When you hear the phrase “Wildly successful lifestyle” what comes to your mind? I mean, you kinda know it means something good, a life that is exceptional.
Think about it for a minute… What does it mean to you? What does your version of a wildly successful life look? We can all come up with what our version looks like. But guess what? Everyone’s idea is different! There are some of you that may have thought of a penthouse in New York, working a job that you love, meeting friends for drinks and dinner twice a week.
Others may have a vision of a small home in the country on a huge piece of land where you farm and raise your kids… Maybe you are happy with your life but your version of a wildly successful life includes a fit, healthy version of yourself. Here’s the thing. It is critical that you know exactly what you want. It’s critical that that vision is so real you can taste it. If you hang out until the end I am going to tell you how I create my vision boards! A life by design doesn’t just happen, it is intentionally created.
You have to know what you want or you will settle. You will follow what the crowd does. How many people do you know that live a life their parents designed for them and they feel unfulfilled or maybe they didn’t design anything and they are just going with the flow, hoping eventually they will fall into something they love? How many of you feel like you put your dreams on hold to do the things other people want you to do?
I have good news and I have bad news for you. Im an optimist at heart so Im going to give you the good news first, Im also an avoider of negativity so I will give you the bad news last. So heres the good news… its not too late. I don’t care how old you are, its not too late. Martha Stewart became a big success with her first book at 41. Harland Sanders was 65 and broke when he started Kentucky Fried Chicken. Samuel Jackson was 46 before he got his big break in movies.
Diane Naylor was 400 lbs at 59 years old and lost 225 lbs. She is now 63 and bikes 20-30 miles and hikes 4 mile trails regularly. There are lots of stories like this, these are just the famous stories. There are lots of stories about people finding their true purpose late in life, or finding the love of their life late in life, or losing the weight later in life because they wanted to feel alive and active. So the good news is it’s never too late and if you have a desire, or a passion then it is meant for you. The bad news is…
Noone is going to do it for you. You have to do the work.
And listen, if that sounds hard, just remember… the next year is going to happen whether you do the work or not, so this time next year, you could be doing the same ole thing, wishing something would change and doing nothing to change it ORRRRR… you can decide right now, this is it. This is the sign I need. This blog is the kick in the butt you need… and I say that with love, because I want you to be happy and I want you to live your version of a Wildly successful life sooner than later! You are reading this blog for a reason… Don’t leave this earth with your dream still stuck inside you… OK?
SO now that you know it is possible for you… how do you go about doing it?
The short version of that answer is Clarity.
Clarity is the key. You have to KNOW SPECIFICALLY what it is you desire. It can’t be to just lose weight or to just have more money because like Ive said before…if you lose 1/2 a lb and earn $1 extra, your brain will tell you you’ve succeeded and you can quit and go back to your comfort zone.
So, my suggestion for you is this: Figure out exactly what your version of a wildly successful life means to you. How do you do that? My suggestion is to take 4 areas that for me matter the most and get clear on what you want in each area:
Relationships
Body
Finances
Mindset
Break these areas down. For example, when I first met my husband after we had talked for a little bit, he showed me a list he carried in his wallet of his perfect partner. He had written down all of the qualities he desired and would not settle for less than what he had on that list. If you are already in a relationship, how do you want that relationship to look? How do you want your family and friend relationships to look and feel? Write out how that looks and feels! Find pictures that represent how that would look for you!
Body
How about your body? I write every day in my journal that I want to have 18% body fat. I’m not there yet, but Im close. Find pictures of the type of body you want and add those to your vision board! Write down your exact weight, the body fat percentage you want, the way you want your body to feel.
Finances
Want to be debt free? Want to have a certain amount in the bank? Want to make a certain amount per year? Write it all down. Post pictures of what that would look like.
Mindset
What is the main emotion you would like to feel? Is it calm? Happy? Joyous? Inspired? Loving? How do you want to feel daily? How do you want to show up in your interactions with others? What emotions do you want to have regularly? Write those words down and find images online of how that feeling would look!
You may want to pick one area and only focus on one at a time. Having high standards in one area will very often spread out to the other areas automatically.
And look. Heres the best part about this whole exercise. You don’t even have to figure out how you’re gonna do it. Your brain will work on it for you. Your brain will start noticing things that will help you reach that goal. All of a sudden a book will pop up about weight loss and it seems interesting…buy that book! OR maybe friends ask you to come out with them because they have someone one they want you to meet, go out! It doesn’t mean it is the one but it could lead on the path to the one. You will see doors open and opportunities come up.
Say YES to those opportunities! Walk through those doors. Activity breads activity. You will be amazed at what you will start noticing. I create my digital vision boards in Pages on my mac. It’s easy to grab pictures off the internet to create a vision for your board. I also take magazines and cut pictures out and glue them to foam core that I buy at Hobby Lobby or Walgreens. Sometimes I will print out words in different colors and paste them all over my vision board. Have fun with it. Put that vision board somewhere where you see it every day and your brain will start searching for ways to make it happen. If you journal include it in your journal or put it next to your journal.
Put it on the mirror in your bathroom. Now, if you are an overachiever, you could make a plan and schedule it, which makes it even more real but don’t make it difficult. For now just get that clarity and create the vision and watch what happens! And this is a big one for everyone so share this… share it with your friends and if you have questions…
email me at heidi@heididawson.com and I will help you any way I can! Ok I love you guys and I will talk to you in a few days!
