This month I’m talking about how to take your re-zooming journey to the next level! It begins with your mindset and the visualization of your ideal life. Taking the time to complete these two activities proved to be a game changer and an invaluable tool to my Rezooming journey last year.

In our rush to rezoom our careers, we hardly ever (translate never) stop to ask ourselves is this really what I want to be doing.

Am I doing this because:

• The timing was right. I had no other offers.
• The commute is great. I did this before; it is in my comfort zone.
• The money is awesome. My friend got me the job.
• It is the best I could hope for. What else can I do?

There is always a small voice in our mind and heart that speaks up about what we really can and should be doing. Whether we open our minds and hearts to hear and heed these directions separates successful Re-zoomers from the thwarted Re-zoomers.

My Re-zooming experience included listening to my head and heart; not the noise of the crowd around me, the lemmings as my sister calls them. I started down a pioneering & trailblazing path using mediation to resolve conflicts between people about animals. It includes divorce, civil, criminal and contract matters wherever people are arguing over a pet. How I got here was a bit circuitous. Yet by listening to my heart and head, it became pretty damn clear how I was to proceed.

In January 2010, I attended the NYSBA Annual Meeting. I also attended the Animal Law Committee meeting followed by the Dispute Resolution Committee meeting. The Animal Law meeting had a heated panel discussion about how ‘the courts don’t want to see the cases they were discussing’. The Dispute Resolution meeting talked about how Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) provided the court with a process in which issues, difficult for the court to address fully, could be carefully addressed by ADR. The courts were grateful for the opportunity, via ADR, to enable the parties in conflict to have a venue in which to discuss their positions, emotions and personal requests for relief and possibly come up with a party-driven solution.

Wham, it was as clear as could be to me. My Heart & Head (H&H) screamed, ‘do you get it?’ I certainly did. Conflicts between people over animals almost always are completely emotional. The courts can only address the property value or contract terms of the animal conflict. Yet there is so much more in a conflict of this kind.

How did I stay focused and not let the threat of disaster and mayhem overwhelm me? I surrounded myself with my ideal clients. I hung out with them and asked them how I could best serve them. I learned how to really listen to my own biases on the topic and let them go.

I moved Fearlessly Forward.

How? By doing the following:

• I visualized my ideal life.
• I believed I was greater than I appear to be.
• I set goals and took action to reach them.
• I set intentions and affirmations.

By visualizing the place I wanted to be, I set things in motion to get there. Whether it was finding places where I could meet people who would move me forward or having people I already knew help me move forward, it always seemed that when I visualized myself doing something, within a short period of time, I’d be given the opportunity to do it. Then it was up to me to close the deal and take action.

I no longer say, “Oh my God I don’t know enough” or “wait let me take one more class” or “read one more book” or “speak to one more guru.” I believe in me. I believe in my ability to provide the service I am hired to provide.

I set daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals, along with 3/5 & 7-year plans. I stick to my plan and do the work or re-evaluate the plan and move forward based on my experience and results from experiences on this journey.

Finally, I set intentions and affirmations. I say things like:

“I look forward to the time when I speak before 300 luminaries in the field of animal law”.

“I look forward to creating a program at law schools that combines ADR & Animal Law. By creating this program I will take the discussion of Animal Welfare to a whole new level by a generation of lawyers who see ADR as a party driven method of resolution rather than a weaker position”.

“I look forward to the time when my book “Nipped in the Bud…. Not in the Butt” is published, on the best sellers list and I’m appearing at large venues to discuss my passion for ADR as it applies to Animal Conflicts”.

As a Re-zooming attorney, I have the benefit of having been there, done that, in the field of law. Flexibility to adjust to situations you find yourself in, taking advantage of the opportunities that come your way, not staying rigidly in the moment, will benefit you in a big way.

An example of being open to possibilities in my own life occurred at Toastmasters. I joined a small friendly Toastmasters group about a year ago. Last week I took the plunge and competed in an extemporaneous speaking contest. In my table topic talk, ‘What Language Would I Speak If I Could Speak Another Language’, I said ‘Dog-Speak’. I would love to know what my dogs are saying about me behind my back. I won the area contest against 4 other wonderful toastmasters and will go on to the next level of competition.

The reason I am telling you this story is because afterward the area governor came over and spoke to me about his neighbor who is an American Kennel Club Judge. I gave him my card and gave him an extra card for his neighbor saying I would love to speak to her about what I do. She called me the next day and now I am being considered as a speaker for the next AKC Delegates Conference.

My path, my intentions and my goals were specifically in line with this opportunity. Yet it came out of the blue at an event unlikely to provide me with clients. So, when opportunity knocks open the door!

My Re-zooming colleagues let me close by saying go fearlessly forward. Follow the passion that speaks in your heart and head. Make authentic connections that may ironically get you that much closer to a goal you’d never even imagined. Being fearless, knowing you can never get it wrong because you grow from each experience, makes the journey so much sweeter and a lot less frightening.

Have a vision, set a goal, make your intentions known, and then march fearlessly forward into your next career.