What Are You Waiting For?

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

For me and my husband Chris, that place is San Francisco.

We fell in love with the city and its mix of cutting-edge innovation and laid-back realness. And who wouldn’t love the weather, trees, mountains, and of course, the bay.

The problem was that we were living in Chicago.

Every day we went to our corporate jobs in gray skyscrapers, battled the freezing winters and scorching summers, and died a little inside from the 3-hour daily commute.

We knew we belonged in sunny California, but whenever we thought about moving we came up with a million reasons why we couldn’t do it.

Right now I’m typing this in my office in our home in the suburbs of San Francisco while listening to the birds chirp outside the window. We finally did it! We got off our butts and moved across the country.

The turning point came when we considered our excuses objectively and asked ourselves what exactly we were waiting for.

So…what are you waiting for?

Almost everyone procrastinates when it comes to reaching their dreams, but while you’re waiting around, your life is passing you by!

It’s time to get over these common excuses so you can finally stop waiting for your dreams to come true.

Waiting for Your Life to Calm Down

I get it—you’re busy! You have a to-do list that’s a mile long, a hundred places to be, and barely enough time to scarf down a stale bagel before dashing off to the next thing.

Life is exhausting right now, and you’re going to wait until things calm down before you go after what you really want: to lose weight, start a business, write a book, etc.

The Wait Is Over: Here’s the thing, your life will never calm down. Sorry, it’s true. Your life will remain as full as it is, and most likely, you’ll have even more things vying for your attention in the future.

When you were in college, you probably thought your life was super busy. And that was years before you had a full-time job, rent/mortgage, in-laws, kids, or a hundred other things!

But when your life expanded, you adjusted. That’s exactly what you have to do now. If you want to reach your goal, you have to stop waiting for things to calm down and look for ways to fit in what you want within your current circumstances.

Even though Chris and I were busy, we used our spare time to research neighborhoods in San Francisco, look for jobs, and de-clutter our house so we could put it on the market.

We found time because we decided that it mattered.

Waiting for More Money

This is a biggie. I completely agree that getting what you want is a heck of a lot easier when you have a ton of money. It makes sense to take your time and save your cash instead of maxing out your credit cards.

The problem is people know they need more money for what they want (a yacht, season tickets, a house), but they wait…and wait…and wait without taking action to save their money or bring in more money. Unless you’re playing the lotto, a pile of cash isn’t going to fall out of the sky and into your lap. And even then, it’s a long shot.

The Wait Is Over: If money is an issue, you must find a way to get more of it. Not sometime in the distant future, but now!

Go over your monthly budget (you do have budget, right?) and look for ways you can trim your spending. Do you really need cable? How many times do you want to eat out every week, if at all?

Look around your house and see if there’s anything you can sell like old clothes, sporting equipment, furniture, or books. And if you’re really serious about getting the money so you can get what you’re dreaming about, consider making some bigger changes like getting a roommate or part-time job.

I have a client whose skeptical husband wouldn’t let her sign up to work with me unless she earned back all the money she was paying me within 3 months.

No pressure, right?

But she wasn’t going to wait around for a money miracle. With my guidance, she worked her butt off to build up her business and earned triple the amount she needed. (By the way, her husband is now her biggest supporter.)

Chris and I cut back on a ton of variable expenses and started saving huge chunks of our paychecks. Once we saw our savings growing, our dream of moving to California seemed more doable.

Waiting for Someone to Rescue You

It’d be so much easier if a knight in shining armor would ride up on a white horse, scoop you up, and carry you off into the sunset. I hate to burst your bubble, but that ain’t gonna happen.

No one is coming to save you.

I repeat: no one is coming to save you.

Jillian Michaels is not going to show up on your front door ready to whip your flabby behind into shape. Oprah Winfrey is not going to give you a car.

The Wait Is Over: I lied! There IS someone coming to save you after all. She’s smart, determined, passionate, and she knows exactly what to do to make everything all better! Thank goodness!

She’s you. It’s always been you.

You are going to save yourself. You are going to rescue yourself from a life of mediocrity. You are going to reach your goals. Yes, you!

