“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward.” -Soren Kierkegaard
Get a piece of paper and make a list of all the things you want to do during your lifetime–no matter how crazy or undoable some of those things might seem. If you want to go on an African safari and become a famous gorilla researcher, then write it down. If you want to sip coffee at a Left Bank café in Paris, then by all means, put it on your list.
Include all the seemingly mundane things you want to do, too. Do you want to spend more time with your children, your spouse, or your parents? Write it down. Don’t hold back. Be as wild and daring as you want to be. Let yourself dream big.
Once you have finished the above exercise (and not necessarily in the same sitting) take another piece of paper and ask yourself, “If I had a million dollars in the bank that was exclusively for me–and I had no responsibilities and knew I would not need the money in the future–how would I choose to spend a perfect day?” Maybe you want to write a novel, talk to a friend, or own a ranch and raise goats. Whatever it is, write out your perfect sort of day. These are not necessarily the big event things you want to experience, but your idea of your perfect day of living. Again, don’t hold back.
People are often surprised at how powerful these two exercises are.
How do they help you?
They help you know what are your ACTUAL big dreams. They help you see clearly where your priorities reside. And they help you see how far away you are from, or close you are to, your dreams and your more ideal daily existence.
And once you know that, then you can lay out a plan that lets you use your precious time for what you really want in life.
This can be really fun, if you let it be so. Shut off your cynicism, take fifteen minutes … and send me an email about your experience with it.
I’d love to help you formulate a financial plan to get there.
