If you have not yet completed one or both of the exercises from yesterday’s lesson, make sure you have time blocked on your calendar to do so. For most people, the exercises make a big impact on their ability to craft a meaningful and compelling Vision of their ideal future life.

As author Robin Sharma wrote in ‘The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari’, “Everything is created twice, first in the mind, and then in reality.” Now is the time to create your desired life in your mind, so that you can then create it in reality.

As Craig Ballantyne says in ‘The Perfect Day Formula’, “Crafting your vision requires writing as if you were living in the future, three to five years from now, and have already achieved your goals. Knowing the end of the story will allow you to write the chapters that get you there. Create a big, bold, clear, concise, and specific vision. Start by identifying what you really want…this exercise will give you tremendous clarity and optimism. It will give you a blueprint for success and it will right your sinking ship if you are struggling. This is the treasure map you’ve been looking for, and it was inside of you all along.”

When crafting your ideal future life, we use a 5-Year timeframe because it allows you to achieve almost anything you can imagine without being so far off that you don’t have to get started.

When you write your 5-Year Vision, think of it as a movie script of your ideal life in the future, with yourself as the star. See yourself in your house, driving your car, on vacation, and looking at yourself in the mirror. Who are you with? Where are you? What are you doing?

In crafting your vision, let go of limits! As author Napoleon Hill wrote in his classic ‘Think and Grow Rich’, “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.” If you can imagine it, you can make it happen. So, if you could have anything, do anything, and be anything, what would you have, do, and be?

To really remove self-imposed limits, ask yourself: what would you do if you absolutely knew you could not fail? If an all-powerful being told you that whatever you attempt, you will be successful? That should inform who and what you really want to be, without fear of failure holding you back. This is your chance to create an inspiring Vision, so go big!

If you’re married or in a relationship, some people choose to work on their Vision together with their partner, while others people prefer to craft their Vision by themselves and then share it with their partner. Either way is fine.

What about a Vision Board? Many people have heard of or used a Vision Board, in which they cut out pictures from magazines that represent things they want to have or do in the future. While a Vision Board can be helpful, it is not a satisfactory replacement for a written Vision, because it does not result in the detail and clarity of a written Vision. When you put something in writing, you have to be clear and specific; there is no room for being vague. Since you want your Vision to be specific, you need to put it in writing. So first focus on a written Vision, and then if you want to, you can also do a Vision Board based on that Vision.

Today’s Action:

Schedule time in your calendar for later today or tomorrow to complete one or both of the following exercises.

  • More Time: Everyone is busy, and very few people are spending as much time on things they enjoy as they would like to. Make a list of 10 or more things you wish you had time to do, or more time to do. It could be anything: playing games, walking in nature, reading in your hammock, practicing an instrument, learning a new language, talking with family members, knitting… whatever you wish you could do, or do more of, if you had more free time. It may help to think back about things you enjoyed when you were younger, and your current or past hobbies or interests. Also, think about things you do on vacations, holidays, weekends, or when you have visitors. And take a look at the Happy List you created in the previous exercise. The More Time list should be easy, so get started writing. This exercise can help you to live a happier life, while helping you to create your Vision of your ideal future life.

  • Deathbed Regrets: Imagine the future, when you are elderly and you are on your deathbed. A bit sad, I know, but stay with me here. At your deathbed, what do you most regret from your life? If you’re having trouble thinking of things you would regret, here are the most common. Now put yourself at the end of your life, and write your own list of Deathbed Regrets. It doesn’t have to be exhaustive, a handful will be sufficient. Like the Life List, Happy List, and More Time, this exercise is valuable in and of itself, and will also help you in determining what is most important in your life for inclusion in your Vision or your Values.