Are you ready?

As the kids (of all ages) go back to school this week, a question creeps back into our everyday vocabulary “Are you ready?”

By this we mean do you have everything you need for the day? Have you thought ahead ? Are you prepared for what may happen? – It’s a question that can work on many levels.

So to turn the tables I ask you today: Are you ready?

If the opportunity of your dreams arrived today would you be ready to grab it?
Have you done all the preparation required? Many of us have big dreams, or even middle sized ones, but they can only happen if we do our part and get ready.

It’s amazing how many people shrink from the things they wish to happen. We sometimes act as though we can’t get our dream job, our perfect project, our big break. We hide in the everydayness of our lives, using little tasks as our distractions, watching TV, or putting our own dreams on hold for a million “practical reasons.”

We even sabotage our own goals by not acting, by failing to study the things we should, by not making the calls we need to make, by playing small, or ignoring our own desires.
Life is short, and we spend much of it being too scared to really live the way we dream about. We encourage our children to dream big, while we avoid doing the same. They are learning by watching you, not listening to what you say. If you believe they can do anything then you owe them to have the same belief in yourself.

Reaching your goals or making your dreams a reality is scary sometimes. I’m not going to pretend otherwise. It takes strength to risk your status quo for something you really want. Show your children they can do anything they want by achieving something you want.

As Oprah is fond of saying: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” The quote actually dates back to Seneca, A Roman philosopher from the 1st century. (Yes we have needed motivation for a long time). He also said “It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that things are difficult.”

So back to the question – Are you ready?

Are you as prepared as you can be? as fit as you can be? as confident as you can be? Have you thought ahead? As you ask your kids, or see children on their way to school knowing they have been asked, make sure you can answer the question for yourself. Are you ready?

This column was first published in The Daily Advertiser on Tuesday August 14th 2012. All the usual rights reserved and stuff.