What’s holding you back from achieving your dreams?

It's funny the things that hold us back from achieving our dreams.

What held me back

For years, I used to think that you had to be ‘chosen' to write a book. I had dreamed of writing a book since a was a little girl, but I didn't believe I could do it until somebody else chose me. In reality, this was totally illogical because nobody was going to choose me until I showed the world that I was capable of writing a book. So, when I had the idea for my book, The Ten Step Guide to Acing Every Exam You Ever Take, and wrote it in just eight days and self-published it on my website I chose myself. I had to surmount all sorts of obstacles to make this happen – boring stuff like which online checkout system I was going to use and how to pay my graphic designer who lived in Holland. But, because I chose myself a publisher found me and asked to ‘properly' publish my book.

Why am I telling you this?

It's because sometimes we don't realise what's holding us back. And, sometimes the people around us can't see what's holding us back.

After I published this blog post about what it really takes to get into Oxbridge  I asked in my Facebook group for parents what was holding them back from taking part in my Top Ten Mastermind group for students who want to go to top universities, like Oxford and Cambridge.

One of the answers really surprised me. Several mums said that their children would find the coaching calls ‘difficult' because they just weren't comfortable with that kind of thing.

In some ways I get it. I've never been 100% confident about meeting other people, particularly online. I remember the first time I had a skype call with someone who was helping me with my business – I was scared stiff! But, I did it because I knew I had to do it to move forward.

Think about this…

So, if the thing that's holding you back is that you find the idea of having online coaching calls one-on-one with me, or with a group, I want you to have a think about these things:

• I'm really nice (even if I do say so myself)! And, the last thing I want is for you to feel scared and intimated. I will do my utmost to put you at your ease, and ultimately to help you.
• I'm offering you a free call to see whether the Top Ten Mastermind is right for you. You can treat this free call as an experiment and see if it's OK. If it gives you palpitations then it's probably not right for you, but at least you'll know for sure.
• I'm aiming to pull together a group of like-minded ambitious and intelligent students. I'd never met people ‘like me' before I went to Cambridge and always felt like a bit of a fish out of water. If you feel the same, then this mastermind could just introduce you to the people who are like you for the first time in your life.
• If you're not willing to put yourself forward for something like this, where the intention is to help you and build you up, how on earth are you going to cope with an Oxbridge interview? You could see this programme as a way of expanding your comfort zone so you can cope better with the rigours of the application process.

Have a think through the above. If you like, email me back and we can ‘talk' about it. Even better, be brave and book a call with me to experience what it will actually be like and talk it through for real.

Find out more about the Top Ten Mastermind and book your free call with me here

If this isn't what's holding you back, just comment below or email me on lucy@lifemoreextraordinary.com and I'll see if I can help you through it. I'd hate for you to miss out because you'd got the wrong idea in your head for some reason.