Finding Your Self...Whose Life are you Living Anyway?

by Kevin Hogan

Question: Are you allowing your ideal self to suffer?

You've lived a life to date that has brought you to where you are. A very good thing... maybe...But there is time in life left to do what you want and live the life you DESIRE and DREAM. It is absolutely time to step into the future and do the following exercises.

The First Future: No change...

Briefly imagine that you are not going to live and discover your unfulfilled dreams. Instead, you continue doing what you have in the past. What will life be like in 10 years?

It will be just like today, with one difference...you will have 10 fewer years remaining in your life. I want you to think about how you will feel in 10 years if you continue to do the exact same things you have to date. What will your daily life be like?

The Ideal Future: The Rock in the Stream

Now, imagine that you are 10 years into your future but this time it's different. Why? Because starting TODAY you actually begin making changes in your life. Specific, intentional changes that are not easy. They are intentional because these changes are the changes that YOU are choosing and they are the changes that will CAUSE you to live the life YOU want to live and dream. They often mean leaving the perception of security in order to discover your personal freedom.

Just go there. Now. 10 years out... having made a decade of changes. Imagine living the life you WANT to live.

How does that feel inside?

Do you feel that you have LIVED life?!

All of this sounds right and feels like it makes sense, but, HOW do you do this?! HOW do you actually make all the changes necessary to live a life that you create?

How do you know WHAT changes will bring about the life you want? How can you be sure?

What is the syntax (the exact sequence of events) that will take you to where you want to be? You need to do this today:

1. Take a notebook or create a document on your computer. Write without stopping. 10 years from now, I plan to be living in a ...at...with... Get really detailed about it. Why? Because Napoleon Hill said so? (No - though that would be good enough...) No. You do it because you are hooking up neural connections in your mind in a way you never have. THEN you must begin to revisit this document every day and read it and revise it. You must improve upon, clarify and make clear just exactly who and what you are going to be doing, experiencing, living and having in 10 years. This is the first step of the process!

   If you don't do this exercise, you can forget the rest of this article. This is YOUR LIFE you are creating, not an omelet. Get detailed, be precise and literally design like an artist or an architect...for that is precisely what you are doing! Spend at least a half of an hour today on this and then continue.

   KEY: Notice how you felt excited and optimistic when you did this? The reason is simple. It's the life YOU are designing instead of the one that was given you and that you have lived with less intention and purpose to date.

2. Write down some guiding values and principles that guide your life today and that you want to keep for the future. You may also want to write some specific guiding laws or principles for the future that you haven't had in place to date. They key element here is to be certain that these are YOUR values, laws and principles and not someone else's. These will be drivers for the balance of your life.

3. Finally, (for this article...remember there is a lot more that we must discuss in the future to live the dream!) I want you to write 25 things you want to experience in the next 10 years. Some of these things might be experiences you've had in the past but for the most part, focus on new experiences that will be the rewards of your new life. These can be things you will have, do or be. They might be travel objectives, books you want to write, music you want to record, the house you want to build, the family you want to parent, the changes in your life you want to make.

   Keep this list near you every day. Update it and revise the list monthly...but review the document in detail every day.

If you were to purchase a property and build a home, you would definitely have an architect design the house for you before the builder laid the foundation. No one can build a house without a plan! For the most part, we live the life that has been planned for us.

It's now time to take the drafting tools in hand and do it yourself!

Dream BIG!

For further tips you can order Kevin Hogan's The Three Disciplines Discover How to Program Your Mind for Achieving Your Personal Best. Includes 6 audio CDs plus manual on CD. Click on the link for a description and chance to order!