having the independence and freedom to make my own choices.
As I wandered into my adolescent years, the practicalities of achieving this “future me” vision became more tangible. It dawned on me that, in order to live my dream life – to be the master of my time; so that I can help others live their full potential, travel the globe and write about what fascinates me – I needed to put some steps in place to get there.
Now living this life, I have discovered the 3 valuable applications that have contributed and enabled me to achieve and thrive in my “future me” vision. They are: having clarity, doing the work, and being adaptable.
Having Clarity
When I first started conjuring up the multiple potential versions of how my grown-up life could look like, I began the work on getting to know the kind of person I am and want to be. Essentially, the ‘who am I’ question. So, I searched to discover what my values and strengths are according to my beliefs as a Christian.
After discovering unmistakably the ‘who’, I moved on to determine the ‘what’ – that is, my passions and purpose – to determine my life goals. When I think about helping others live their full potential, being a traveller and writer, my heart sings with excitement yet at the same time, I feel peace within. This is when I knew that they were the right goals for me. This is also my ‘why’ – it’s not a matter of goodwill, neither is it to be self-serving, it is to delight in the peace of God.
“What makes you smile, what makes you sing for no reason and what gives you inner peace – there you find your purpose.” ‒ unknown
The ‘how’ or as I prefer to call it, the journey takes shape guided by my values, strengths, beliefs, purpose, passions and priorities. This means that whilst I may not know the exact path to take, I’m aware of what I need to achieve my dream life. Namely, I would need relevant experiences and qualifications to be in the position to help others. To truly immerse in the joys of travel, I would need to be in the pink of health and be financially viable.
So, my ‘journey’ unfolded as such:
Choosing to build a global corporate career in multinational companies in order to gain access, exposure, experience and finances to create the impact that I seek. This also meant choosing to work in industries and roles that align with my values and goals. For me, this is the consumer goods, pharmaceutical and education sectors where bringing solutions that improve people’s quality of life is at the forefront of the agenda.
Choosing to maintain a healthy lifestyle from a personal well-being perspective as well as in nurturing relationships; by putting boundaries between work, home, play and myself. This meant choosing to participate in social engagements and activities that align with my values and goals, which affects how I spend my time, energy and money.
Doing the Work
When you have clarity of your ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’, you can commence with the work. However, you will realise soon enough that doing the work is not quite that easy – especially when you have unexpected curveballs being thrown at you at the least opportune times.
This is why you will need to also know how you will hold yourself accountable towards achieving your dreams. Being accountable for me is staying engaged and having determination.
What has worked for me was leaning into my strengths and weaknesses. (NB: your strengths can also be your weaknesses depending on how you use it) One of my strengths is being organised and one of my weaknesses is being fairly risk-averse. How this plays out together is me planning to fail as much as I plan to succeed. This has enabled me to better prepare myself to navigate through each possibility in a way that leverages both my strengths and weaknesses interchangeably in each scenario.
As you can probably guess, I cannot plan for everything.
However, what I’ve learned from this is that with all these plans laid out for me, I really didn’t have an excuse to not carry them out. Especially on days when I feel thwarted, I can pick myself up the next day saying, “Let’s give this plan a break and try the next one.” or “Let’s see how I can tweak this to make it work.” This continuous testing and learning approach keeps me committed to my goals.
After all, according to Jack Penn, “One of the secrets in life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks.”
Furthermore, by doing the work, I’m taking a step forward – even if only an inch – it still means I’m getting closer to my goals. This keeps the fire in me burning to keep soldiering on.
Additionally, in doing the work, I got to experience a foretaste of my dream life. I discovered very early on that I can be the master of my time – as I learned and practiced setting boundaries for my priorities, which include caring for my health, nurturing relationships, managing my finances, going on my travels and writing about my passions. I also appreciated that I was already helping others live their full potential everytime I coached, mentored and counseled friends, family and colleagues through their challenges, whenever they reached out to me for support.
Being Adaptable
Having the ability to adapt allows you to tap into a new discovery or insight, embrace an unexpected opportunity, and even assimilate yourself into different alliances. Being adaptable also helps you build resilience as you continuously find alternative solutions to dislodge your roadblocks or change your dance steps to match the beat of a new rhythm when required.
When I first recognised that helping others live their full potential was one of my life goals, my initial plan was to build schools in underprivileged communities because I believe that education is one of the ways to increase one’s opportunity to discover and realise their potential. How I thought that could translate into action was to earn a great deal of money and fund the cause.
What actually panned out was, as a trained biochemist, I assimilated myself into different alliances when I chose to venture into the business world. Whilst there, I embraced as many opportunities as possible that the corporate space afforded me and tapped into the new discoveries I encountered. One of them was coaching.
As a coach to paid and pro bono clients across the globe, I support professionals in the private and non-profit sectors as well as governmental and non-governmental organisations alike, to not only live their full potential, but also support others to live their full potential. This truly made it full circle for me as I come to recognise that whilst I’m not physically building schools in underprivileged communities, I’m still contributing to this through my work.
In summary, you need to first have clarity of what you want to experience in life and that this aligns with who you are. Then, you need to realise that no one else can live your dreams because they are yours. Hence, no one else can achieve your dreams for you, only you can. So, do the work to make your dreams a reality. Lastly, as you make strides in your journey – great or small, have the ability and courage to swim with and against the current. Your focus, drive and dedication will get you to your dream destination.
To answer my childhood wonderings of what life would be like when you’ve realised all of your dreams – it is an amazingly fulfilling, rewarding and peaceful life.
If you found this article insightful, I would love to hear what resonated with you. Please connect with me on LinkedIn or schedule a FREE call with me to share your thoughts.
For more info on the work that I do, please visit my website!
Adele Chee, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Adele is a transition coach and mentor. Committed to seeing a world filled with thriving individuals living their lives authentically, she is on a mission to empower 1 million people to recognize their true worth and set goals that would truly enrich their lives as well as those around them. For this reason, she has created the S.P.A.R.K.© self-alignment model and program, to help professionals and entrepreneurs around the world leverage their strengths and overcome their fears to transition into having a purpose-driven life.
She believes that having clarity and alignment of one’s values, strengths, vision, and purpose “core elements” oneself is essential in enabling a person to take ownership and be the agent of their own life. This is because when you are certain of who you are and what you want, and they are in alignment, you will live your life authentically as you achieve ambitions that fulfill you.
Her idea of a fulfilling life is to live a life of choice where you can achieve your dreams without succumbing to the pressures of society. Her determination and resilience to experience this life aspiration see her realize her 3 life goals travel the globe, help others lead a better life, and write; alongside her successful 15-year international corporate career prior to starting her own coaching practice during a global pandemic.
