Start With A Blank Page

If you could start your life all over what would be different? What would you change now if you were able to wave a magic wand and start from scratch?

What if you had no ties, no burdens, no limits, no memories, and no past?

Would that life be much different than the way you live today?  Why are you not doing what you want?  Is it because you worry about someone else?  A spouse, a parent  or even your children? I think the ultimate test to see if you are living your life correctly is to close your eyes and think of yourself dying. (Isn't this fun?) Now, look back at your life as you are currently living it. What do you think? Are you satisfied you lived completely? Or do you wish you had done differently?  Here is a clue. Very few, if any, of our senior citizens look back on their life and say, "I sure wish I had spent more time at the office!"  I do not think anyone says, "I wish I had watched more TV!"

This is what they say. "I wish I had been bolder. I wish I had given more. I wish I had tried harder to see more, do more and feel more." People wish that they had lived more.

In my life I must admit to a certain amount of holding back on dreams and goals because of our two boys. As my life progresses and  I learn, I realize there is no reason to hold back.

On the other hand we have not been exactly standing still either. We have done our best to live our dreams. We built a sailboat and lived aboard for 7 years travelling about 15,000 miles. We lived in the snow in Aspen Colorado, and on the beach in Hilton Head South Carolina. We lived on an old brick mill in Long Island, and on the dock in Palm Beach Florida. We have written books and music, acted in the theater, and home-schooled the boys. We have built a horse farm, and businesses!  Yet, there is so much more we want to do!

It is a balancing act. We all must have sufficient finances to support a comfortable lifestyle, (although most of us tend to spend way too much on that!) Part of this balancing act is understanding what we are passionate about doing so that work becomes a joy instead of a job. Is this not a major reason of lost dreams and goals?  Many people find work, call it a job and make a living at it. But they begrudge every minute of it, going as far as using the job as a reason for playing the martyr.  Find something else!

Through the ages there have been many teachers of the attraction philosophies of "making a life". They say we create our lives - and we do. With as many opportunities today in every field imaginable, somewhere, something is calling to you.

Another part of the puzzle is to include those close to you in frank and open discussions in what it is you desire. Too many of the clients I have coached have kept their wants and needs bottled up inside them forever! They decided for the other person in their lives there was no interest in whatever it was they themselves wanted to do! How absurd! How can we possibly know what someone else wants or
desires without asking? Would it not be tragic to spend your life in a city for all your life, working at a job you despise because you thought your spouse wanted that life, even though you wanted to live in the country and be a farmer? Then one day you overhear your spouse tell her best friend all she ever wanted to do was live in the country?  Don't laugh - I have seen this happen!

Will it happen to you?

My point here is simply this: make an attempt today to start with a brand new page.  Write your life story how you want it. If there are others in your life to be involved, have them do the same exercise. Then compare what you have written.  If what you have written is what you are living, congratulations! You are one of the few. How can you make it better?

If your notes sound like someone completely different, you are most likely living a life of conflict. There is good news. Your life is your life. Nobody can take that away from you. You are not a slave. You are free to go, do, and be whoever you wish.

It might not be easy, but it sure might be worth it. I coach people daily who are changing their lives. There are so many things to be grateful for, and so many things open to us. We owe it to all the ones before us who gave us this opportunity to take advantage of it.

Today.



An acknowledged expert in the field of coaching and consulting, Miami Phillips provides access to immediately implementable tools for success and happiness at: http://www.miamiphillips.com