“The indispensable first step to getting the things that you want out of life is this: decide what you want.” — Ben Stein
The first step in creating your ideal life is to decide what you want. Think of the best life you can possibly imagine and list everything you would like to have, do and be—-both small and large, and even outrageous–in the next 30 years.
You’re going to create your ideal scenario for each major area of your life. Ask yourself the following question: What would my life look like if I could have it anyway I wanted? I suggest that you divide your life into the following eleven life areas:
1. Finances
2. Learning/Personal Development
3. Vocation/Career/Contribution
4. Love/Romance/Passing on Your Genes
5. Social/Interpersonal/Community
6. Home
7. Spiritual
8. Fitness/Health
9. Style/Personal Appearance
10. Travel/Adventure/Fun
11. Possessions
Spend a month or so collecting ideas for your ideal life vision. Cut out pictures from magazines, mail order catalogues, postcards, and brochures. In addition, visit the following websites for inspiration:
- Creating a Bucket List: 100 Things to Do Before You Die
- SoYouWanna.com
- HowStuffWorks.com
- About.com
- ExpertVillage.com
- 43Things.com
As you go through these resources, think about the following for each of your life areas:
Finances
What would you like your net worth to be? When would you like to retire? How much money do you need to finance your life goals? What investments would you like to make? Are you going to create multiple streams of income? Are you going to invest in stocks and/or bonds? Are you going to invest in real estate? Are you going to hire a financial planner? Is your goal to create enough passive income so that you don’t have to work another day in your life?
Learning/Personal Development
What skills would you like to acquire? What courses or seminars would you like to attend? What books would you like to read? Would you like to read self-help books such as “Getting Things Done”, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, “The 4-Hour Workweek”, and “The Now Habit”? How about reading every book that has won a Pulitzer prize or the complete works of Shakespeare? Do you have a list of 100 movies you’d like to watch?
What languages would you like to study? Would you like to: become fluent in French; learn conversational Spanish; learn Mandarin; or learn Latin?
Would you like to learn to play a musical instrument? Do you want to take a dance class?
What are your thinking strategies? Does your thinking style serve you well? Would you like to develop a different mindset? Do you need to learn how to master your emotions?
Vocation/Career/Contribution
What do you want to do? What do you want to contribute? What would you like to be known for in your profession? What kind of impact would you like to have? What could you create? What contributions do you dream of making? What does your work day look like? What is your ideal work environment? Would you like to be self-employed? Would you like to start a business and then have others run it for you? Would you like to create an online business?
Would you like to write a book, make a documentary film, have an art exhibit, or release an album?
Love/Romance/Passing on Your Genes
What would you like your relationship with your partner to be like? Do you want to get married? Do you want to be a parent? How would you create a home with an inviting, joyous, comfortable, loving atmosphere? How would you raise a happy and healthy child?
Social/Interpersonal/Community
What kind of organizations would you like to be involved in? What qualities and values do you want your friends to have? What kind of activities would you like to participate in with your friends?
Do you want to volunteer or participate in charitable organizations? Would you like to build a Habitat for Humanity Home, join the Peace Corps, join a Big Brother, Big Sister Program, volunteer at a homeless shelter, or mentor someone at work? Is there a particular group of people you would like to help, such as the people of Darfur, teenage mothers, children with leukemia, and so on? Are you interested in looking for ways to reduce your ecological footprint?
Home
What is your perfect home environment? Do you want to live in a beach house, a house by the lake, a Colonial house, or an apartment? What would you like to see, hear, and smell when you walk into your home? What is the view from the window? How much space would make you comfortable? What kind of decor do you enjoy? What objects would you like to be surrounded by? Would you like a session with a closet organizer? Do you want to have a garden? Do you want to have a swimming pool? Do you want to have a fireplace? What are must-have features for your dream house?
Spiritual
What would make you feel spiritually fulfilled? Would you like to start meditating? Would you like to take up yoga, tai chi, Qi Gong, participate in a Native American Sweat Lodge Ceremony, become a Reiki master, or take up another healing practice? Do you need to heal old wounds? Do you need to learn to forgive?
Fitness/Health
What is your ideal weight? What are your fitness goals? Are there any athletic goals you would like to achieve? Would you like to do any of the following: run a marathon; become a tri-athlete; learn archery; learn to play golf; go kayaking; go horse-back ridding; learn to ski; take up fishing; learn to play tennis; learn karate; or try fencing?
What is your ideal diet? Would you like to eat only organic foods? Would you like to become a vegetarian? Would you like to try the raw food diet?
Style/Personal Appearance
What clothes/shoes/accessories would you like to own? What’s your personal style? What clothes make you feel comfortable and attractive? Do you want a Chanel or an Armani wardrobe?
Travel/Adventure/Fun
Where would you like to go? Do you want to travel the world first class, staying in five-star hotels and dining in the finest restaurants? Would you like to visit the Grand Canyon, Victoria Falls, the Serengeti, the Great Barrier Reef, the Galapagos Archipelago, the Amazon Rainforest, or the Fjords of Norway? Would you like to party at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, participate in Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, greet the New Year at Times Square in New York, or go to Oktober-Fest in Germany? What cities do you dream of visiting? How about Jerusalem, Athens, Las Vegas, Chicago, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Berlin, London, Paris?
What museums would you like to visit? How about El Prado, the Uffizi Gallery, the Hermitage, the Louvre, the Musée de l’Orangerie, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the British Museum, or the Van Gogh Museum.
What adventures would you like to have? Would you like to ride in a hot air balloon, go paragliding, go sky diving, go on a helicopter ride, go snorkeling or scuba diving, swim with sharks, ride a mechanical bull, go rock-climbing, go bungee-jumping, go white-water rafting, drive a race car, or learn to fly a plane? Would you like to visit the wreckage of the Titanic aboard a submarine or go to the moon with Virgin Galactic?
What hobbies would you like to take-up? You can choose from learning to juggle, learning to play chess, learning to play poker, learning to play pool, taking up photography, learning to make pottery, learning to sculpt, learning to paint or draw, making mobiles, making models of cars, ships or planes, restoring a classic car, jewelry making, beading, sewing, knitting, and so on.
Possessions
What would you like to own? What kind of car would you like to drive? Do you want to own a boat? Are there any electronic gadgets you would really like to have? Would you like to simplify your life? Do you need to get rid of clutter? Would you like to collect art, have a demitasse collection, or collect Russian nesting dolls?
Conclusion
Record all of the information that you gather during your month-long search for ideas on what your ideal life would look like. On the 23rd of July–exactly one month from today–we will discuss the next steps to take to make your ideal life go from the drawing board to reality. Be ready!
Editor’s Note: On July 22nd the next steps to take were published at Six Steps to Creating the Life You Really Want.
(The “Will You Still Love Me in the Morning?” photograph is courtesy of manfrommanila).
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