It’s truly possible to live life you dream - life you want. But first you have to know what it is you want. Answering self-exploration questions like this is beginning.

Clearly, this is not simple. For many of us this is a challenge, especially if we rarely give ourselves permission to dream. Pestering voices corner us. But if you allow yourself to take on this type of questioning, you will find that your personal options for living are vast and varied. With all our world of choices and unlimited possibilities, let's begin with dream...

I dream that I often travel world and bring back amazing and beautiful art to share with people. And everyone is pleased with me and they say, "ooh!” "aah!" and "gimme some of that!" about my findings. Hmm...What does that say about me?

**Sandra A. Daley is the president of Daley Formulas…solutions for creative living, a life and career coaching company that believes that everyone is entitled to a full and prosperous life. She works with artists, entrepreneurs and people who are in transition in their lives and careers.

It’s crucial to understand that Emotional Intelligence is not something you can learn alone, or simply by reading a book. It involves social and emotional skills, and these must be put into practice with appropriate feedback. It’s good to take a course on Internet that outlines theory and tells you vocabulary – which is really reframing things you’re aware of – but it makes it clearer. Then work with a coach to guide process.

Improving your Emotional Intelligence will bring you benefits in every area of your life, at any time. It is broadly applicable and a very practical tool for life skills that seem to have been left out in our formal educations and even at home. Researchers did not start studying this field until about 10 years ago.

If someone has ever told you – or someone you love – you don’t know how to get along, or why can’t you be more friendly, or you don’t have good common sense, or you lose focus – these are all things you can learn in improving your Emotional Intelligence. Or if there are areas you know you could improve in, which is probably true of all of us – leadership, Intentionality, resilience, or flexibility – why not give Emotional Intelligence a try?

Emotional Intelligence involves knowing your emotions, understanding them, using them, and ultimately regulating them, and only when you can do this for yourself, can you apply this to others. And if you stop and think about it, most of things that come up at work involve emotions, not just work process. We all know how to do work; it’s doing it with others, and managing ourselves and others, that’s challenge, yes?