I have worked 5 days straight from 6am to 10pm and I am really tired.  And  because I am so wound up, I can't sleep, making me more tired. The circle begins and it is not pretty. I looked in the mirror and the lines were deepening and the skin was beginning to look splodgy, pale and unhealthy.  I have been there before and each time I say that I will not do this to myself again. But...... here's the thing - I always do.

I am an intelligent person (well at least I think I am). I know I have to eat healthy foods, exercise and get at least 7 hours sleep. I know it, but I can only seem to do it for 3 - 4 weeks and then I am off the rails again. So the pattern goes, 3 weeks good, 3 weeks bad.

Well, it stops here. I am telling you all right now that I will become a better me! Maybe, just maybe, if I tell you, I will stay on track.  I will keep you posted on the progress of the new, more healthy, balanced me.

Tonight I spoke at a Women in Leadership dinner and sat at a table with some truly fabulous women. All intelligent, all capable and all held hostage in their current positions. Why? Because they are surrounded as many women are by the bullshit of bureaucracy in a world where it doesn't matter how good you are but how well you tell the tale.

Most came to be there because they wanted to make a difference but instead of doing that, they waited to get into a position where they held enough power to make the changes that are desperately needed. Bureaucracy dictates that you wait your turn and slowly make the leadership climb. By the time you get there though, sometimes the passion is gone and you forget why you started in the first place.

In my experience, the only way to truly make a difference is to actually do it. Find a way. Remember why you chose your career and develop the pathway you need to do what you want. When I started at Curtin University there was no job. I just came up with a solution to the problem and because I did, they hired me to fix it.

There is always a way. Analyze the problem and come up with a solution. Be creative, involve others around you and give some ownership to your superiors and the scales will tip in your direction. You have the power!

This is an interesting article I found on women entrepreneurs. It is further evidence that women are great financial managers in entrepreneurial ventures. 

 http://www3.babson.edu/Newsroom/Releases/Bootstrapping-Research.cfm

I love my work! It's true. Everyday I spend my time doing exactly what I want with exactly the people I want to be with. I live my passion and because of that work doesn't seem like work. Am I lucky you ask? Well I would say that luck never entered into it. I know what I want and therefore getting there is a lot easier than for those who are still finding their passion. And I mean, this is a true passion for me.

I love helping people achieve their dreams and I have chosen to make a living doing it.  But getting there was never easy. I have given up hours and hours of personal time, put up with more crap than the average dude and fought tooth and nail to achieve the freedom to choose what I do. Luck never came into. Raw enthusiasm mixed with solid determination more like it.

I truly believe that finding a passion is like finding the key to a new life. it gives you the steel necessary to get through the tough stuff coupled with the motivation to achieve the impossible.

So how do you find a passion? You need to be open to new experiences and willing to explore yourself in depth. Many of us have never taken the time to analyse our motivations and therefore are unsure of what we truly want from life. Take some time out everyday to think this through. If you know what you want and are prepared to put in the hard yards, the dream is more likely to become a reality. Find a passion and life truly becomes a play time and not a pastime.