It’s Never Too Late to Re-Design Your Life Story
Send to KindleAlthough actions may speak louder than words, it is our intentions that reveal our soul. ~Hal Elrod
Designing your best life is a romantic notion isn’t it? But we live in the real world and the question begs to be asked …
How realistic is this concept and where can you even hope to begin when you’re already up to your eyeballs with life’s associated relationships, responsibilities, personal history and emotional baggage?
The good news is that choosing to live life by design doesn’t mean suddenly rejecting everything about your life and starting over (although there may be times when it feels that’s the only way to finally get where you want to be); it’s about committing – today – to make conscious choices rather than simply letting life ‘happen’ to you.
For an example of what this might feel like, imagine you’re on a hike and come to an unexpected fork in the trail. To determine the best path to take you look through your binoculars. At first the image is unclear, blurry even; but with a few adjustments you’re able to bring the picture into focus and clearly see the obstacles and opportunities that await you on each path; which allows you to make the best possible choice for which trail is right for you.
That’s really what life by design is all about … becoming aware of your surroundings, choosing your direction, making adjustments here and there to bring your life into focus so that you can make the right choices to create your best life.
Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful. ~Mark Victor Hansen
Let’s look at a real life example …
For nearly a decade I worked as a small business coach helping first time entrepreneurs start home based businesses and many of my clients were mothers looking for a way to be able to afford to stay at home with their children. Sally was just such a client, and I’d like to share her story with you.
At the time I met Sally she, her husband Ron and their two toddlers were living in cramped 1 bedroom apartment. Ron had a good job, but still they were living from paycheck to paycheck and the pressure was on for Sally to get a job to help ease the financial burden.
Sally decided that if she could start her own business at home then she would be able to contribute to the family income while also being able to stay at home with her children. As Sally explained to me when we first met, she knew that with little formal training or prior experience the best she could hope for would be a job paying minimum wage, which meant by the time they paid for daycare for the children they wouldn’t be much better off financially.
What impressed me most about Sally was that her goal was much bigger than earning a few extra dollars to make ends meet. She was determined to create a full and meaningful lifestyle for her family and that purpose fueled her every action.
Sally talked her skeptical but loving husband into giving her 6 months to make a go of her new business. She created a business plan and set specific goals for herself – not just for the business, but for her family life plan as well. In other words, with her husband’s inut and support, Sally took the time to define “a full and meaningful lifestyle” so she had a clear path and vision of what succeeding with her goal would actually look like for their family.
Over the next six months Sally took advantage of every training opportunity available and worked very hard, making a point of sharing her goals and progress with her customers – who in turn supported her with even more sales. It wasn’t easy, but she super charged each decision and action by reminding herself of her intention and by the end of the six months she was earning more than enough with her business to ease their financial situation.
But remember Sally’s core desire and intention was to create a “full and meaningful life” for her family so the choices she made to achieve that intention went beyond the extra income. As her business continued to grow, the family was able to move to a larger apartment and Sally brought on helpers to free some of her time so that she could begin working on another part of her dream, homeschooling her children. She also opened a special account to begin setting aside the money for their first real family vacation, and for the first time in their 5 year marriage Sally and Ron were able to treat themselves to a weekly ‘date night.’
Now, let me acknowledge that at this moment someone somewhere is reading this and thinking that the basis for this happy story is as simple as the extra money. But if you look closer you’ll see it’s far more complex … after all, how many people have you read about who won millions in a lottery only to end up broke and miserable?
The real key to Sally’s success was that she never lost sight of her dream of creating a particular lifestyle for herself and her family. They could just as easily have blown the extra money on shopping, toys, or a sporty car. Or Sally could have chosen to focus solely on her business, rather than activities such as homeschooling her children, and in doing so increased their income even faster; but she intentionally chose to grow her business in a way that gave her the freedom to focus on activities and things that would enrich their family life.
Regardless of your present circumstances, it is never too late to re-design your life story.
Living your life by design is a thrilling and sometimes bumpy ride . . . but if you are determined and willing to make the most of life’s opportunities, to master the resiliency skills that will enable you to move beyond the inevitable challenges and occasional detours that come with the journey, there will come a day that your soul will absolutely sing with the joy of what you have accomplished!
If you have a story of your own to share, or a question about living with intention please leave a comment below – I’d love to hear from you!
I’m thrilled to share with you that Sally’s story is from my new book It’s Your Turn Now – A Guide to Living Your Life by Design which will be on sale by the end of the month! As always, subscribers to IGG will receive the first ‘sneak peek’ of the book, so if you’re a regular reader of IGG and interested in learning more about living life by design why not subscribe now and grab your advanced copy!
