Did you ever fantasize about what you would do if you could start your life over again? Well, why should our little furry friends be the only ones to get 9 lives? I have been thinking about all the dreams I deferred in order to become a law professor. It may be too late to become an Olympic athlete, butfor a Renaissance girl, it’s never too late to add some interesting new skills or activities to the mix. And thinking about what you would do with 9 lives is one sure-fire way to connect with lost passions!
So here are the top nine, in no order of importance…
- Become a famous writer. It may be too late for that, but I think I still have at least one book in me, and I am going to start writing it now!
- Be a diplomat and spend my life traveling around the world spreading peace. Instead, I am a social entrepreneur and I can travel to some key places spreading my ideas about how to support growth and independence for poor women.
- Be a patron of the arts and host salons for the greatest writers, artists and thinkers of my generation. Now it seems just as important to support small, local independent artists in my own community.
- Be a professional modern dancer. Definitely too late for this body, but I can incorporate fun activities like Nia, belly dancing and Zumba into my fitness routine.
- Be a social anthropologist a la Margaret Mead. I still love reading about her work, and her ideas have influenced my thinking about social entrepreneurship. I am inspired to learn Spanish so that I can communicate authentically with women in Latin and South America.
- Become a yogi or spiritual leader. Now I choose to get certified as a yoga instructor and bring the joy of yoga to the elderly and people confined to wheelchairs.
- Be a piano bar cabaret singer. Don’t have the voice for that, but can still enjoy informal sing-alongs and learn to play the piano!
- Dedicate my life to equality for women, gays and lesbians, and people of color. I used to think that law and politics were the path to equality, but now I believe it comes one person at a time. So I am dedicated to sharing strategies for personal development with everyone I encounter.
- Lead an expedition to outer space. Now I choose to explore the vastness of the Universe and the connectedness of all living creatures.
