Hello there.

Have you been sitting on an idea and not taking action on it because it seems impossible? This is the episode you'll want to listen to to begin making it happen.

And if you fall into the camps of having a ton of ideas you ruminate on or having zero ideas, you'll want to keep listening.

For those of you with a ton of ideas, I'm going to help you discover what you really want and take action

And if you have zero ideas, and find yourself getting down on yourself because you think there's a right answer out there for you, this episode is going to help you begin thinking differently. You have ideas, but chances are you're denying them air to breath. Ideas must be nurtured to help them grow into fruition. You're going to get a practice that will help you nurture your idea.

This is the perfect segue to tell you about my new Masterclass.

It's called Follow Through in '22: Your Step-by-Step Plan to Reconnect with What You Want, Strategize 2022, and (Finally) Follow Through

If you're listening to this episode when it comes out, it's this upcoming Saturday at 8am Pacific. You can get all the details at dinacataldo.com/followthrough2022

Turning ideas into action is goal setting. Let me sell you on the idea of setting goals for yourself even if it's not the new year.

First, setting goals is about becoming the most audacious version of you. The version of you who has a fuller bigger life.

Second, setting goals is how you keep your brain focused on what you want. It's easy to flit around from one shiny object to another, but it's hard to stay focused to get what you really in your heart want and will develop you as a person.

Third, setting goals teaches us how to allow ourselves to have. So often we deny ourselves what we truly want because of what we think is realistic or because we want to please other people. I see this all the time with my clients. What if you allowed yourself to have the life you wish you had?

Now, you hear all the people talking about new year resolutions. This Masterclass is not about being just another person setting a new year resolution that they're going to quit after a couple months.

This Masterclass is about becoming the boldest version of you.

When you sign up, you get the Follow Through Guide. We're walking through it during the Masterclass. It's the easiest and best place to start if you don't have a goal yet. Inside you'll also find the process for achieving your goal with more east and simplicity than ever before. It's the foundation for what I help my clients with. And if you've had trouble following through on your goals in the past, this Masterclass and Guide will give you the tools you need to navigate the negative feelings like disappointment and feeling like a failure that inevitably come up when we do something we've never done before.

In this Masterclass you'll also avoid three big problems I see when people set goals that sabotage them.

The first one is in how they set the goal from the outset.
The second is how they strategize their goals making it harder on themselves than it needs to be.
And the third is giving up on their goal and themselves before they've really even gotten started.

So, join me for Follow Through in '22. You can get all the details at dinacataldo.com/followthrough2022

When you sign up, you'll get an email sent to your inbox with the pre-work including the guide that I just mentioned.

Sign up at dinacataldo.com/followthrough2022, and start digging in.

Alright, my friend, let's talk about turning your ideas into actions.

You can use this episode to give you some inspiration going into the Masterclass.

The thing about ideas is that they come from everywhere and everyone. It's up to us to filter the ideas that are most important to US and what we want for ourselves. When we do, often times they seem impossible.

You must decide on the idea you want to take action on.

I did a whole episode on deciding on goals. It's episode #136, and I'll link to it in the show notes.

These are some of the problems I see when lawyers want to turn their impossible ideas into action:

– they think it's impossible, so they don't give it air to breath
– they get down on themselves for not pursuing it
– they blame their circumstances for why they can't pursue their impossible idea and say things like, “If only X were different, then I could do that”
– they tell themselves it's too hard
– they don't have a compelling reason to take action on their idea

The first step is generate your idea. Here's a few questions to answer that will help you discover which idea you want to pursue and begin cultivating it.

– What do you love to do?
– If you had one extra hour a day, and you had all the rest you needed, what would you love to do with it? (I phrased this question for you if you're the person who would use that hour to sleep. I see you.)
– If you decided to choose yourself and focus on the ONE idea you'd spend time on, how might your life be different?
– If you couldn't fail, what would you do?

Once you've filtered your ideas, that's where your brain kicks into overdrive. It'll tell you all the reasons it's a bad idea or you should have chosen the other idea to take action on.

