SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS IN THE PROCESS OF TRANSFORMATION

1. Recognize the reality of what you're trying to do.

2. Be brave but not foolish.

3. Carefully research how others have achieved it. Build on their findings but create your own plan.

4. Always keep your overall route map close by, ready to show others and to reinforce your own beliefs.

5. Don't try to do it alone; identify key members of a support team and keep in close communication.

6. Break the journey up into bite- size chunks and set key deliverables.

7. Review each stage and learn the lessons from what has worked and what hasn't.

8. Don't be afraid to amend the plan in the light of the lessons learnt.

9. Don't let apparent difficulties or failure overwhelm you; have contingency plans.

10. People often give up when they are closest to achieving their goals. Take regular breaks, do something different and return with new energy.

11. Listen to feedback but make sure it is balanced.

12. Recognize that not everyone is able to make the journey. Support people as they make the difficult choices.

13. Use your own support network, personal coach and mentor.

14. Do not over-analyse failure; learn from it and move on.

15. Celebrate success and prepare for the next stage of the journey.

To conclude, there follows an extract from Walking in This World by Julia Cameron (2002):

Chekhov advised actors, 'If you want to work on your career work on yourself.' It might equally be advised, if you want to work on yourself, work to make your career of service to something larger than yourself. Dedicate yourself to something, or someone other than yourself. This expansion will make you larger both as a person, and as an artist.

She adds this quotation,

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic to it.

(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

I hope you have found this book useful, and I wish you every success in your own journey of transformation.