Tell me something.

What's really stopping you from moving your life and career in the direction you know it's supposed to head in? Are you meant to be in the job you're in? Is the life you have now the one you always dreamed of having?

We can come up with every excuse in the book as to why we're not making our dreams come true...

"This is not the time to take risks...I should just be happy I have a job."

"I need to wait until my kids are out of the house."

"My husband's job is not too secure right now so we can't afford to fool around with things."

"I am single and take care of myself. If things don't work out I won't have anyone else to fall back on."

"Things are just so busy at work now. I need to get my head above water and then I can look into what I really want to be doing."

Blah, Blah, Blah.

If you really want to change careers these excuses are not what is stopping you.

It's your self-doubt.

You might be thinking, "Who am I to want to pursue a new life and new career? Who am I to give up a good job just for a dream? Who am I to forgo getting a regular job when the economy is so shaky right now?"

You might be thinking, "If I go after what I really want, it'll never work. If I follow my heart I might end up broke with loads of credit card debt--or worse."

The truth is that nasty little inner voice is really just one small part of you and is a scaredy cat. You see, that inner critic is there to protect you from harming yourself but for some of us, that inner voice has lost "it's mind" and thinks it needs to protect you from yourself.

It's flipping out.

That inner critic is NOT you and is simply a messy jumble of thoughts and beliefs you picked up along the way. Your inner critic uses fear (not based in actual reality or fact) to keep you from making big changes. It tries to distract you with it's voice of doubt. And as long as it distracts you from the changes you want to make, it's won.

You need to start acknowledging that voice--that fear--and go ahead and follow what you know deep down in your heart you are meant to be doing anyway.

You know what I'm talking about.

It's your intuition--your soul--whispering your purpose to you during those random moments when you feel a flutter of excitement in your stomach or your heart is happily racing because you've just done something that is so you.

See the fear and self-doubt for what it is. Don't let it stop you from living the life you were meant to live.