Okay, so life didn’t give you lemons, but it gave you something else.

The most common challenge I hear from the parents who are searching for a new avenue that will allow them to earn an income from home is this:

“I don’t know what I can do.”

The amount of times I hear that phrase is staggering.

It’s time that we dive into this common issue. Why is it we feel so inadequate and
unaccomplished? Are we still all searching for our purpose in life? Is it possible you were really branded with no such talent to offer the world?

Start with realizing what kind of lemons you were handed in this lifetime, and where you are under-utilizing yourself. Remember those career assessment tests they made us take in grade school? This is a little bit like that, only it isn’t so broad as to try and fit your square peg into a round hole. Start by making a list of your skills. What have people paid you to do in the past? Do you make a mean lasagna? Know a foreign language? Sew? Play an instrument? These are all gifts just waiting to be recognized by you.

It’s time for you to discover the gift life has given you, but more than that, it’s time for you to share your gift with the world.

The best way to get started is to do what I like to call a “brain dump”.

Get out a piece of paper and start to make a list of all the talents and skills you have to offer. Don’t think, just write. If you find yourself considering each item before you list it, remind yourself that this is not the time to judge the ideas. Just get them down on paper.

Some like to type out their answers on a word doc, but studies have shown that putting a pen to paper opens up different portals in the brain that you may not have accessed otherwise.

This will likely be challenging at first, but don’t give up. You should find that once you start, the momentum will build and ideas will come flooding in. Don’t stop until you can’t think of anything else.

Next, fine tune it.

Look at the list and cross off anything that seems ridiculous. (uh… you probably can’t become a professional sandcastle builder, but kudos to you for writing it down and acknowledging you have this gift!)

Wave a Magic Wand.

By now, ideas should be percolating. You should feel at least a little better about yourself and what makes you… YOU. Go with the flow of this improved mood. While in this space, imagine that your fairy godmother grants you one wish to do anything you want as a career, and with the wave of a magic wand, you will receive it. Don’t judge it, just wish it.

That is your answer.

Follow your passion. So many times we talk ourselves out of it because we lack the resources, or the education, or the time, or the support…. But ANYTHING can be done if you are passionate enough. You got this, Queen.

Author: Ally Loprete

A known advocate for parents ever since she became one herself, Ally Loprete founded Our Milk Money, which began as the largest online search directory for parents in the world. Later she transformed the company into a non-profit organization to help women, parents and caregivers transition back into the workforce without the struggle of gendered ageism or work gaps. Nationally recognized as the radio show host of THIS LITTLE PARENT STAYED HOME on iHeart America’s Talk Radio and the host of a television show by the same name, Ally continued to broadcast on both radio and television, with shows like DRAMATIC IMPACT WITH ALLY and WAKE UP. Speaking to many women’s groups across the country with a concentration on family and career balance, Ally published her first book, YOU GOT THIS which earned her rave reviews among her peers. Ally still offers coaching to some select clients. To inquire, visit www.allyloprete.com. Ally lives with her husband and their two sons in the northern suburbs of Los Angeles, in a home filled with lots of laughter.