The Tale of Two Mountains

It was 2008 and the global economy crashed and I was in the best position, or so I thought.

I got to keep my job, my pay, my company paid for Benz, my benefits and Only show up when there was work - SWEET. I played golf when there was no work. One day, I teed it up and boom, down the middle with my first drive. Happy with myself and walking to play my second shot, a voice in my head said 'This is not it, You were meant to do more with your life, this may be someone else's dream life but not yours. You are meant to create more impact, touch more lives, do more with your successes and life'.

The First Mountain

Growing up in poverty, illiteracy and domestic violence, I was determined to be a success. Like most people, success was defined by career, financial, material and social status. So I set off to climb the success mountain, the mountain of career growth, financial and material gains and to be seen as someone successful to others.

The foundation of this success was 'getting a good education' so I pulled up my socks and made sure I got accepted into university (I initially had no desire for university because no one else in my family has ever been to university and I also did not think my parents could have afforded it). I did great at university, cupping several student of the year awards etc.

Next step up the mountain was to 'get a good job in a good company'. I got a good job in a good power company and I had a great boss and I was rising quickly through the ranks. With anxiety for even more success, I thought I had to 'get even higher education' to move up the mountain of success, so I pursued a Masters in eBusiness in 2000. I did a 'second masters', this time in Strategic Thinking. The results were great and I got into the C-Suite at the age of 32, not very common in those days- SUCCESS!.

Long before I started my first masters, I did have a sneak peek of the second mountain but I could  not even begin to figure out how to start that climb so I continued climbing that first mountain. I did not feel that anyone in my immediate work environment, friends or family would understand what I wanted to do and pursue on the second mountain.  My girlfriend had dumped me and I was in a deep funk. I came across a program on a channel called Wisdom TV and I was captivated by the speaker. He was the legend Dr. Wayne Dyer. I did not know who he was then but I sure remember how he made me feel and I thought that is what I want to do. Be in front of people, inspire and guide them. But I got sucked back into the corporate world and continued to climb the first mountain. 

We all get sneak peeks of the second mountain and it often comes in the form of crisis, but we don't know how to decode the crisis.

I had a C-Suite job, Benz in the driveway, Prada sunglasses, owned several properties, played golf regularly and traveled to great destinations for vacation - so I reached the top of the first mountain!

The Second Mountain

Between the 10-year space of getting the sneak peek of the second mountain and actually starting to climb the second mountain life was good but there were many signs of being off-track. One sure sign was the amount of time spent in front of the television looking at news and reality TV. One of my favourite reality TV show was Flavor of Love staring Flavor Flav.

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It was horrible, I hated it, but yet almost every night I was in front of the television looking at it. Talk about being off-purpose and drifting.

Other signs that you might be off-purpose include:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Critical illness in your 40s or earlier
• Extreme stress
• Weight gain
• Extensive time on Social Media
• Hooked on the news

Through another crisis, I decided to heed the call. My boss was leaving the job and I was the natural successor (or at least that's what he told me) but the 'culture' of the organisation meant I was not a good fit. Worse yet, someone I showed the lay of the land got the job and I was not even offered an interview.

Armed with my climbing tools of:

• 12 years corporate experience
• 2 Masters Degrees
• Belief that I can make it
• An idea of how I want to help people and organisations

I set off to climb the second mountain.

This is the mountain of:

• Purpose
• Meaning
• Impacting More Lives
• Truly creating a Legacy product, idea or cause
• Conscious Realisation
• Time Freedom
• Guilt-free Vacations
• Emotional Freedom
• More money in less time

The climb is exhilarating, the view is more gorgeous than anything you have ever seen and the feeling of freedom is one only understood if you are actually free.

Life becomes fun and purposeful and your entire world begins to change. Challenges will still be there but instead of feeling like mountains itself it will feel like molehills.

You would realise that SIGNIFICANCE is Sexier than Success.

You would realise that your INTUITION is more stimulating than your Intelligence.

You would realise that when you work from your higher conscious and purpose, is like having an orgasm all day.

You will begin to truly experience 'when one door closes, so many others open'? You will ask yourself 'what did I do to become so lucky?'. All you would really done to become so lucky was to heed the call of your higher purpose, your divine assignment this earth.

So if you have ever had that voice in your head, the voice I heard on the golf course that said that 'This is not it, You were meant to do more with your life, this may someone else's dream life but not yours. You are meant to create more impact, touch more lives, do more with your successes and life' or you had some shit happen to you, its time to heed the call, time to climb your second mountain.

Climbing the second mountain is no easy feat but it is worth it. These are the typical challenges you would go through and what I went through and this is why it is so critical to get coaching or mentoring as you go through the process:

1. Waiting for everything to be perfect to start climbing (finish paying mortgage, kids finish school, kids leave the house etc).
2. Trying to do it all by yourself. Because you are a self starter you want to do everything by yourself but it will be a longer, harder and more expensive journey.
3. Thinking that your previous knowledge/experience is sufficient
4. Finding your purpose - its not as hard as your think but you must have a proven process.
5. Getting clarity on the way forward to the top of the mountain
6. Building the confidence to pursue your purpose and get to the top of the mountain
7. Income and financial plan to sustain
8. Business Plan - this path needs to be planned to get through the top of the mountain.
9. Social Media Savvy - whatever your cause or purpose based business, social media is the fastest way to build a following and get support for your cause/business.
10. New Skill Set - this is a different mountain and while there are many transferable skills from the first mountain, new skills are required.

From my years of experience training and coaching senior leaders and entrepreneurs I have developed much-needed blueprint for successful female executives, 6-7 Figure business owners and entrepreneurs to develop a legacy cause/idea/product that positively impacts humanity while creating meaning and time, emotional and financial freedom and confidence to reach their highest potential.

It will never be a perfect time to start the climb of your second mountain but the BEST time is NOW. Let's take this journey together and I promise to give you all my support to get you to the top of the mountain.

Don't Settle, Go For 10

Shane Ram

Shane Ram is an Executive and Life Coach, HR Consultant, author and a sought after global keynote speaker. He helps successful female executives and entrepreneurs to leverage their expertise to create a legacy brand/product/cause that positively impacts humanity so that they have more fulfilling lives with time, emotional and financial freedom.

Shane's strikingly effective coaching process shows individuals and corporate teams how to create the personal lives they want while becoming a megastar at work. To book a time to speak with Shane go to https://go.oncehub.com/ShaneRam. To book Shane for events and seminars go to www.shaneram.com or call 1-868-351-5000 or email at [email protected]

He is also the CEO and Founder of Go For 10, a company that provides transformational education for all ages, through mediums that range from digital publishing, educational technology, online learning, content, events and more. We stand for ideas that enable people to be extraordinary and impact lives. www.igofor10.com