This is a follow up from the previous post about developing a personal life plan. This has been one of the most exciting steps I have ever taken. Too many times we try to wrap life around our work. A life plan will cause you to plan work around your life. It shows you what you value and how big of a gap there is with the life you are currently living.

Today, I want to share with you two additional steps along the path to creating a plan for your life. So far you should have your basic life accounts in order. If not, see the previous post. Today’s first step is going to require you to get right down on the runway of life. Establishing your life accounts is like viewing your life from 20,000 feet. It gives you the big perspective. It can show you just how far out of alignment you are as well. This step is designed to get you to take action.

I want to share a basic formula that I have adpated after reading Simple Life by Thom Rainer. He shares in the book four steps that are necessary if you are going to make changes in your life and accomplish your goals. They are:

Clarity —-> Movement —-> Alignment —-> Focus

Here are my simple definitions of each:

• Clarity – a mission or a vision of seeing clearly where you want to go in an area of your life.
• Movement – putting some action steps to your talk that you can start taking today
• Alignment – stop doing the bad habits that are pulling you in the wrong direction
• Focus – stop doing some good things that are keeping you from doing great things. Also, deciding what is most important and eliminating the rest.  

What I do is take the life accounts and run them through this filter. For example, take the Health Account. Here is what I would work on.

1. What do I specifically want to accomplish?
2. What action can I start taking right away?
3. Which bad habits do I need to stop doing?
4. Which good habits are stealing my time and keeping me from the “great” habits.

To make it even simpler you could have four headings under each account:

• Vision
• Key Scriptures (I like attaching everything to a Bible verse)
• Specific Commitments (These are the action steps)
• Stop Doing List (Can include bad and good habits)
• Great New Habits (Great habits you want to start – remember don’t start too many at once – just one at a time)

I hope these last two post have inspired you to take the leap. you can get really creative with your life plan. I have a friend who wrote his more as a narrative. I also added pictures on every page of my life plan. I review it several times a week and it helps me to stay connected and focused on what is most important to me in my life.

Related posts

• How to Develop a Life Plan – Part 1 (0)

Besides Habit Gravity another reason most people fail with their goals in the beginning of the year is because they do not connect their goals to a vision that they have for their life. All they see is the struggle. They have not cast a vision statement for that particular area of their life and so they live uninspired lives. When you create a life plan, you create vision statements for all the important areas of your life.

Also, most people fail because they do not review their goals on a regular basis. After creating my life plan, I took a notebok and created a Life Compass book. I won’t go into all the details in this post, but I have tabs for DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY, QUARTERLY, and YEARLY. I have certain items that I want to review on a regular basis to keep me inpired and motivated about life. My Life Plan is in the front of this notebook and I review it on a regular basis.

So, how do you go about creating a Life Plan? Life planning does take work, but you will be rewarded richly for the process. I want to share with you a four step process or you could call it a life plan template on how you can create a Life Plan that will inspire you on a regular basis.

1. Find a place of solitude. I cannot express the importance of this first point. Life planning is about looking deep within and that is difficult to do if there is a lot of noise in your head. I would even strongly encourage you to leave your home to do this exercise. Spend the night in a hotel nearby and just reflect on the major accounts of your life. Go to a park, hike into the woods or just find a quiet place to reflect. My first life plan took me between 5-6 hours. You will need at least that if not longer.

2. Develop your accounts. What are the major areas of your life that you would like to focus on? I call them accounts and I believe that you should have between 4-7 accounts. I wouldn’t recommend going beyond 7 as it can be too many to juggle. What you will find once you develop your accounts is that 1 or 2 of them you have been neglecting big time. The Life Plan will assist you in getting these back into your life and make room for them. I would encourage you to develop your own but here are mine:

1. God (Spiritual)
2. Self Development
3. Family
4. Career
5. Health
6. Finances
7. Social

For me these cover the major areas of my life one way or the other. Reading my vision in each of these areas on a regular basis inspire me. In my next post I am going to show you how to fully develop the content of your Life Plan. Some of these items include mission statement, ultimate vision, and specific commitments that you want to keep. Please seriously consider creating a Life Plan it will be one of the most rewarding things you have ever done.

Related posts

• How to Develop a Life Plan – Part 2 (0)

Here are three direct areas that I believe you can benefit from personal life coaching:

1. Clarity – Coaching can help to bring amazing clarity into your life. It is not always because the coach is lecturing you on a specific topic. Instead, good personal life coach knows how to ask the right questions that will reveal your true heart and desires. Anytime you can gain focus massive action is not to far behind.

