Morgan loves spending time with young people. He is currently laughing, playing, reading books, and enjoying every day while raising his two young children. For 12 years prior to spending time with his own kids, he learned with teenagers about communication and increasing self-esteem. He spent time as a high school teacher, an adventure trip leader, a personal growth program facilitator, a mentor, an interim Dean of Students, an advisor, and a friend. These experiences, a Master’s degree from Northwestern University, and a trip around the world on a ship, helped him understand that at the heart of our success as people is confidence in our selves and support and love from other people. He calls these things “Know Yourself” and “Trust Yourself.” It is with the passion to make a difference in people’s lives that he coaches his clients to sustainable and long-term success. He authored the book Launch Your Life: 5 Secrets to Knowing What You Want in Your Teens, College Years, and Early Career. Reach him at www.playhuge.com.

Below is our recent radio interview with him, September 23, 2009:

During a recent coaching session, a very successful massage therapist shared that she was unclear, anxious, and in a flux about her next steps in her business. She had just returned from a quiet retreat in the South American jungles and was reentering her daily routine in Seattle. Her retreat time in self-reflection now had her re-evaluating her direction and goals. Messy, murky, and uncomfortable…ugh!

As a business growth coach, I highly recommend that my clients start with the end in mind, when it comes to taking their next big leap. That is, that they clarify VIVIDLY what they want to create in their lives, both professionally and personally. Face it, if you don’t have this level of clarity, it’s like telling the ticket counter clerk “I’ll take a ticket to destination Anywhere, please”. And, you’ll be lucky to reach your destination, if at all! Napoleon Hill tells us that, as we conceive and believe, we achieve. So, what does your dream business look like in one year? How does it feel, sound, and even smell or taste? If you don’t yet know, it’s a great time to MAKE the time to figure it out.

Several studies have shown that simply visualizing success (e.g., seeing yourself making a free throw with a basketball) will create tangible, successful results. That’s why journaling and vision boards are so popular for goal-setting. Engaging all of your five senses is a powerful tool for conceiving your dreams and realizing them. Unfortunately, most of us do not dream big enough. If you want to create something bigger in your life, you must dream bigger dreams. Below are 4 steps to BIG visioning for your next big leap.

Step 1: Make Time to Reflect on Your Dreams. It’s easy to get pulled away to urgent, non-important tasks such as errands, while your important, non-urgent tasks (e.g., dreams, goal-setting) take back seat. I highly recommend that you literally block out regular time for self-reflection in your calendar. Hint: Create a color-coded category in your schedule using Microsoft Outlook’s categories functionality. I use bright orange for mine!

Step 2: Let ‘Em Come Freely without Censoring. When ideas/intuitions arise about your dreams, refrain from censoring them. Don’t worry about the “how” at this stage, but simply allow the “what” to come forward. We often choke our dreams by head-tripping how to make them come true. Bottom line? A dream that you are passionate about cannot NOT be fulfilled – you simply have to get out of the way.  The HOW will arrive, in its own sweet time. Focus on the WHAT for now.  

Step 3: Don’t Just Talk About Them. Write Them Down! Talk is cheap in dream-town. So many passionate entrepreneurs talk about their dreams, but when I ask them if they’ve written them down (let alone shared them with others), what do you think their answer is? You got it: a big fat NO! The written and spoken word carries great power. Somehow when you capture your dreams in a written format, you create accountability with yourself, and, to the extent that you choose, accountabilty with others. If you don’t like to write, then sing, paint, draw, or otherwise express your dreams somewhere, somehow!

Step 4: Make them Part of Your Life. Dreams that collect dust will never happen, at least not intentionally. If you want to create the business and life of your dreams, you must take your vision and have it FRONT AND CENTER in your life. What does this mean? It means seeing, hearing, talking, and walking your Dream Talk. Tell those know and trust about your dreams (extra credit for telling others!). Keep a regular diary of your dreams, and print and post an affirmation, symbol, or words/phrase about your dream where you can see them at least every day. You literally want to carve a new Dream groove to bypass the old patterns and crap that hold you down.

The key is the make your dreams a reality. Take them off of the shelf and breathe life into them. No one is going to do this for you. Someone once told me: if you don’t live the life of your dreams, someone else will for you. Not a pretty picture, and definitely not my choice!! Happy Passioneering!

The Passions and Possibilities Project is a program that profiles bold individuals who have leaped fully into their passions – ordinary folks who stopped playing small and started living large.  I call them “passioneers,” having purposely chosen not to interview the rags-to-riches stereotype.   Instead, my hope is that these reality stories provide approachable, inspiring footholds for those who are scared or discouraged about their own leap into their dreams.   Selfishly, I am also using the project to fulfill my calling as a dream catalyst and to allay my own fears when the going gets tough.  The interview stories (hundreds of them!) will be published in a book and documentary film later this year, as well as my Blog Talk Radio Program that kicked off last week.  If you or someone you know wants to be interviewed, please contact me. 

Richard Trimble:  Certified Mediator, Facilitator, and Motivational Cyclist

 When it comes to passions, Richard Trimble doesn’t mess around.   In 2007, he left a successful career in utilities engineering and management to focus on what he loves most: conflict resolution.   Over the past seven years, he has earned the coveted designation of certified professional mediator and facilitator with over eight areas of specialization.  Most recently, he has become a motivational cyclist, having completed over 3,300 miles of a 12,000-mile bike ride around the U.S, with an expected completion in two years.