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Mahalo!
Send to Kindle
Wow! This is really inspiring. It’s never been too late. As the sun shines the next day, and wake up in the morning, life gives the opportunity to deal what life has to offer. What we commit or do now, will make us learn, grow and make us tougher. Learning from our personal experience is much important and look life on its positive way.
It’s a great commentary on life — there will never be the perfect time, you’ll never become the perfect person you imagine, it’s all just life. So get started. Do what you want to do. Now!
Great post
TB recently posted..Should You Go Against Fire Code When a Client Asks?
This is a very inspiring post. Determination and making some adjustments in your life are the key to making the big shift in your life. Reminding yourself of what you want to achieve also motivates you to work harder for the realization of your dreams.
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Nina Corales recently posted..Subdivision
We cannot simply give up on things that are important to us only to achieve the things we want to accomplish. Working moms cannot just neglect her family in exchange for a successful career, she only need to adjust to her current situation.
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Mei Mayore recently posted..COMPARE LIFE INSURANCE QUOTES
Thanks for this inspiring post Marty! Sometimes we feel like we are stuck in a difficult situation and feel like there is no way out. Well, in fact, we only need to make few adjustments in our life in order for us to achieve the lifestyle that we want for ourselves and our family.
Great post, Marty! It really is amazing what happens when someone dedicates him/herself to a cause and great things start happening. I know that in my life, my wife and I ran into some financial trouble just after we got married (whenever you have the bad luck of a job tied to your status as a student that just happens to end looking into the worst job market in 80 years, that will happen), and it seemed like the hole kept getting deeper. Now, we have been looking at a program to get ourselves out of the debt, and just looking at the program, it has given us a peace of mind about our finances that was missing for a long time, all because we both now see a brighter future ahead. It truly is amazing how many great things happen once we decide on a path to improve things.
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Steve Nicholas recently posted..Do You Do Your Best?
Hello Marty,
Thank you for sharing this beautiful and powerful story with us;)
We all have parallel stories of personal growth and lessons to be learned when we decide to redesign or lives from scratch.
It takes courage, determination, inner power and faith to start all over and listen to what makes our heart sing.
There is a difference in living from the position ” playing not to lose” and living from the position of ” playing to win”.
Fulfillment is choice we make each moment in our lives and we are the ones responsible of the quality of the life we choose to live.
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Patricia Gozlan recently posted..Business Women : Learn the # 1 Mistake Why Visualization Fails
Marquita, the two biggest lessons I took away from this article: First, I loved Mark Victor Hansen’s encouragement that we can begin where we are to Dream Big and start moving toward that dream. Second, the importance of painting a Vision of where we want to go that’s bigger than just money. In fact, I don’t remember the quote, but if your Goal doesn’t scare you a bit, you aren’t thinking big enough
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Steve Borgman recently posted..The Healing Power of Simple Living
Hi Marquita…It is definitely important to match your actions with what is most important. I know I have gotten off track often in my life…and frequently it is because I let myself get caught up in short term worries about money or other issues. Sally’s story is an inspiration and a reminder to stay true to what is really important…
Best of luck with your book launch.
Celeste Smucker recently posted..The Real Food Lovers Diet
Hi Marquita,
having a life plan is very important if you what your dreams and goals come true. And yes, re-designing your life is possible. When I got separated two years ago I needed a way to increase my income to be financially self-sufficient and to be able to offer my children the lifestyle I’ve always wanted for our family. I had already my home based business but I had to make some adjustments to it in order increase my income and to be present for my children when they needed me. Having a clear vision of the lifestyle you want and working and living according to that vision is the key to your success in life. Thank you for sharing Sally’s story and I’m sure your book is going to be great!
Paola Devescovi recently posted..Are You Conservative In Your Thinking Or Are You Creative?
Marquita,
your post and real life story is amazingly true and correct.. especially for my present situation
I am over 66 and after making thousands of wrong turns in business.. I finally listened to a coach/friend who slowly and with love, coached me to understand what you wrote here… You do not go into business to make money… YOUR INTENTION must be bigger then that… and in the example of Sally it proved to be the essence of her success…
At 66 and counting… I am not VERY HAPPY supporting others… that is what I always wanted to do… and failed.. why?? Because I was doing it always for money…. now I do it because I love to do it, I love to do it for free and love to do it as best as I possibly can…
Talking about “Redisign life” at 66 most of us would think is time to sit on an arm chair and relax… well, thanks to my detrmination to support as many people as I possibly can succeed… I get up each morning eager to start my day by supporting others… wow, what a great feeling..