2. Accountability – many of us in today’s world want to be our own person. We do not want anyone to tell us what to do. That kind of life ends up lonely, confused, and directionless. Only authenticity and accountability can help you to ultimately get you where you want to go. Personal Life Coaches will provide the support, encouragement, and accountability that you need to get things done. If you know that you have to get on a call with your coach in two days and have done nothing with the action plan that you laid out the week before, then you will be pushed to get as much done in those two days.

3. Confidence – I believe that something magical happens when you have clarity, accountability and an action plan. Everything seems to come into alignment for you. Some of us sit idle because we allow the fear of failure to keep us right where we are. That is a rut. Personal Life Coaches can help you to take action in areas where you might have been lazy before.

I hope you will consider taking a step and get some personal life coaching. The experience in and of itself will be worth the time and effort.

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The way I see it is that you really only have two options: give up or determine to keep trying. If giving up is not an option, then keep trying! I like to find ways to trick my mind in an effort to develop better life habits. For example, when I use to jog first thing in the morning I would pick out my clothes and strategically place my running shoes the night before (now, I do a morning walkabout that is much more spiritual and exercise later in the day). Another trick I would do is tell myself to just work out for 5 minutes. Everyone has 5 minutes right? The neat thing is that I would never end up working out for 5 minutes. Once I got started I wanted to go longer.

Sometimes there are even useful online apps that can help you develop healthy life habits. One such website is called Don’t Break the Chain. It is a simple online app that allows you to just color in the day once you have performed that daily habit. The goal then is to see how many days straight you can go without “breaking the chain.”

This idea actually originated with Jerry Seinfeld. He was asked what helped him to become a success as a stand up comedian when so many people have tried that route and been unsuccessful. He attributed it to always having fresh and new content to share. He would use a simple calendar and check off the days he would spend writing. His goal was to write everyday and see how many days in a row that he could check off of his calendar.

So, if you are struggling in developing those important life habits, then try out the Don’t Break the Chain Method for greater success.

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Why is it so hard to let go, and let God? The tricky part is learning the difference of being a manager and a control-freak.

A control freak…

• Wants to manipulate every outcome to their favor
• wants to know what is going on at all times
• never wants surprises or the unexpected to come visit
• wants a predictable outcome

A manager…..

• works with what he is given
• understands that things beyond his control will happen
• makes the wisest decision when the unexpected does come
• knows the results are out of his hands

Whether your burden today is physical, financial, relational, or business-related, you need to understand your limits. Limits provide freedom. The sooner that you believe that you are human and that you cannot possible control everything, the sooner you will be able to relax and take things as they come.

Controlling what you can is a constant habit and practice that you have to do on a regular basis. When you stress meter is getting high, 9 times out of 10 it is a direct result of you trying to control something.

Simple Exercise

The Bible tells us to worry about nothing and pray about everything.  Max Lucado in his book Fearless gives a great illustration about how to handle worry. If you looked down at your arm and saw a mosquito, what would you instinctively do?

That’s right, you would swat at it, crush it, and smack it. You should do the same with worry. Treat it like that mosquito that is being a nuisance. Don’t let it stay there. Swat at it and get rid of it now!

The simple truth is that when you are trying to control everything what you are really doing is worrying.  Stop worrying and let go.

By the way, if you are looking for a job the General Commander of the Universe is vacant again, but if I were you…I would keep on walking.

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My Personal Year-end Review

Many events and happenings can take place in our lives in the matter of 12 months. If we just aimlessly go through life and never take some time to reflect,  then we will continue to make the same bad mistakes over and over again. This process is more then just feeling guilty for the past, but it is empowering you to make better choices in the future. Doing a personal year-end review is an opportunity for you to take a personal inventory, add everything up and see how you did. Take out 3 sheets of paper and make three lists. 

1. Make a list of the greatest personal events of the year

Sit down with your spouse if you need to and record at least 10 great happenings in your personal life. It can be associated with money, health, relationships, and work. Did you finally pay off a debt that has been dragging you down? Did you make a smart choice with your money? Did you finally do something that you have been avoiding? Even if you feel like you have had a rough 12 months, I guarantee there will be things on your list that will make you smile.

2. Make a list of the greatest lessons learned this year

On the second sheet of paper, record some of the lessons you have learned this year. This is not just about re-hashing your failures, but recording on paper the valuable lessons that you have learned and want to remember for this new year. It truly is taking the bad things in your life and turning them into good. Lessons are not only learned in our failures but in our successes too. Do your best to record at least ten items.

