“When I lose weight, I’m going to ….”

“When I retire, I’m going to …”

“When  …. “

What am I waiting for?

I was in my late twenties when Elvis was playing at the Lakeland Civic Center, a short hour drive from where I lived. I loved Elvis, and thought that maybe the next time he played there, I’d go to see him. Well, there wasn’t a next time. Elvis died before I had a chance to see him perform on stage. It was too late; I waited too long.

That happened over thirty years ago, but it caused a shift in my thinking about things I wanted to do. In 1978, Tom Jones came to town and I went to see him, not once but twice!

In 1991, I was still rather obese, but wanted to learn to SCUBA dive. I guess I could have waited until I lost weight but what if I never did? I took lessons and became a certified SCUBA diver. It was difficult when I weighed over 250 lbs, requiring nearly a 40 lb weight belt to counter the buoyancy of all that fat. But under water, I was weightless! I am so glad that I didn’t wait. To experience drifting along a pristine coral reef and hear nothing but my own breathing remains one of the highlights of my memory!

After twenty-five years as a community association manager, I woke up one morning and knew it was time for a change. I knew that if I had to tell another person in a million-dollar house to clean their driveway, I would not do it in a pleasant manner. I talked with David and decided to give a nine month notice and find a new career.

What would I do? I prayed. I asked God to show me how I could be of maximum service to Him and still make a little money. After three months, a friend told me about Life Coaching, and I hired a coach to experience it for myself. I knew that this is exactly what I wanted to do with the rest of my working career. Today I not only enjoy coaching but I also teach for World Coach Institute.

I always wanted to become a published author, but I never wrote anything! My wonderful coach, Lorraine Edey helped me to develop the discipline of writing and in less than a year, my first book, Trust God and Buy Broccoli, A Spiritual Approach to Weight Loss came off the presses! It was one of the most thrilling moments of my life, to hold that book in my hands. I was able to do a book signing at Barnes and Noble. It still thrills me to write on the inside cover for people who’ve bought my book. I’m so happy to be working with other aspiring authors today, to experience their excitement and joy of also becoming a published author!

So often, we wait for the perfect time to take a chance, and that time might never come. What  have you been dreaming about, but putting off for the perfect moment? Maybe it is right now. I encourage you to make it a goal. You know, a goal is nothing more than putting an action plan on your dreams. They can, and will come to fruition.

Don’t wait.