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It’s easy to just put it off.  Isn’t that what most of us do?  We’d like to have a life where we could enjoy the day on our terms, but it’s easy not to make the little changes, to trim the sails.  Instead, we let the wind take us in directions we don’t really want to go.

To take control and make the changes you want, you must first know what you don’t want in your life anymore, what’s keeping you from having that life you’ve dreamed of.  It could be much easier than you first imagine.  Sometimes what you want is confused by what others plant in our minds.  You need a giant house, you need to have recognition, you need to be famous, you need, you need.  If that rings a bell, you may have lost your way.

Find your way!  What would today look like if you could simply do as you please?  What about tomorrow and the next day?  Do this over and over, realizing they don’t have to look the same.  In fact, each day the same may be exactly what you don’t want in your life.  Typically, if under the control of someone else or a company that’s directing your routine, doing things you simply don’t enjoy, you’ll find each and every day tends to be the same.  That’s being in a rut.

Breakaway, describe in detail many perfect days, days filled with activities that would be pleasurable, uplifting or fulfilling to you, then if your recourses don’t match, your available time, money, relationships, or whatever, make a list of the changes you would need and then simply find a way or ways to have those resources doing something you could truly enjoy.

Heres my example of me, stuck in a rut.  The career I’ve had for years consumed every waken moment.  It filled me with stress, concern and a feeling of overwhelm.  I would find myself frustrated at those I hired to do tasks that did them poorly or just couldn’t do them at all.  There were so many things beyond my control and it was like fighting daily to make forward progress.  At the end of very long work days, I was emotionally drained.  I was not living my life.  Although I was on a difficult road, it was the path of least resistance.

Change!

Live the life YOU want!

It’s better late than never!

What would a perfect day be like to you?

To me, a perfect day would be waking up early and doing work that creates lasting value for others, something I truly enjoy for the first five hours and doing it so well, I know I did an outstanding job.  Now it’s only 10:00 and I have the entire balance of the day to enjoy being home.  I run an errand then have lunch out with my wife, no longer in a rush as years past.  We talk about upcoming events, the US Grand Prix, our plans for the holidays just around the corner and the special events we want to enjoy.   We make plans to attend those we’ve chosen.

On our way home, we stop by the local market and pick up some fresh salmon, romaine lettuce, spinach, and a little watercress to make salads for this evenings meal.  Then a quick stop on our way by the bakery, we add a freshly baked loaf of french roll bread to our shopping basket.

Upon return to our home, I carry things into the kitchen, take a few minutes and together we put things away, discuss how we plan to make our evening meal, then I go outside to enjoy our yard.  We have a creek across the backyard not far from the house just before the yard turns into a wooded hillside.  I take time to think about a brick and concrete walkway and bridge over the creek.  I make a few calls to see who can help with the hardscape plans.  It would be nice to have it in before Christmas, a nice touch for the Holiday, a gift to myself.

Now, I go back through the house, check in on my wife’s activities and find she’s happily busy planning things with her friends for upcoming events.  I grab my bag and head to the gym calling a friend or two on the way to see if anyone wants to join me.    A good workout with time to enjoy it is something I look forward to nearly every day.

I stop by Barns and Noble on the way home and pick up a book I read about then I make a quick stop by the florist for some nice flowers for my wife and return home for the day.

After finding a vase and setting it full of flowers on the kitchen island, I head up the stairs to my library on the third floor.  I sneak another peek at the first couple of pages, then put the book away with a collection of books I’ve read and several others I’ve not had time for yet.  It’s nice to look forward to a good book, like the one I’m in the middle of now, I pick it up, take it with me so I’ll have it after dinner if the conversation gets slow.

I take a shower and dress in casual clothes that are comfortable for the evening, then head on downstairs and meet my wife already in the kitchen.  Together, we grill the salmon, warm the bread and prepare our salads.

This evening, we decide to enjoy our dining room so I set the table, find a good wine, and we clean things up as we finish making dinner, we enjoy having everything in its place!

We share our stories of the afternoon and enjoy our dinner.  There’s no rush, we put our phones on mute while we eat and it’s nice and quite with only light music playing in the background.  We talk, much like we did years ago and time passes quickly.

After dinner, we put everything away, clean the kitchen together and sit down to enjoy our family room.  We consider a fire, but it’s still too warm so we set the lights to enjoy reading.  We often interrupt each other’s reading, knowing we have plenty of time to continue, with a question about this or what about that.

As the night draws close, we talk about the highlights of the day and what’s on our plans for tomorrow.

It’s been a perfect day!

You’re not happy doing what you’ve always done.  It has not brought the satisfaction you’d like to feel into your life and you almost fill like you’ve missed life completely.  You may, like me, need to continue earning so you can maintain or even improve your lifestyle but to do what I’ve been doing for another 10 – 15 years, I really don’t think so.  So we ask ourselves, what now?

What can I do?  What’s available to do for someone with my skills, or lack of today skills?  Can I acquire new skills?  How long will that take?  How can I figure out what to do with myself?