His Inspiration

Richard is very clear about his passions.  “I love helping people communicate more effectively, so they can achieve their dreams and be happier,” he says.  He shares a poignant success story of a couple who had never communicated directly, outside of court, since their separation.  “Through mediation,”  he says, “they were able to speak directly to each other, in front of their children, in a way they had never experienced.  That was a great day’s work.  I really love seeing a life change in just a few moments.”    

While cycling across the country, Richard gets to connect with many interesting people, hear what they are striving for, and share some encouraging words.  He knows firsthand what it’s like to face a huge goal and experience major self-doubt:  before his 12,000-mile trek, Richard tackled the Pacific Coast, not really believing he could make it.   However, halfway along the Coast, he realized that, by going at his own pace, he could finish the trip and any future ones.  “I’m not a 70-mile a day cyclist,” he confesses, “but I got that, even at a low daily mileage, I would make it.  That was an epiphany.”

Biggest Rewards

For Richard the rewards of pursuing his passions are intangible, yet immeasurable:

·         As a mediator  -  “Knowing at the end of the session that I made a difference in their lives, and  helped them accomplish something that was huge for them. …I’d do it for free.” 

·         As a motivational cyclist – “Meeting people I would have never met before, and hearing their great stories. The physical reward, challenge, and accomplishment.”   

Biggest Challenges

According to Richard, one of the biggest challenges in leaping fully into his two passions was “simply believing that I could do something so outside of the box, in both areas.”  Like many passioneers, he also faces the challenge of making less money than he did before the leap.  “My biggest fear,” he notes, “is that I can’t keep doing it, for financial reasons”.   Another challenge is finding bigger audiences, as he gains even more credibility as a motivational speaker.

 Pit Crew

Richard has a strong support network, and many people have given him advice.  However, his greatest support are his friends and family who believe in him.  “They hear what I’m doing, they’re impressed, and they encourage me,” he says.  “There’s nothing like having your daughter say to you, ‘I’m telling my friends.  I’m really proud of you.’  That’s the biggest boost I can get.  My girlfriend has also told me how personally impressed she is with me for doing this.”   

Advice for Others

 ·         “My bike ride is an analogy for life.  There are goals that seem outside of my reach;  a bit too much.  Maybe I can’t do it…That’s my motivational message – to help people realize that they can achieve great things through tenacity and bit of organization.”

·         “I have this life and a finite time to accomplish what I want to accomplish.  This sets my priorities.  My time’s limited.  So, live fully every day and pursue your dreams.”

 Next Big Leap.  While Richard is cycling for the next two years, he wants to establish himself as a motivational speaker and publish a book on the topic.   

To contact Richard for questions or more about his story, see:  http://www.trimblemediation.com/

My big leap from mediocrity into my passions has been simple but not easy at all: I was recently let go from a high-paying corporate banking job, left with an evaporated company stock fund and meager rainy day savings. Before exiting this job, I had already decided to pursue my dream of becoming a life coach. As a life coach, I wanted to support others in making their own big leap from mediocrity into magnificence. My past included two other entrepreneurial stints: One in the ’90s as a partner in a high-tech start-up; then another in 2003 as an interfaith minister. These ventures were both successful for me, even though I didn’t get rich or famous. Instead I created prosperity on my own terms: being and doing what I love, having a fabulous support network, and structuring my “ideal” day and week. Being an interfaith minister and pioneering a new church was the closest to nirvana that I’d yet found. Unfortunately, the financial prosperity to feed myself and keep the lights on was not forthcoming!

So, the siren call of a large, steady paycheck lured me back one more time to a large Northwest bank. Not that I haven’t enjoyed my work in corporate America: I got to work for very successful companies with smart, driven, inspiring groups and colleagues. Yet, the massive layoffs that I and others underwent this past year, coupled with the current economic recession, made me realize that nothing “steady and secure” really remains in corporate America. So rather than leap back to my comfort zone of doing the work I’ve always done, I chose to focus on creating my own dream career.

The entrepreneurial bug has penetrated me so deeply now that I’m absolutely committed to being my own boss forever; to never again return to an average, mediocre work-life. I’ve finally created my ideal week; one that blends and balances work, play, and self-care. I have intentionally chosen to coach only those individuals, who, like myself, are truly ready to stop playing small and to start living large. My clients are highly self-motivated, driven, talented and courageous enough to shift fully into their passions & possibilities. After my client sessions, I feel energized, uplifted and confident that I’m making a difference in their lives, so they can make an even greater difference in the world.

As part of my passions & possibilities journey, I have begun interviewing hundreds of individuals who are already fully pursuing their dreams – “passioneers,” as I call them. In 35 minutes, I capture powerful stories of souls who are simply and boldly going for it, full out. My intention is to share these tales, told in each interviewee’s unique, colorful way, with those who are ready to make their own big leap (“pre-passioneers”). These stories will also inspire those who have already made the leap, but are feeling discouraged or disillusioned.

Note: These are not “rags to riches” stories. Instead, they describe everyday Johns and Janes who have finally decided to take charge and live large. My hope is that their lessons and insights will help my clients and others avoid major pitfalls or landmines along their entrepreneurial travels. It’s also a great way for passioneers to bootstrap others who are just a few steps behind them, in the vein of the movie Pay It Forward. So far, the wisdom emerging from the interviews is precious, and I’ll share nuggets of it in this blog and beyond.

Guidepost #1 (for those making the leap): Stick with it regardless of the trials. You can do it and be it!

Special request: Consider the most passionate people in your life, including yourself, who are following their dreams and experiencing prosperity fully on their own terms. Invite them to share their story via a 35-minute telephone interview with me, and send me their contact information for scheduling purposes. I’m also inviting interviewees to be guests on my internet blog radio show later in January. “There’s gold in them there hills!” Help us find it. Thank you.