My road trip to a greater life has finally started and you are welcome to come along. Elusive as it seems to have been, I am finally ready for this trip.
I have just had the privilege of working in a retirement home for the last nine months and I have been given these amazing life lessons that I am now eager to share with anyone who will listen. I feel so lucky to have been given this wakeup call at this time in my life where I still have time to realize many of the things that I have been wondering about. Since I plan on living to the ripe old age of 88, I am now exactly halfway there.
My husband and I recently verbalized to each other how unhappy we have been with the way that we have been living our lives and we often ask ourselves “is this all there is?” We both have jobs, we have three wonderful children and a lovely house but there seem to be something missing. Life seems to be mostly about responsibilities and a bit short on FUN. I have now decided to take a more active role in getting as much out of life as I possibly can for right now and also keeping in mind that if I am going to live to 88 that I need to include that in the plan.
I asked myself two important questions, first “if this year was my last, what would I regret the most?” and secondly “what can we do to change things so that we become happier”. (Check out this musical commentary of If Tonight Is My Last from Laura Izibor. Amazing song!)
If this year was my last year of life, I would regret that I didn’t get to spend more quality time with Kevin and our kids. I would regret that I spent too much time at work for too little pay. That I didn’t learn to golf, that I didn’t get to Italy, that we didn’t have a huge garden party in the summer for family and friends and that I didn’t realize my goal of losing the thirty pounds that I have been dragging around for the last 10 years.
Nothing too earth shattering here, no hiking trip to Machu Picchu, no winning the lottery or bungee jumping, just stuff that means a lot to me and that is very obtainable.
To change things would mean to change the way we live. We are often trapped by high overhead and debt which means we have to earn more and more in order to just stay the same. Well, if things are to change we need to free up cash and for most people that means accessing the equity in their home or spending less.
The first thing I did was to quit my job. Yes, last week I quit my job and I feel pretty good so far. A bit scared too but I have decided to do what the general in Napoleon Hill’s classic Think And Grow Rich did:“A long while ago, a great warrior faced a situation which made it necessary for him to make a decision which insured his success on the battlefield. He was about to send his armies against a powerful foe, whose men outnumbered his own. He loaded his soldiers into boats, sailed to the enemy’s country, unloaded soldiers and equipment, then gave the order to burn the ships that had carried them. Addressing the men before the first battle, he said, “You see the boats going up in smoke? That means that we cannot leave these shores unless we win! We now have no choice—we win—or we perish!”
What happened?
They Won.
Hill: “Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to burn his ships and cut all sources of retreat. Only by so doing can one be sure of maintaining that state of mind known as a burning desire to win, essential to success.”
So that is what I have done. I was a very good employee and I worked hard which meant I spent a lot of time at work or that I was at home thinking about work. As circumstances at work became more challenging I felt that I had to leave that negative environment and try to find something better.
The effect of me quitting my job will be felt instantly as we have acquired a lot of debt and are currently subsidizing several pieces of real estate. BUT within these houses lies an opportunity to change the way we live. We can stop this vicious circle IF we want to by either selling our home or by cashing in on something to reduce the amount of money we need every month to LIVE.
Now that I have established what I would regret if this was my last year, I also have to consider the possibility that I will live to the ripe old age of 88 which is my target. The challenge is to live TODAY and plan to live TOMORROW.
So now it is your turn, to think about what you have and what you want. What works in your life and what doesn’t work? Write to me about your life and your dreams and let’s start a dialogue and maybe we can help each other. I will keep you posted on my own results.
You can contact me at this email link: greaterlivinginstitute@gmail.com
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