If you’re over fifty or like me over sixty and you want more out of life, these are questions you will find yourself asking, so how do you find the answers?  Here’s an idea that may help.

A video by Evan Carmichael, the author of Believe, had three points on the video that addresses this very issue.  I find these three points the very bases of what I was searching for to help me have clarity on this subject of finding my way, see if the could help you.  Here they are;

Explore, Follow the Flow and Pivot.  

Explore, look into ideas and see what the possibilities could be.  With communication so easy due to the internet, do some research, the possibilities are endless.  Be open-minded and see what might inspire you.  Can you see a solution or an answer to something that you could provide?  Maybe a service or a product, a line of products or simply answers to others question that you could provide?

Follow the Flow; Give things a try, see how it feels.  I would add, it will feel a little awkward at first, after all, it’s new to us.  Expand how you see it, there may be more than one avenue to explore, multiple approaches and many ways to serve using the same idea.

Pivot; If it just doesn’t feel right, pivot, don’t keep going down a path that’s not made for you.

Find your “what now.”

I am alive with purposeful thought energy!

I am now thinking & taking action.

It’s much more exhilarating than watching TV.

It is indeed, better late than never!

Just a week ago I set sail on this new journey.  If you have started a new journey in your life, you know how strange it feels after only one week.

It’s such a short distance with so very far to go but it’s the most important part of the journey.

Let this be your acclamation!

I’m doing this! 

Our journey can be foggy and unclear at times.  Learning new skills require moving in directions that we are not familiar with.  An awareness of the dangers ahead is so important but more important than knowing they are there is gaining insight to handle them and continue on our journey.

We live in the day of the traveling salesman revived.  Years ago, the traveling salesman came to town and said or promised just about anything to make the sale, then, of course, he was gone and no one to return to when the product you bought was found not to live up to the promises made.

Today, we receive calls from traveling salesmen many times a day.  Phone solicitations have now reached 50% of all phone calls.  My reply to their quick pitch is let me call you right back, usually finding the phone number showing on caller ID isn’t a real number.  Who are these traveling salesmen?

It’s not much better online.  Check out the many get rich quick videos that promote how to do it, it’s hard to find legitimate how to answers with so many circus barkers online saying whatever makes the sale.

We must learn how to navigate these waters.  Just looking for the best source for WordPress & a Web Host, I fell into a trap of getting it cheaper only to find the advice was for the traveling salespersons own gain, not mine.  The pitch sounded so good, they were name brand products but they came with a lot of complexities and issues and NO support.  A little research and I found many make that same offer, it’s the best kickback to them, not good advice.

It works like this, make a video showing how to help and do it by walking you through a purchase, after all, it’s going to be so easy and save you money!  Now I see the game clearly!

Get me once, shame on you, get me twice, shame on me!

Life changes, keep up!

When learning a new skill, in this case, a new way to support yourself as I am.  We must give ourselves time and use that time wisely.

If I practice every day working diligently to be 1% better each day, I will be 730% better at this new skill than I am today in – just – two – years!

So many have said we must have an attitude of gratitude.  I agree!  But the challenges of today’s duties are overwhelming, how can I possibly feel grateful?

What do we see?  Do we notice the wonderful things that are all around us?

Look around, and see the beauty in the blend of nature and our growing city mixed in with the concrete,  brick, and mortar!  If we look for the beauty, it’s there, it’s everywhere!

When we learn to look for the beauty in things around us, we can begin to appreciate it and within that mindset, we can become grateful for the challenges we face today.

We often hear the phrase, find your passion.  Keep in mind, life is a journey.  Find your passion sounds more like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, you find it, you’re done!  Not likely.

Try this.  Ask yourself these simple questions.   Where are you going?  What would you like to get away from and leave behind?  What do you wish to draw close to?  How would you like to be known?   What involvement would bring a sense of fulfillment?

Test the answers to those questions by asking just one more question.  What would make every day worth getting up for at 2:50 a.m. with absolute excitement for the day?

As you set sail, your destination may be impossible to see obscured by the fog of a busy mind.  You may not know the name of your destination but you will know intuitively the direction you should go and exactly what to leave behind.

 

As I write this page, people know me as a Roofing Contractor but I’m more than that. It has been a privilege to work on some of the finest homes and homes of friends but there’s something missing in my life, something  I am meant to do.  There is something out there that will bring fulfillment and peace to my soul and it’s just waiting for me find it and claim it as mine.

On the wall above my desk is a calendar.  I just reached up and flipped the page.  It’s a picture calendar, each month featuring a different sailboat, a yearly Christmas gift from my loving wife and family who all know I have a passion for sailing but never have the time, the training or resources to do it.

Today I set sail for a destination, one I’ve only dreamed of in the past.  A place where life is filled with promise, love, and laughter.  I will cross the ocean of doubt and fear.  I will Master Living!

Join me, let’s take this journey together!