Welcome to the last post in the How to Be a Dream-Chasing Realist blog series! Over the past few months, we’ve explored actionable ways to pursue your dream job or make another major life transition, all while honoring your daily obligations and responsibilities. We’ve explored important steps along this journey including Getting Your Financial House in Order , Making Time for Self-Reflection and Discovery , Broadening Your Knowledge, Skills & Network , Consider a Side Hustle

There’s an old saying, “You can’t pour from an empty cup”. While most of us acknowledge the truth at the heart of this, many of us are guilty of putting ourselves last and forgetting the importance of self-care. On the entrepreneurial path, it’s especially easy to focus all of our efforts on moving our business forward, at any cost. In this step in the “How to Be a Dream-Chasing Realist” blog series , we’ll explore practical ways to take care of you, even when (especially whe

Welcome back to the How to Be a Dream-Chasing Realist blog series . So far we’ve explored several actionable steps to help you pursue your dream or make a major life transition. If your dream involves a professional change, you may want to consider a side business or “side hustle” to supplement your 9 to 5 job. According to LinkedIn , the number of professionals that freelance while working full-time has more than doubled in the past five years . The benefits of a side gig a

Thanks for continuing to follow along with ithrive31’s How to Be a Dream-Chasing Realist blog series, which provides actionable steps for turning your dream career into a reality. So far, we’ve talked about the importance of Getting Your Financial House in Order and Making Time for Self-Reflection . Next, we’ll discuss the importance of building your skillset in this new area. By this point, you’ve hopefully spent some time really thinking about what it is that you want to d

Welcome to the third post in the How to be a Dream-Chasing Realist Blog Series. Last week, I addressed the first actionable step for moving toward your dream job: Getting Your Financial House in Order . Now that you’re (hopefully!) sticking to a budget and stashing some of your monthly income away in a side account, it’s time to take a deeper look inside yourself to really evaluate your skills, strengths, talents, interests, passions, and abilities. Maybe you have the perfec

Last week, I introduced the “How to Be a Dream Chasing Realist” blog series, in which I’ll break down a list of actionable steps you can take to help move you toward your dream (be it a new job, starting your own business, etc. ) without neglecting your everyday obligations and responsibilities. Step one in this process is getting your financial house in order. They say money can’t buy happiness, but it can limit our ability to make major life changes. Even if you don’t ant

Feeling Stuck According to a 2017 Gallup Poll , 85% of people strongly dislike their job. And while this staggering statistic should surprise me, sadly, it doesn’t. I often hear from people frustrated with their job. Either they’re burnt out, aren’t feeling challenged, or are just not in the right place professionally. Employees are often under a tremendous amount of pressure to do more, over shorter periods of time, with fewer resources. Couple that with increasing personal

Author’s Note: Today I pause as ithrive31 turns “ONE”.  What a big year this has been.  As I stop to reflect, here are my first-year learnings as an entrepreneur.  The road for entrepreneurs is really hard; it is often paved with disappointment, self-doubt and rejection (not to mention lack of sleep and often a decrease in income). The mental journey can be grueling and is not for the faint of heart.  Only the strong survive. If you find yourself struggling along the entrepr

Practical suggestions for moving forward. Life is hard…and sometimes it can be overwhelming. The weight of our problems can be heavy. Really heavy. Sometimes even unbearable. It is easy to get down in the dumps. To wallow. To feel self-doubt. It doesn’t matter what circumstances we may be going through, we are wired as human beings to focus on the negative when the going gets tough. We have all been there. There are varying degrees of difficulty, but no matter who you are o