Thanks so much for yoru wisdom Marquita… love to read more in teh future… and in case you feel that you need support in anyway… PLEASE… connect… (Yes, I know you may have all what you need at the moment, but in case there is a change… I am here for you, just as you have been for others along your pathway of life.
Nick recently posted..Discipline ll
Hey Nick, welcome back and thank you so much for sharing your inspiring story! I love how you are redesigning your life and finding happiness and fulfillment and not letting your age discourage or slow you down. One of my heroes and the most amazing woman I’ve ever known lived a full and rewarding life to the age of 105 yrs old so the possibilities and rewards are always there if we just keep ourselves open to them. And thanks for your kind offer of support Nick. At the moment, unless you’d be interested in being one of my beta readers for my new book I’m good to go. Trust me, the real work begins once the book is written!
Marty,
that is an amazing story! Thanks for letting us know about that. It is always good to hear success stories and motivate us even more.
Also, looking forward to hearing more about your book.
Andy
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Andy Nathan recently posted..Social Networking Minute: HostGator Cpanel
Welcome back Andy. So glad you enjoyed the story and I agree with you about the benefit of motivational stories. I enjoy telling stories about everyday people making their dreams come true because while we all admire those who achieve stellar success, it’s a little easier to relate to people who are experiencing similar challenges and still on their journey to creating their best life.
i like the post Marquita
its full of hope and positivity
i think if we managed to think that way then life problems won’t trouble us anymore
thank you
farouk recently posted..Imagined ugliness treatment (body Dysmorphic disorder)
Thank you Farouk for sharing your thoughts and for contributing to the conversation – always appreciated
Hi Marquita, that was a wonderful story about Sally. After reading that story and your other blog posts, I’m positive that you’re book is going to be great!
I think Sally having a plan was probably the most important thing she could’ve done, and especially planning her whole life, and not just the business.
Thanks for your inspiration as always Marquita.
Hi Julieanne, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and for your good wishes with my new book. I’ve had such encouraging feedback and response for my other books, but I must admit I’m especially excited about this one. Your Time is Now will serve as my pillar publication for this blog and my own intention so a lot of effort is being put into making it the best it can possibly be
Hi Marty
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I found your story really inspiring ! Your title reminds me of the song of Gladys Knight “Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me”
Elizabeth recently posted..Advertising Co-Op : Is It Worth Creating One?
Hello Marty
What an inspiring story! So many young mom dream to start their own business only to fail and quit after a few months. It’s OK to fail but what is key is to never quit. I love how you mentioned that Sally prepared a plan…a precise “idea” of how she wanted her lifestyle to be. I believe it is one of the main reason she experienced success. Very refreshing story!
Congratulations on your book! Than’s awesome…I wish to write a book within the next year.
Nathalie
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Nathalie Villeneuve recently posted..How do you go about promoting and marketing your passion?
Welcome back Nathalie and thanks so much for taking the time to contribute to the conversation! So glad you enjoyed Sally’s story and thanks for the good wishes on my book. I hope you make your wish of writing a book come true – it’s an amazing journey. Here’s a tip – when they say writing the book is the easy part, believe them. The real work begins once your creation is out there in the world
Oh, by the way your program looks awesome, and I just love that photo of you and your cute little dog!
I am on a journey very similar to Sally’s. After the 2008 downturn, we lost a rental property to foreclosure and my husband’s work was cut back, along with paychecks being delayed. I caught a vision of a meaningful and purposeful, free life. I homeschool our special needs child and new that I needed to build a business so that I would not be in a position where I had to go outside the home looking for work. I turned my graphic arts knowledge into an online course. Our vision is for my husband to eventually be self-employed so we BOTH can be home with our child. And pass this entrepreneurial mindset onto him, while helping other families realize this dream of freedom. It’s been a journey of faith and many challenges. But it’s not about the money, although yes we need it very badly. What it’s about is living out our callings and passions and helping our son and others do the same.
Dana recently posted..Build a Strong Brand–Get a Sneak Peek of My Brand Identity Course Materials!
Welcome Dana and thank you so much for sharing your inspiring story! I especially love how you ‘caught a vision’ … that is such a great way to put it and I know for myself that’s exactly how it feels. I wish you the best and plan to jump over to your site and check out your Brand Identity Course Materials!