May the 4th be with you. Always. Build your brand and be free!

May the 4th be with you. :)

Today’s post is about following your dreams. Even if.

When I was little, my mum once told me, “I always wanted to jump with a parachute, but I never did. Then I became a mum, got older, and now I can’t do it anymore.” So when I was 25, I jumped out of a plane with a parachute because I never wanted to carry that regret. A few years ago, my friend told me, “Well, I always wanted to skydive, but I’m too old now. I can’t do it anymore,” I argued, of course. “You can still do it. You need to fulfil your dreams. Even if it is just indoor skydiving. Start small and see where it leads.” He never listened.

So when I passed an indoor skydiving experience a few months ago, my hand was still supported after I broke it in September, but I thought, “Well, I will never have this regret.” And I bought a ticket for two, with extra flight time. Basically, four flights.

I thought that by the time the flight came around, I would invite someone. It didn’t work out that way. So I had all four flights myself, plus one extra flight in the middle of the tube with the instructor. And this post is not really about extreme sports.

My motto has always been to learn through experiences that resonate with my values and to live life without regret. That mindset led me to travel, to mountain skiing, to strange decisions, to beautiful stories, and to moments I would never want to delete from my life.

But the key idea is this.

If you have a dream, an idea, or something you have always wanted to do, ask yourself what you can actually do about it. And if there is nothing you can do anymore, let it go.

I have had many big dreams that will probably never happen.

So about ten years ago, I made a pact with myself. I wrote a list of the dreams I truly wanted. Some were achievable. Some had an expiry date. So I said to myself, if I do not have this by this age, I release it. I let it go. From that age onwards, I have been free from it. It no longer defines my self-image. Until that milestone, I work towards it. I do what I can. I give it my best. Some dreams and ideas were released on my 45th birthday. Some other ideas, and parts of my old self-image, will be released when I pass 50.

I call this tab closing.

And I bet you are guilty of tab opening too.

We have all seen a computer barely functioning under the weight of too many browser tabs. Some are open and active. Some you are not even using anymore. But they are still there, quietly draining the operating system. The same thing happens with unfinished emotional loops. With old dreams. With the identities you wanted to become. With ideas about yourself that never fully happened but never fully left either. They sit there in the background.

And all that weight keeps you from flying. It keeps you from feeling free.

This is one of the first things we usually work on in my Personal Branding Mastery programme with my one-to-one clients. I help them identify where they are right now, where they want to be, and what old stories, fears, and outdated ideas are stopping them from building a brand that sounds, leads, and feels like them.

A brand that is fully aligned.

No pretending. No performance. No chasing an old version of yourself that no longer fits. Because when you release your fear, you become free. And when you are free, you can fly. And then, perhaps, you master the force. Because now you have found your inner peace, and your mind is ready to create. To create your new reality. To lead yourself into the future you are building.

May the force be with you. :)