The City of Angels: How Los Angeles Teaches You to Follow Your Dreams & Keep Them Alive - Part 1

People are often surprised when I tell them how much I love Los Angeles because all they see is smog, Botox and traffic jams. I see a different side, an inspirational city focused on keeping your dreams alive.

If you're someone with goals, dreams or burning desires the City of Angels teaches persistence, the importance of passion, knowing when to let go, how not to be attached to the outcome and go with the flow. Let me take you on a tour of LA through my eyes and why it inspires me.

Let's start with something it's definitely famous for - dreams.

** Following Your Dreams **

The main thing I love about L.A. is that it is a place of creative dreams as most people are there because they want to become an actor, script writer, singer, dancer, producer or the like.

Years ago I met a woman at a West Hollywood gym who told me that her husband had just received a promotion where they'd have to relocate to another country. She said he decided to turn down the opportunity because she had just read for a TV pilot and it looked like her acting career was *finally* about to takeoff.

She said, "I've been waiting for this for over 10 years and am lucky to have a guy in my life who knows what dreams are made of and supports me in my goals." I thought, "Wow. Waiting 10 years to achieve your career passion, that's persistence".

And it's also not something we hear often. I mean how many times have you heard an accountant, shopkeeper, salesperson or manager say, "I've been waiting 10 years for this job"? In reality, they usually spend a few years studying and gaining experience and then spend the next 10 years trying to figure out how they can escape the rat race!

Years after that discussion I was running that very rat race and I thought back to the time in the gym.

I was frustrated because things weren't happening quickly enough in my career, I wanted to move away from my marketing role and focus on writing and delivering inspirational programs to groups to help people live more fulfilling lives. I also had a strong desire to control my own destiny and work for myself. And although I enjoyed marketing I wanted to use the skills on something I was passionate about.

At that stage I had been actively pursuing my goals for four years and things were moving along but I wanted it to happen *now*. I was at a very impatient stage in my life and was the person who used to scream at the microwave, "Hurry up" because even fast action food nuking wasn't quick enough for me. I was tired of the slog, working for no reward and I was literally chasing a dream instead of living one. And my beautiful dreams were turning into a slog. I thought, 'C'mon people throw me a bone just to keep me going."

If you have big ambitions you also have to have a lot of hope and belief to support them. That actor believed in herself and anything else was second best, she also had a support system in her husband. And a cheer squad is great, but quite honestly, support can come and go and there will always be naysayers. Or those in your life who are happy to support your desires, until it takes longer than they thought, and are wondering when you're going to bring in the money. Or sometimes they just become tired of hearing the plans without what they perceive to be any progress.

I guess what I'm trying to say, is that support systems are essential and great, but it comes down to you, YOU have to believe in your dreams because if you don't, no one else will.If you truly have a dream that makes your heart sing you can't just give it up after a week, a month, a year or 10 years. And although I was frustrated, I also had a one track mind, I couldn't imagine doing anything else. In fact, I thought if I didn't realize my dream it would be like a death inside me and I would go back to being one of the millions of walking numb. People who live life on a flat line. And the thought of not fulfilling my passion was far worse than honing my patience and persistence skills.

** Letting Go **

Another thing I love about LA is that the people are diverse as very few are born there. They come from all over the world in order to make their dreams come true.

They leave behind the comfort of their homes, their family, their friends, their cars, their favorite deli, their soul inspiring park, their dog, in other words they leave their comfort zone to create their joy. That may seem like a lot to give up, but in reality, they would never be 100% percent fulfilled unless they did. I know I'd rather live a happy life than an emotionally safe one.

The challenge for most people is that we're scared. We stick with what's familiar because we know what we're doing. When we move onto something new there's no guarantee of success. It's like your first day, at your first job all over again and we all know how uncomfortable that was. We felt we'd never know everything there is to know in order to do our new job well. But fast forward 5, 10, 15 years and most people are sitting there bored to tears with a job they know inside out and provides few challenges - no wonder they're living a flat line life.

In my situation it wasn't a case of letting go of my environment but changing my mind because I had to 'Let Go of What I Knew' and create a new identity for myself.

One of the favorite questions people love to ask so they can put you in a box is, "So what do you do?"

There was a stage where I used to say, "Well I do a lot of things, I like reading and going to movies. Travel is a lot of fun and I like going down to the beach as often as I can." Whenever I responded like that people looked at me a little odd and then said, "Oh so you're a stay at home mom or you're in between jobs right now?"

Ah, no. I'm working. They just didn't get it and thought I was nuts.

At the time I was a well established marketer. When you realize how much emphasis society puts on what you do for a living it can be overwhelming when you're making a career change to follow your dreams. The challenge was, as I uncovered my purpose I had to take a bold step and abandon what I used to do in order to own what I was stepping into.

So whenever the "What do you do?" question came up, I'd say I was a self-improvement writer and mentor. Of course the next question was, "Oh, have you published any books?" I can now say that I have, but back then, I had published articles but not the coveted book everyone likes to think is the proof and standard of writing success. I have to admit I was a little uncomfortable saying what I was doing because I was just starting out, whereas if I had stuck to my previous job description I had a list of great accomplishments.

But that wasn't who I was anymore and by hanging on to what was, I wasn't making any room for what is and what will be. Plus, I also realized that who I am has very little to do with what I do for work.So I had to let go of that crazy thought that we are our careers. I know that a lot of people equate their value to the value of their job and if for some reason they lose their job they also lose their sense of positive self-esteem.

When in reality, if you create a strong sense of self it holds strong no matter what is going on around you.The point is, it's OK to let go because the essence of what makes you, you *really* doesn't change that much over time.
By letting go of a part of your life, you're still you.

Keeping the dream alive and pursuing your passion is integral to a joyous and fulfilling life. In Part 2 of your L.A. dream tour we focus on: believing you can make money doing what you love and understanding the concept of 'this or something better'.