I highly recommend you listen to episode 136 Deciding Between Goals if that's what your brain is doing. I'll link to it in the show notes.

Once you've decided on your impossible idea, now it's time to take action.

Get out a piece of paper and pen.

At the top, write out your idea.

Write it in the present tense as if it's already happened.

I'll use the example of me leaving the law, since that's on my mind.

My statement would be: I'm leaving the law effective January 4, 2022.

For some ideas, your brain will offer you all the reasons it won't work. That's exactly what happened when I came up with this idea.

That's okay. Just tell your brain, “I hear you. I'm just dreaming out loud. It's okay to dream.” Comfort your brain, and it'll quiet down.

Then ask yourself, what are all the to do items your brain is telling you need to get done to make that happen.

So for me, I would phrase it like this:

“If I were going to do this, what would be all the things I'd want done? What would make me feel safe? What are some of the ways I could make this happen?”

This will likely take about 20-30 minutes. Get it all down. It's going to tell you all the reasons why you can't do it right now because you have a lot of other things you need to do like organize your desk, organize your practice, read that book, blah blah, blah. Go ahead and give that part of your brain a voice. It wants to be heard. It doesn't mean you ultimately listen to it. You're just using this time to let it all out, so you can make space for the next part of this exercise.

For me, I would have things on my list like, “I need to have a way to supplement my income. What might that look like? I could get ideas from podcasts, I can google it, I can see what other people are doing. How much income would I need? I'd want X amount of dollars in the bank to feel safe. How might I start putting that aside?” Then I'd list what my brain would tell me. Get the idea?

Notice what I didn't do here:

I didn't let my brain tell me that it didn't know. I never said that to myself. I kept asking open ended questions to keep my brain working on the problem. When we say “I don't know,” that's like shutting the power down on your computer. It stops computing for you. When we keep asking our brain quality questions, it will keep giving us answers.

I didn't ask myself a question like, “Do I have time for that?” That's a horrible question because my brain will always tell me no. Instead, I ask something like, “How can I make this as easy as possible? Where might I be able to create more time? What could that look like?”

After you're done, take a breath.

Now you have some space to do the next part of this exercise.

Look at your idea statement. Ask yourself how you think you'd feel if it was already done.

Feel it in your body. Name it: accomplished, proud, grateful, open, confident. Name the feelings you're having.

Take a few minutes here picturing yourself already having turned your idea into reality. Take some breaths releasing any tension in your body. Sink into it.

Then ask your future self, what are the most important things she did to make her idea a reality.

When I did this practice recently, this is what my future self told me to do.

– be present
– remind myself I'm safe
– only pursue projects in alignment with my goal
– cultivate relationships with like-minded people
– love and take care of myself no matter what

Feel free to steal any of those.

You may get other messages like:

– say no to others more
– be nice to myself
– honor my time
– create boundaries
– believe in myself every day even if it's hard

I love this practice. It helps your brain start to overcome its barriers to doing new things.

When I get quiet and connect with my future self, I get the deeper stuff that my soul needs to turn my idea into action and I can filter out the unhelpful ideas my brain has like, “You know, you should really reorganize your closet before you start writing that podcast.” I just need to keep coming back to this practice.

I can busy myself with everything my brain tells me I'm supposed to do, or I can allow myself to have what I want and take actions in alignment with what my future self tells me I need.

When I'm working from this space, I can look at my list of to-dos, and I don't feel overwhelmed because I can choose the most impactful actions towards making my idea a reality. When I'm MAKING my to-do list, I have my idea in mind because I'm nurturing it and cultivating it.

This practice will help you get clarity on your idea and start taking action on it.

It may seem impossible now, but you can make it happen. I see it all the time with my clients and the work I do with my own brain.

When you're ready to turn your impossible idea into action, I'm here for you. Book a call with me to learn how we can work together to make it happen.

Go to dinacataldo.com/strategysession to book your call.

I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week, and I'll talk to you soon.

Bye.