I was working the phones. It was business as usual when an intuitive awareness grasped my attention again. I glanced at my goal board above my desk. I could not any longer ignore to embrace the unique calling of my heart. It was time to make a choice. It was time to make a commitment. This was not: A-flipping-the-light-switch-moment. It was a result of different life experiences that added up in a moment of clarity (Jay-Z track, I’m a fan). Are you following the unique calling of your heart?
Making The Transition
I had been paralyzed before this moment of clarity. My mind did everything it could to analyze pros and cons about different business ideas I had. To much analyze stifles your intuition. It builds up a self delusion, where you find yourself with an excuse not to take action towards your ambitions. We then fail utterly to do the work necessary to make progress in the present. Why? I can admit fear for myself here. It is hard and scary to make a transition towards the work you were meant to do. When you embrace this fear you find yourself responsible for your own growth. Today, the tide has changed. Refusing to face and conquer my own limits, to be sedated by security, is terror for me.
It’s A Choice
So what is your answer to the question I asked you: Are you following the unique calling of your heart? The flip side is to ignoring it. You can put your head in the sand, and lying by saying: I need more information. Or, I would start my own business if I had a great idea. (If I had a dollar for every time I heard the latter one). If that is your fight style, feel free, it has some great benefits: It’s safe, you look good and you will never fail. I ran that trail of denial, without self-respect in a nice suit for a long time. I thought my inner critic (that little voice inside your head that’s trying to stop you to pursue your ambitions) spoke the reality to me. I was so lost. So I became paralyzed. Ignoring your heart’s calling leads to denial. Which means you are living a lie.
The good news; it’s your own choice.
About Mattias Gronborg
Mattias Gronborg is CEO and Co-founder of 
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Good post Mattais. I especially like the drawing :-)
@stanbush Thanks Stan! Nice to see you here again. I Couldn't find a good picture so tapped into my creativity. ; )
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what an amazing post Mat! I think the next big thing for you would be moving to California, am I close or totally off?
One of the advantages of getting older is that your mortality becomes less theoretical and more real - and close.
Nothing focusses the mind more than knowing there's a deadline.
"Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart" - Steve Jobs
@newraycom Ray, you really touched me with that comment. "mortality becomes less theoretical and more real - and close" If you have the courage to embrace that fear, for real, and really mean it. Then you can create an immortal movement. Very powerful words.
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Right there with you on that one. I followed my heart and passions on New Years Eve 2005 and never looked back.
The most liberating feeling in the world. All the years of self-doubt, frustration, unhappiness, low self-esteem started to to flow away the moment I made that decision.
So very important to be true to yourself and to not live a lie. We only have one turn of the wheel after all :)
@kittiewalker Thanks for your openness on that sharing. I can really experience how all these years turned into wisdom for you. What are you doing to keep yourself on the edge every day? How are you maintaining your habits? I think that's interesting to talk about. Because create your life work takes great habits.
@Mattias Gronborg You're absolutely right. Creating the habits and maintaining them until they become second nature is key to ensuring success. I'm lucky in that I have always been driven, stubborn and self-motivated which means that I just power on through until I get the result that I want. I have PTSD so I had some pretty extreme issues to unpick and deal with but 7 years on I am firmly in control rather than it controlling me! Of course it doesn't always work that way and some things just don't work out and our plans and goals evolve but those too are learning experiences and the trick is to learn from them and move on. Don't let failures big or small derail you from doing what you want to achieve - they are a normal part of life and you need to absorb them into your story.Making time for yourself on a day to day basis is really important. You need to re-connect with yourself, get to know who you are and actually start to like yourself. This does take a while and some concentrated effort but I found that meditation, yoga and counselling helped me out. I had no self-awareness at all so initially having someone to talk to about my habits and reactions helped a great deal. Knowing how you react to things and why you do lets you then go on and address them. You have to breakdown your old habits before replacing them with new ones IMHO.I'm still on the path, I keep working on it everyday. I've formed good habits and I watch out for the bad ones creeping back in. To do this you have to give yourself time to reflect.
@Mattias Gronborg I couldn't agree with you more! No problem - it is important to talk about these issues I've found it useful to listen to other peoples experiences and am more than happy to share mine if it will help others.
@kittiewalker Thanks for contributing BIG here. You are so authentic. As you describe self-awareness is definitely something that can save you from living a lie. Denial is what keeps an amateur an amateur. I car really experience your journey when you write this comment. Priority the time to reflect on daily basis makes a huge difference. Because it takes courage to replace old habits. Habits are like comfortable beds, you want to stay in them for ever.
Thanks Kittie!
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Mattias,
It sounds like you made a realization. And, that you decided on the next move.
But what is it?? (so very curious)
is it a change of wardrobe? Will we not see you in your suit??
I say -- It's not the wardrobe that matters, but what one does with their abilities!!
~Keri
who really likes guys in ties
;)
@connectyou
You don't need to worry about the suit and tie. I still wear it at the right time.. : ) It's not a change of wardrobe I referring to (even if I really need a new suit). I never really clarified that time frame in the post. It was approximately 4 years ago. I woke up this morning and really felt that I needed to write this post. Why? Because I experience a shift today. A transition into what I refer to as meaningful work for me. I'm committed to take this to a completely new level. I'm entering a new phase in life now, and it would never have been possible if I didn't made a decision to follow the unique calling of my heart 4 years ago.
What is the next move? I'm also curious.. Not sure yet. But I feel it. I will keep you posted how it unfold.. : )
When I make the suit analogy. I'm referring to a life when I didn't had any self esteem; I did everything I could to look good. You will get the whole picture soon when I have knocked my writing a bit further.
Thanks for dropping by Keri and I appreciate that you express your concerns regarding the suit. : ) LOL
-Mattias
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@connectyou You don't need to worry about the suit. and tie. I still wear it at the right time.. : ) It's not a change of wardrobe I referring to (even if I really need a new suit). I never really clarified that time frame in the post. It was approximately 4 years ago. I woke up this morning and really felt that I needed to write this post. Why? Because I experience a shift today. A transition into what I refer to as meaningful work for me. I'm committed to take this to a completely new level. I'm entering a new phase in life now, and it would never have been possible if I didn't made a decision to follow the unique calling of my heart 4 years ago. What is the next move? I'm also curious.. Not sure yet. But I feel it. I will keep you posted how it unfold.. : ) When I make the suit analogy. I'm referring to a life when I didn't had any self esteem; I did everything I could to look good. You will get the whole picture soon when I have knocked my writing a bit further. Thanks for dropping by Keri and your appreciate that you express your concerns regarding the suit. : ) LOL -Mattias