One of my absolute favorite shows these days is This is Us (if you haven’t seen it, be prepared for tears every episode!). One particular part that struck me was when one of the main characters was listening to his dying father’s dying words. His father advised him not to live a life of “almosts and could haves”, not to live a life in fear while the good things passed him by.

He told his son to live life “less buttoned up”, to do things like roll his car windows down, let someone else make his bed, turn the music up, and basically to go for whatever it is that makes him truly happy in life…

This got me thinking about the journey we’re each on in this life, and how we all have a choice…

We can choose to live a life that’s less than what we desire – the life of “almosts and could haves” – or we can choose to go after our dreams and live an extraordinary life.

Lovely, if you’re anything like me then I know you certainly don’t want to be looking back on your life one day like the character in the show, feeling like you’ve missed the opportunity to live the kind of life you truly wanted…

Now, I realize that going after your dreams can sometimes feel easier said than done. In fact, as I’ve mentioned before I’m a bit of an introvert, and I find big events and lots of social mingling to be scary…

But I know that a major part of building my business is putting myself out there and making connections, and as much as I might sometimes like to stay home snuggled up in my warm blanket cocoon, I know that stretching myself is essential to making my dreams come to life.

So I’m choosing to challenge myself by taking steps toward my dreams as often as possible.

And I’m excited to share that the next step for me is traveling to NYC for a publicity mastermind retreat hosted by Selena Soo and Chris Winfield (woo hoo!).

This event is definitely going to stretch my introverted limits and force me to really put myself out there, but I’m going for it because I know that this is a seriously incredible opportunity. I’ll have the opportunity to learn from experts such as Victoriya Bobbitt (President of Danielle LaPorte), Geneen Roth (she’s been on Super Soul Sunday with Oprah!), Robert Richman (former Zappos culture strategist and founder of XPill), and 30+ media experts at a dinner I’ll be attending!

All of this to say, going for your dreams doesn’t always involve things that come naturally. So it’s essential that you stretch your limits and push yourself toward growth in order to move closer to the kind of life you desire deep down.

So, lovely I have a few questions for you:

What’s one thing you need to do starting today to begin living a life that’s more in alignment with your dreams?

What’s the next step you can take to challenge yourself and stretch your limits?

What’s something that scares you, but that you need to do to get to the next level in your life or business?

I encourage you to reflect on these questions and then take action. Start doing at least one thing this week that brings you closer to the extraordinary life that you desire to have.

You only have one life, lovely – make it count when you look back one day.