If you could design the life of your dreams do you know what it would look like?

Unfortunately, for many of us the answer to that question is no.

And that’s not because we don’t want to live a more satisfying life. It’s simply because we don’t feel we have the time, the energy or the tools to figure it out. So we continue to go through the motions of our lives, living with a vague sense of dissatisfaction or outright despair, hoping that, at some point in the future we’ll figure it out.

Been there, done that.

Is that really any way to live? Since the early 80′s my answer’s been no.

My epiphany occurred in my late 20′s when both of my parents died within six months of each other. I was a late-in-life baby before it was fashionable and therefore had a big wake-up call about how fleeting life is and why you don’t wait to change what’s not working. I made up my mind to figure out what kind of life I wanted to live and to build a plan to get there.

You see, I believe that the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland was right: “If you don’t know where you’re going any road will get you there.”

I didn’t figure everything out immediately. In fact, my vision of a perfect life changed dramatically over the years as I began to make incremental changes designed to get me closer to my goal. Some ideas didn’t pan out and others turned into gold.

My journey began with a journal and a pen–nowadays a computer and word-processing program will do–where I recorded the things in my life that seemed to be working, that brought me joy, that helped me grow. I also began examining what wasn’t working and tried to identify and eliminate the unnecessary and superfluous. I wanted to hone my personal and professional lives down to the bare essentials so I could make room for the good stuff.

In upcoming posts I’ll share some of the journal exercises I used and books that inspired me. But don’t wait for that, start on your on path now, let me know your progress and what works for you.

“We can get out of bed and create changes in our lives, even when it feels like gravity itself is holding us back. No matter how stuck we feel, it’s always possible to take a small step forward. And now is the time to do it!” ... Hanne Hyattum