When Chris and I gave up the hope that someone was going to give us a million dollars or at least offer us jobs in California, we took matter into our own hands and pressed on. We mapped out a detailed savings plan, fixed up our house and put it on the market, planned where we were going to live, researched movers, and did visualization exercises to imagine our perfect new lives.

And you know what happens when you stop waiting?

The universe falls in line with your intention and helps you manifest your dreams.

We were 3 months away from our savings goal and moving ourselves on our own when Chris got a call. He was being recruited for a new job in San Francisco…and the company would pay for our entire move.

Would that opportunity have come to us even if we had done nothing? Or did it only materialize once we stopped waiting?

Who knows? But I don’t wait around for anything anymore.

What are you waiting for?

This post focuses on Step 3 of the Life Editing Process, Add Good Habits and Routines. For more about life editing and what it can do for you, click here.

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7 Comments

  1. Rebecca on May 16, 2014 at 4:19 am

    For some funny reason, I feel like this might have been aimed at me just a little.
    After the facial expressions & hand gestures during our call I’d say you felt a little frustrated with my small thinking and the fact that I was still waiting for something…waiting to be out of debt, waiting til my fiancee had his job figured out, waiting til after the wedding etc.
    I want to tell you that this post was a great kick in the butt. Yesterday I made some big changes in my morning routine, it’s not at the ideal yet but it’s going in the right direction. Today, I’m biking to work. Tomorrow, I have time for myself as my bridesmaids and I get pedicures, wander downtown, and enjoy a lunch together. Then the real work begins, Sunday & Monday are dedicated to goal setting, rewriting web content, and reviewing our life editing process notes. (plus some work on meditation, bike riding, and a vision board)
    I’m getting started and looking forward to what I know will come!



  2. Shybiker on May 15, 2014 at 5:00 am

    Such a good message. Most of us wait around for life to give us what we desire but we need to take our own action to achieve those goals. Encouraging people to do that, and defusing common inhibitions, is valuable instruction. As much as you help individuals improve, you equally make the world a better place.

    It’s funny how different we perceive things. I’ve grown up my whole life near NYC. When I visited San Francisco on my honeymoon, I was entranced by its many charms. I mentioned this to a young resident — and he said he was bored by SF and longed to move to NYC. He took SF’s charms for granted and was unaware of the many, serious drawbacks NYC has.



    • Sage Grayson on May 15, 2014 at 8:21 am

      Everyone thinks the grass is greener someplace else. 🙂 I do still love Chicago, but my personality and values mesh a lot better in San Francisco.

      And thank you for the kind words. I try to make the world a better place, one person at a time.



  3. Wayfaring Wanderer on May 14, 2014 at 6:37 pm

    I’m NOT waiting anymore! So glad I can now “officially” call you my coach!

    It’s time for some changes and I’m ready and willing to do what I gotta do to make things happen!

    Having you in my corner will make me unstoppable! 😉

    WW



    • Sage Grayson on May 14, 2014 at 8:46 pm

      YES!!! I am SO happy we’ll be working together, Jessica. And your ARE unstoppable. We’re going to have a blast building up your business…and laughing our butts off too! 🙂



  4. Sarah @ Long Island Nerd on May 14, 2014 at 4:40 pm

    Your story and this post are so inspiring Sage! I dream of moving out of New York all the time and have subsequently used every excuse in the book to explain why now isn’t a good time. But you are so right. That day will never come if I don’t make it and I think it’s time to hunker down and really truly decide what I want and how I can achieve it. I waver back and forth on places to live and careers to pursue but I think that’s all part of the procrastination. It’s time to make a plan and stick to it!

    Thanks for the inspiration and for the wise words as always 🙂



    • Sage Grayson on May 14, 2014 at 8:50 pm

      It’s kind of a slap in the face when you realize the things you want aren’t going to fall out of the sky. Total bummer, right?

      But you are more powerful than you realize! And you don’t have to have it all figured out before you take action. No matter where you move, you’ll need to save some money, so you can start with that goal. Then you can focus on specific locations and what you want to do for a career.

      It’s all about reclaiming control of your life. 🙂