True confession: I am a huge Queen fan. And, one of my favorite songs is their “I Want it All.” The Brian May lyrics convey an assertive search for a dream come true. The message of the singer is a pronouncement that says: I gave in to external events along the way to live a lesser life than I could and now I am going for my all, not just for my some. I am willing to courageously surprise you (shake you to the ground) by what I can become. Here are the lyrics to the second verse of the song:
Listen all you people, come gather round
I gotta get me a game plan, gotta shake you to the ground
But just give me, huh, what I know is mine
People do you hear me, just gimme the sign
It ain’t much I’m asking, if you want the truth
Here’s to the future for the dreams of youth.
There are many famous poems with a “If I could live my life over” theme. They all have a similar lament; I was not bold enough in taking care of me. Now, I need to take time to reflect on my joys, respect my dreams, and craft a game plan for how will live my truth. My future is mine and I need to claim it, embrace it, and animate it.
My wife gave up a highly successful high school principalship to go to SMU full-time for her law degree. She already had a doctorate. Most people would have considered that the terminal degree. But she wanted her all. She was fifty years old as a first-year law student. She practiced law for a few years and then became a graduate school professor, another dream of her youth. Freedom is being able to trade in who you are for who you can become. But it takes more than courage. As the song says, it takes a game plan and the drive to claim what you know is yours.
It is never too late! And, now there is abundant support. Dr. Jane Goldner’s book, Women Driven to Success: You Can Have Your All, provides the perspectives, tools and resources to have what “all” means to you. And, now she has launched an online training course based on the book that can arm you with the skills to have it all. The program is self-paced and consists of eight videos, an eBook, a workbook plus a live Zoom session. Log onto www.thegoldnergroup.com to learn more about this amazing course. It will change your life.