I'm not sure what it is about that question, but for some reason the power of it gets lost in translation for me. I think it might be because there are so many vowels or maybe too many of the words rhyme? I don’t know. All I know is when I first saw the question written down I read it and went about my business. It was only until the second or third time it was presented to me that I really gave it the time it deserved.

What would you do if you could do anything?

I just finished a book called, “I Could Do Anything if I Only Knew What it Was,” by Barbara Sher and Barbara Smith. The book was  a great read and I definitely suggest it for those out there trying to figure out what exactly their heart is trying to tell them. Sher walks you through the many problems we all face when trying to grasp what we want from this life. She reminds us that we were brought up surrounded by a number of voices and opinions and it is up to us to weed through them and find the path right for us. Great stuff for sure.

So anyway, I’m reading this book and the question keeps jumping out at me—what WOULD I do? I seriously became annoyed with it for some reason. Maybe its because I am genuinely curious as to whether our world is even conducive with us doing what we really want to do. First off we all have an insane amount of responsibility on our shoulders—bills, people, commitments, expectations, and more—so are we really free to do what we want? Then I got all pseudo-babblicious on myself and asked if the people around me would really support me if I just up and change my life so drastically. After all—are big changes founded on a gut feeling even allowed these days? These are just a few of the dozens of questions that started shooting through my mind.

Finally after a 6 -hour plane ride, and three refills of coffee I started to wrap my head around what really upset me about this question…there are too many freaking options. Yup, that’s it. With our world so connected, with our lives so mobile and with so many resources available online and off—we are not just hypothetically holding the key to a happy future—we are holding more like 100 keys, standing in front of 100 doors and asked to pick one.

Panic. Panic. Panic.

Sher asked me to write down the different things I would want to do if I had a bunch of lives to live. My answers included (but were not limited to) a writer, an artist, a professor, a café owner, an entrepreneur, and so on and so forth. Talk about overwhelming, do you think I could own a café, a website, teach, paint, and write? Uhm…actually…yeah I probably could.

I hate when authors of books make good points that throw me into a tizzy. This is exactly what Sher was trying to show—that although we all have a million things we want to do with our life, they often have a way of intersecting…if we let them. You have to let them.

Instead of trying to stay focused on one path, perhaps its time you let those other ideas wander into the picture. Yesterday I went and bought a few new canvasses. I figure this weekend instead of wandering the web trying to find new ways to optimize my website, perhaps I’ll take a few hours and do something for the other side of me—and paint.

I guess the point to this post is that I spend a lot of time helping people go after their lifelong dream—preparing resumes, searching out new opportunities, connecting with people, networking with the one person that can land them  where they have always seen themselves, but in doing that we all kind of forget the other voices in our head. Maybe that is why so many of us wake up one morning and feel the need to do something crazy—like pick up a paint brush, sign up for a night class, or travel to Alaska. Either way, if you are struggling with what you want to do, just remember not only can you do whatever you want to do, you can do a number of things you want to do.

Fun homework assignment—write down the things you would do if you had unlimited lives to live. How can you start integrating them into your life right now? If you can start doing the things that make you smile, why wouldn’t you? Yeah, exactly. Darn books with good points. Ugh.