3. Make a list of gratitude

I believe that before you ever set new goals in life you should write a grateful list. I love setting goals but here is what I have come to realize: setting goals focuses my mind on what I lack. I am not saying that you should never have personal goals, but that you should just keep it in perspective. Take the time to first focus your mind on all the things that are going right in your life. Even in the middle of tough circumstances, I bet you can point to times where God showed up in your life at just the right moment. Write a quick list about the things you are grateful for in your life.

Now, you should have three great lists that shows you just how valuable the last 12 months have been in your life. Look over the many blessings. Ponder the lessons that need to be internalized. Look to the future with arms wide open.

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The sooner that you learn that those things (while fun to enjoy) do not really bring happiness the better you will be. My eyes were opened to this truth when I went on a trip out West to the mountains of Idaho. My Grandmother has a log cabin at about 8,000 foot elevation with literally nothing else around. The little town at the base of the mountain had some how sheltered itself from any commercial advancements in the last 50 years. It was truly remarkable.

Not one brand name can be found anywhere in the entire town. No recognizable fast food restaurant, gas station, motel, or hardware store. Everything was owned individually by the members of the town. It truly felt like I had gone back in time. Things were much simpler and the people seemed happier. I was forced to slow my pace down that week and it did me much good.

How to Be Satisfied With Less

1. Focus on the Essential.

Many people struggle with wanting more in their life because they are not sure what they value in the first place. If you had to narrow your life down to four or five essentials, what would they be? What really matters to you? What is your heart’s desire? Can you focus your life in such a way that you only have a few essentials? My life was scattered about a year ago until I decided to really think about what was important to me. Here is my list in no particular order.

Family (Social Time)
Reading & Writing (Mental Time)
Coaching & Mentoring (Vocation)
Exercise (Physical Time)
Spiritual Life (Spiritual Time)

Yours might be different, but that is what is most important to me. I can easily eliminate the non-essentials in my life if they do not fit into my list.Because of this list I have been able to achieve more by focusing on less. It simplifies my life and I am satisfied with less by not trying to run down every rabbit trail that appears into my life.

2. Live in Constant Gratitude.

I love to set goals. It inspires me and gives me hope that the future could be better. At the same time, I have noticed what happens to me when I set goals. I can easily become impatient because I see the gap between who I am and where I want to be. The only way to close the gap is by living with gratitude. Start with gratitude and contentment will come into your life. Gratitude is much like cleaning your house, it has to be done on a regular basis. When you live each day with a sense of gratitude, then you will be content with having less in your life.

3. Enjoy and Live in the Present.

This was the hardest principle for me to learn. I am a dreamer and love to live 10 to 15 years down the road. What I have come to realize is that living in the future makes me worthless in the present. I do not take the daily action that I need to get to where I am going. My wife is talking to me and my mind is elsewhere. I am riding bikes with my kids and thinking about the big project I have to get done for work. I am at work thinking about being at home and at home thinking about my work. Have you been there? You solve this by forcing your mind to live in the present. Whatever activity you are doing at that moment, just focus on that. Quit bearing the responsibility of the universe on your shoulders while throwing baseball with your kids. To be successful with this principle you have to choose to have a mind like a kid. Remember the simple days? Never worried about money or where your food was going to come from. When you were engaged with an activity as a kid that is all you thought about. Learn to live and enjoy the present moments in your life. The pressures of life will begin to fall off when you are satisfied with less in your life.

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We have a “bootcamp mentality” thinking that self-discipline all at once will get us where we want to be in a short period of time. The only way to get to where you want to be in life is by one small habit at a time.

The tortoise wins remember? Now, that does not mean that you pick something so easy that it does not inspire you in the least bit. At the same time, don’t pick the biggest challenge first.  Here are a few key principles for understanding why starting small works:

1. It is easier to manage – Having a single focus is just easier to manage. Most of us try to set up an elaborate plan for the new habits we want to start. I know I have. I tell myself all i need is an elaborate spreadsheet where I can track all the things I want to do. Whether it is exercising, keeping the house cleaned up, managing our finances, or organizing our home office.  The problem is there is so much “new” to be done that our brains cannot remember it all.  When you have one focus for 30 days you have clarity and clarity is power.

2.  Gradual change always sticks better - We have all seen the “crash diets,” right? We try to get instant results as fast as we make our instant mash potatoes. Real change just doesn’t happen that way. Slow, gradual changes is what last. The problem comes into play when we are not patient. We have so much pain that increases over time from the bad habits that we want to fix everything in one big swoop. We need to combine commitment with patience. If all you have is commitment you will find something else to be committed to. You need to combine commitment with patience in order to have lasting change. Don’t be so hard on yourself.

