Fabulous lives usually don't just happen. They are more likely to occur when you design them to your own specifications and create lesson plans to make them happen. When you take an active role in creating the life of your dreams, you empower yourself to go after the things, people, and experiences you desire.



No longer content to sit idly by waiting and hoping for your life to begin, you can choose to design your life by using these techniques:

1. Block out some planning time in your calendar for yearly, monthly, and weekly "lesson plan" times.

2. Allow extra time for your yearly planning session. You can start in any month. This is the time to do a bit of dreaming. What do you want the upcoming year to look like? How will you enrich your experiences during the next 365 days? What goals would you like to accomplish? What makes you feel truly alive? Who do you want to spend more time with? Be as specific as possible, and create some goals for yourself that will take you in the direction of your dreams. Browse through magazines and cut out pictures, phrases, poetry, quotes, and stories that inspire you. Include them in your planning journal.

3. Write down 8-12 yearly goals you have for yourself in your journal/planner. Choose ones that will truly make a difference in the quality of your life.

4. Using these yearly goals, break them down into monthly ones. Some might be alloted a one-month time frame. Others may take longer. Enter them in your planning calendar for future reference.

5. Each month, review your goals and break them down into weekly tasks. Mark them down in your calendear.

6. Take time each week to create a "lesson plan" for the next seven days. Working backwards from desired weekly goals, determine the amount of time necessary to accomplish them, the essential actions needed, and a basic time frame for completion. In essence, you are creating lesson plans for your life. Write these plans down in your journal or notebook, and then date and sign it.

7. At the end of each week, take time for evaluation. Cross off the actions you have completed and transfer any remaining ones to next week's plan.

8. Be gentle with yourself and don't set yourself up for failure by taking on tasks that are enormous. If you take daily actions in the direction of your goals, you will eventually arrive at your destination.

9. Enjoy the journey!