Have you ever procrastinated a bit too much or put your dreams wayyyyyy back on the back burner, to a point where you start to ask yourself, “Do I even WANT this dream business?”

Is it possible that you want this dream business, yet you don’t actually want it that badly? Could that be the biggest reason why you are stuck or not making the progress you hoped for?

I’ve asked myself that question many times before. And I didn’t always like what I found.

Not wanting it that badly depends on lots of factors. Perhaps your dream isn’t even yours to begin with—it could be someone else’s idea of what you should be. Maybe there are too many things going on in your life that are higher priorities. Perhaps insecurities and fears block you from even honoring your dreams. Maybe the dream you thought you wanted came from the old you, not the new person you’ve become. Or, maybe the entrepreneurial lifestyle lured you into starting your own business, but reality is not as rosy, quick nor easy as you thought it would be.

Suggesting that someone might not want their dream that badly is a difficult topic for me to bring up—I know I’m gonna be pushing some buttons today. Because how dare Anni denies the dream that has been living inside your head for the past 10 years? How dare I pretend to know how hard you’ve been thinking and planning and busy waiting for the magic wand to show up?

You know what? There is no person who is more emotionally attached to their dreams than I am, and I’ll be the first person to admit in the 10 years that I’ve been dreaming my dream, for 9 of those years, I didn’t want it that badly.

Probably up until last month, I didn’t want it that badly.

When you don’t want something that badly, deep down beyond the illusions and stories, you know. Whatever “that badly” means to you or in what measure, you also know. When I first realized that I didn’t want it that badly, I shocked myself and I fought myself. And then I sobered up and got real.

Want it that badly? Here are the 7 tell–tale signs:

Sign #1: You get down and get serious

That means you will laser focus on the present moment, however imperfect it may be, and simply do the work that’s right in front of you—no complaining, no kicking, no screaming. Just do it.

Sign #2: You cut the crap

That means you will start welcoming the opportunity to eliminate all of the non–essential buggers from your life—like spending too much time on social media, rescuing others who can rescue themselves, or getting involved in other peoples’ drama. What you spend your time on is what you value. Time is our most precious commodity and when you want something that badly, cutting the crap is a great gift and service to your dreams.

Sign #3: You see inconvenience as building character

You will totally go out of your way and completely inconvenience yourself to do whatever it takes—whether it is taking action in your business or healing something that blocks you. You won’t take no for an answer—especially the no’s you say to yourself. When a door is closed, you’ll simply locate another door or find someone else to knock on it for you.

You also won’t notice how high the obstacles are. Earlier this week, I started hitting the phones at 6:30am making cold calls to Milan, Italy to introduce myself to the local factories I want to work with. When I started, I thought it would be easy peasy but little did I know, nobody I reached spoke a word of English.

It’s not the first time I’ve done business with countries where I can’t speak their language and that’s never stopped me before. So I hired a translator. I’m even getting on a plane to serendipitously meet local artisans—who aren’t found online and that I will probably only randomly discover while wandering the streets of Lombardy—only if it is to shake their hands, learn, and demonstrate my sincerity.

None of these actions are convenient (nor cheap), and there are a million reasons not to—because of time, money, distance, and the possibility of humiliation or wasting time and money. But you do it because inconvenience stretches you to the edge and builds character.

Sign #4: No more time–traveling and being at war with yourself

Staying locked into the present moment means all the hard work that comes with building a business won’t trigger you (as much) into a sense of victimization, desperation, urgency or a defeatist attitude. You also won’t delay any more than you have to. Discipline and single–mindedness take over.

Also, you won’t notice how far the distance is between where you are and where you want to be—because when you are in the present moment, everything will feel like it’s within reach. Your head will be filled with fewer questions and inner knowing takes charge. You will also no longer feel like you’re at war with yourself or with your path, but more like you’re flowing through a video game of life.

Sign #5: A different driver takes over

The pain, fear and stop sign that you knew so well? That takes a backseat to love because the reasons why you can’t and shouldn’t are no longer in the driver’s seat. When you want it badly and you do something about it, your heart dissolves all excuses and makes way for itself. Time collapses all doors into a single file and opens them and you’re guided through them one after the other. You just go for it because you realize all along, you already know what to do.

When you tune into your heart and let intuition be the driver of all your decisions, things become much simpler. I call my higher self the Queen and my ego the Prime Minister, and they used to fight, fight, fight, fight, FIGHT! And now, my Prime Minister concedes to the Queen and we are living happily ever after.

When you are making choices in your life and business—big or small— you won’t know whether your decisions are right or wrong—because the final outcome is not yet decided and things are not always available for you to see right away. As Robert Ohotto would say, all you know is what’s true.

Sign #6: You realize that this is the best way to love yourself

Marcella Fredericks wrote a blog post about being SO DONE with hearing people say “Do what you love, do what you love!!!!”. I said to her, the more fitting mantra should be to do what you fear.

Love = Do what you fear. It doesn’t get any more sacred or graceful than that.

Sign #7: You love the unknown

There is something magical about planting yourself in the present moment, yet also welcome in the unknown. The territory that you are in now—whether it’s status quo, the tape in your head, or the vision board on your desk—are all knowns. Yes, vision boards are knowns because you are attempting to plot the exact outcome your dream is to unfold under.

Over the past several weeks, I have felt stretched to the max and that comes from building a new house in the unknown and getting comfortable in it. The more I step into the unknown, the more I like hanging out in this place. Do I want to go back to the visions and stories in my head? No way. Everything that I was comfortable with before doesn’t even come close to how thrilling reality and the present moment actually is.

These are all the things I’ve learned from getting real with myself. I could not have arrived at where I am at today without awakening to the startling truth that I did not want it that badly before. Being honest with myself has changed the entire trajectory of my destiny. Your answer will change yours, too.

I believe that we come into this lifetime equipped with all the gifts and resources that we need to animate our fullest expression. But whether we make use of this opportunity or not is entirely free will.

Ask yourself if you want it that badly. Deep down, you know. If you find that the answer is no, don’t feel bad about yourself—I didn’t. From there, you’ll know what to do, heal, change or release. You can’t make yourself want something badly—the desire and the intensity of it has to be authentic to you. Healing clarifies your desires and if they live authentically in your heart, intensifies them.

Simply wanting it badly is not a guaranteed ticket to success. Not wanting it that badly now doesn’t mean you won’t want it that badly later. How do you change? Getting real with yourself is the first step to changing the trajectory of your destiny.

Hi, I’m Ana Coeur

I teach entrepreneurs how to create their business straight from their soul. I offer a complete Intuitive Business Suite to help you create, design, write and sell all from your intuition. Here’s the services you can take advantage of to empower your business: Intuitive Web & Brand Design, Intuitive Copywriting and Intuitive Selling. If there’s anything I can help you with, I would love to hear about it! You may email me at anaintuitivepicture.com

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