I’ve been reading Barbara Stanny’s book Sacred Success and while I’m not finished with it, it has been eye-opening. Now that I’ve been immersed in the career world working for other people, I realize that it doesn’t work for me. I have a fascination with finding away to do what I love and being able to enjoy life outside of working. I’m dedicating to learning from the greats and attempting to teach myself everything from passive income to entrepreneurial skills.

Barbara Stanny does a great job with making success and money a spiritual experience. I’m not religious, but I do believe in being grateful and pausing to take moments to be grateful for everything you have even in the toughest of times. Barbara writes about her personal experience of knowing when she wasn’t happy with her career and financial well-being and gives the reader what worked for her. It was definitely a self-reflective time for Barbara and she had to figure out what she wanted and needed in her life. I am in that same spot currently. As I have stated many times, I am in a job that I thought I wanted since I was a child and am not realizing it is slowly destroying my happiness so I’m looking for solutions.

Barbara’s book has exercises and “homework” to complete as you read. One of my favorite activities that really enlightened me was listing goals/priorities in different areas of your life: Mental, Spiritual, Physical, Vocational, Financial, Family and Social. Once you do this you can see where your values align. Mine were definitely health, happiness, freedom, and peace. These four things appeared in some context in all of my categories. Now, I know what I really value so I can start to figure out my next steps.

The book so far has been a powerful tool and I cannot wait to get all the way through it! While this book is definitely directed at women, I believe it can be a rich resource for anyone.

Learn more about Barbara Stanny at Barbarastanny.com