3.  You get some “wins” under your belt – Some of us get discouraged so quickly. We try starting a new habit and realize that it is hard. Like I have said in other posts, staring a new habit is different than trying to fight gravity in the beginning. Don’t start with your biggest challenge first. Start with a simple habit that you have wanted to have in your life. Allow yourself to experience some “wins.” When you do that, it will fuel your fire for bigger challenges in the days ahead.

4.  Your mind is more focused – The biggest problem with trying to super-change your life and go from not being organized at all to to super-organized is that you are trying to focus on too many things.

Ever wonder how the lion tamer in the circus can hold off a lion with a stool? Legend has it that the lion is somewhat paralized because there are multiple stool legs coming at him at once. He doesn’t know what to focus on so he ends up not moving at all.

The same happens with you when you try to focus on changing too many bad habits at once. You become paralyzed and discouraged. Instead start with a small habit and focus on it for one month straight.  You will get to the rest of it in due time.

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Early on in the book he talks about how out of the enormous challenges in his life came some of the best opportunities. He challenges the reader to look for and expect opportunity to show up in the midst of great challenges that you face in life and how you can truly overcome obstacles.

I found the first half of the book to be much more enjoyable than the second half. Don’t get me wrong the book has some solid basic principles for work and life spread throughout, but I found the second half of the book to be geared towards manager level employees that work in large corporations.

A few principles that I found particularly helpful were:

• How to learn and unlearn things in life
• Opportunities exist everywhere (if you look for them)
• Being comfortable with being uncomfortable

I still think that Obstacles Welcome is a must read as the story itself will inspire you.

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Everything begins on the inside. How you view your life and if you have real joy is coming form the inside. Your ability to get things done on the outside is directly linked to your ability to focus on the inside.  Follow these steps and discover how to simplify your life.

3 Simple Actions to Simplify Life

1. Reduce the Intake - We are bombarded on a consistent basis with information overload. Don’t get me wrong, information is power, but too much information is robbing us from being great and doing great things. I have a bent for learning. In fact, when I took a Strength Finders test, Learning was at the top. I am not saying that you are better off to remain ignorant in life.

All I am saying is that how you simplify your life is to reduce the volume of information that you allowing yourself to take in. It is no different then eating too much. We walk around with brain indigestion and bloated thoughts. Find an area in your life where you taking in too much information and do something refreshing instead.

2. Reduce the Distractions - The ability for you to focus on a single task is absolutely critical if you are going to be successful. Do you find yourself constantly pulled in many directions? I know that I do. If you are going to simplify your life you have got to figure out how to reduce the distractions that surround you. Now, it is not always easy to do, but it can be done.

The first step is awareness. Most of do not realize how many times we are stopping a task to start another one. We are like the circus act of “spinning plates.” We operate everyday in emergency mode. Whichever plate is wobbling the worse gets our attention and then onto the next plate and the next plate. It never stops until our work day is done.

Grab a notepad. This particular technique has worked well for me. Basically, whenever someth9ing comes to my mind with the potential to distract me, then I write whatever is nagging me on the notepad and determine to forget about it until I am done with what I am doing.

Get a timer. This is the one tip that has absolutely catapulted my productivity and kept me from distractions. I bought a simple time management software called The Action Machine. It has a nice interface and it is super simple to use. Every morning I put in the task that I want to accomplish for the day and how long it will take me to do the particular task. Then, when you hit go, you are on a race with the clock. Being a super competitive person, I want to accomplish the task before the timer goes off. It helps me to focus and avoid distractions and just simply take action. You can find a demo video of the software here: Demo Video.

3. Reduce the Output - Now this is the one that many people fight against. We think that the more things we are involved with the more things we are getting done. However, a divided focus never stands. When your mind is cloudy with too many priorities at the same it is difficult to see any significant progress.

We mistakenly believe that the more we are multi-tasking the more we are getting done, but that just isn’t true. Jumping from one unfinished task to the next will actually drain you mentally. Instead choose one major task that if you put 100% focus on you will see unbelievable results. It just feels better to move one thing from 0% completion to 80% completion then it does to see a 5% increase on 10 different things.

Give yourself a personal challenge this week and choose to sharpen your focus and resist the urge to multi-task and you will see what I mean. These are the exact steps that I have used to simplify my life.

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