Getting What You Want Out of Life – Angelina Jolie
The life lesson: getting what you want out of life requires you to go beyond just wishing, hoping, and dreaming! The successful woman: Angelina Jolie (and I’m not talking about Brad Pitt here!).
“Try to be completely who you are,” says Jolie. “Figure out what you love. And, go after it with everything you’ve got no matter how much it takes.”
What’s it gonna take to get what you want out of life? To become more effective – powerful, even – click Boost Your Brain Power Week by Week: 52 Techniques to Make You Smarter by Bill Lucas. This book goes far beyond improving your brain health (that book title is too limiting) - it’s a complete guide to living a successful life! For five ways to get what you want out of life, read on…
Getting What You Want Out of Life – Angelina Jolie
1. Figure out what you want. Sometimes I think I want a book deal; other times I wish I could blog for a living and not have writing deadlines. Sometimes I wish I had a child; other times I’m happy we don’t have kids! It’s good to see the pros and cons of any choice – but waffling on what you want out of life will prevent you from achieving your goals.
2. Ask the right person. Go directly to the person who can give you what you want. Ask your husband to do the dishes; ask your boss to give you the time off (bypass your coworkers); ask the store owner (not the clerk) to give you a discount if you buy in bulk. And, make sure you’ve built up your resiliency or “bouncebackability” so you can easily move on if you get a “no.”
3. Answer the “What’s in it for me?” question. Sometimes people will acquiesce to your request out of the kindness of their own heart – but more often, they give you what you want because they benefit somehow. Your husband gets on your good side, your boss gets a more productive employee, the store owner gains a repeat customer. When you ask people for what you want, tell them what’s in it for them. Make them want to say yes!
4. Ask for too much. A tried-and-true negotiation or sales technique is to ask for something you know you won’t get because it’s too much (“Honey, can you do the dishes all week?”). When he balks, ask for what you really want (“Well then, can you just do the dishes tonight and Weds?”).
5. Explain why you want it. If you’re asking your boss for an extra week of vacation this year, tell her why you need it. You’re more likely to persuade her if you throw in a “because.” For more ideas about asking for and getting what you want, read Communication Tips for Women.
One last quotation from Angelina Jolie: “I think all women go through periods where we hate this about ourselves, or we don’t like that. It’s great to get to a place where you dismiss anything you’re worried about.”
What a peaceful place that would be.
What do you want out of life, my friends? How will you get it? I welcome your thoughts below!
Related posts:
I have always simply loved watching A. Jolie in her shows. Thanks for the post!
Your life sounds absolutely wonderful, Linda! Good for you for taking the bull by the horns and getting what you want out of life….I’m very happy for you.
I love that you’re finding your self-identity, and reconnecting with your old self. I hope you had a great time with the journalist — and even if you didn’t, I know you’ll forge ahead with enthusiasm and energy
Laurie
.-= Laurie PK´s last blog post..Coping With Negative Coworkers Who Drain Your Energy – Anais Nin =-.
Wow, I’m in the right place today! In order to even think about what I wanted out of life, I had to file for divorce. In this deal, I now have a home of my own that I can clean and decorate at my own pace, and every other week with my sons -which I thought I would hate, but my husband never took the reins and gave me a break from being with the kids -even when I asked, he just said -get a sitter. I’m now devoting much more of my time to self and friendships with women who haven’t had enough of my time since I’ve been married. They are the ones who will see me through the hard times and keep me laughing. I’m so empowered to start imagining life as a teacher, author, artist, etc. and get back to being the happy and confident person I once was. And it doesn’t hurt to throw out a new net in the dating department. Tonight I’m meeting an encouraging man who writes full-time and travels abroad as a journalist. So, never say never!
Your comment made me laugh out loud, Gini! You summed my struggle up perfectly — the whole money/writing books/writing articles/blogging struggle. What do I want to do?? I want to do it all!! It’s nice to know I’m not the only one
I’ve been thinking about life coaching, but don’t want to go the in-person route. I love helping people online because others can benefit. Of course, when you coach one person, he/she can change others’ lives and so you’re benefitting many people by helping that one person (domino effect)…..but I’m just drawn to the idea of guiding people via my blogs. And, I love the idea that these words will exist for years to come. In a year, someone could read this and be inspired or motivated — or just feel understood, or like they’re not alone.
I’m glad you’re taking time off of coaching. I think taking a break from something brings clarity….taking 2 months to focus on your book and articles will help you find your true direction.
And maybe that’s what we need to remember: there’s a season for everything. A season for writing books, a season for coaching, a season for writing articles…and even a season for doing nothing.
Talk to you soon, my friend!
Laurie
Oh, how I can relate to the waffling you mentioned in tip no. 1 Laurie (figure out what you want). Some days I want to coach people, other days I want to write articles and other days just books (and then there are the days I want to do nothing, nothing, nothing). When I get into this place of confusion – not knowing what I want (which prevents me from focusing and getting anything done) – I meditate on it.
Within that stillness I ask all the parts of myself what I want. I ask my mind/analyzer what it wants (usually it wants something very practical and orderly), then I ask my body (which is the emotional part of me and like a child wants safety and fun most of the time), then I put my hand on my heart and ask what my heart wants (here I get closer to the truth), and finally, when I am really centered, I ask my soul what it wants, and this is where the truth comes.
The problem with getting my ‘soul’ truth is that my mind and body don’t always agree. My soul has many times said “just focus on your current book”, but my mind barks in with concerns about earning money which triggers my body’s insecurities and so on. So, I end up waffling again unless I just trust my soul’s intuition which is what I’m doing this summer – no coaching, just focusing on my book with a little article writing thrown in.