I am very happy to post another article guest author Betsy Baker!  Besty is the President of  YourGrantAuthority.com. She has earned more than ten million dollars in grant funding and continues to be a grant writing consultant for nonprofits.

She is best known for her plain-language instructional guidance and offers both ebook instruction and one-on-one coaching in writing grants and starting a grant writing consulting career.

The #1 Thing Keeping You From What You Want

This is one of my favorite photos of my son Rhodes as he is finishing his first race – which just happened to be at Disney World.  The clay track at the ESPN field where the race took place was packed with excited kids; most holding hands with even more excited parents.  The atmosphere was festive with a live band, balloons, favorite Disney characters and a race director tasked with herding the cats, I mean the children, onto the track for the race to begin.

Anticipation for this day had been building as my husband Norm and I both have participated in several races and were eager for Rhodes’ first.  We explained to Rhodes before the race that while he was to run as fast as he could, what was really important was to just have fun and finish the race.  Rhodes had another idea.

As the starter pistol shot rang out, I was holding hands with Rhodes because he was only three at the time and I didn’t want him to get lost in a sea of strangers.  But as we ran, Rhodes began pulling away from me and trying to wriggle out of my grasp.  It was obvious – his eye was on the prize and he was there to win that race.

I can’t help but compare his enthusiasm to some of the organizations I meet with that seek my help in teaching them to write grants that will win them money.  Or with folks that want to begin their own independent grant consulting business and seek me out for guidance.  These are the people near and dear to my heart that I want to help because I know of all the good things in store for them.

For the organizations desiring grant money, I know what can be accomplished with receipt of grant funding: children fed, disaster victims housed, terminal diseases cured, babies placed into loving arms.

And I also know what a successful, freedom-based grant consulting business can bring: personal accomplishment , time at home with children every day, the ability to participate in field trips, catching up with friends over a long lunch, the excitement of landing a new client and the capacity, when needed, to care for aging parents a state away.

I’ve been on both sides.

So, I talk with people that have the desire to make a needed and wanted change but here’s what separates them from being able to say “I Did It!” And it’s so simple – they never took the action required to accomplish that desire. Don’t let any of your perceived or very real obstacles prevent you from taking action.  Very rarely is there a straight path to what you want accomplished – my path continues to be a zig-zag every day!  The trick is to just keep moving forward.  Action.

I think Gandhi says it best, “Action expresses priorities.”  What is your priority and what is the action you need to take – today?

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