Personal Growth Strategies Designing Your Future Introduction In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. (Albert Einstein) Y ou are where you are and what you are in life because of yourself. Everything you have in life you have attracted to yourself because of the person you are. You can change your future because you can change the person you are today! You can design your future so that you can have a wonderful life, by choice, not by chance. You can be a master of change rather than a victim of change. There are seven ingredients of success and achievement. Everything that you ever want in life could be listed under one of the seven categories explained in Designing Your Future. When you begin to think, plan and take deliberate actions toward the achievement of your goals, you will be astonished at how much you accomplish. In this lesson you will learn: Why you are where you are The greatest human good The key to peace of mind What achieving financial freedom means How to determine worthy goals and ideals How to be true to yourself How to unlock your full potential 1
What Do You Already Know? Test your knowledge by attempting to answer the questions below. 1. Why are you where you are and what you are today? 2. What is the greatest human good? 3. How would you apply zero-based thinking to your life? 4. What qualities are most central to a happy life? 2
5. What is the definition of financial freedom? 6. How do goals affect your personality? 7. Do you know why you do, say, think and feel the things you do? 3
Designing Your Future 1. You are where you are and what you are because of yourself. a) Up to age 18, your parents are responsible; b) After age 18, you are always free to choose; c) It doesn t matter where you re coming from; all that matters is where you re going! d) Your aim should be to design your ideal life; e) There are seven ingredients of a great life. 21 Peace of mind the greatest human good, the goal of all human activity. a) Peace of mind (POM) means freedom from fear, worry, and stress; b) How you feel is determined by how you react; c) Your job is to set POM as your highest goal; d) Practice zero-based thinking on everything in your life; e) Make a decision today to eliminate the stressors in your life; f) Take action today to improve your life in some way. 3. Health and energy are key measures of your success and well being. a) Health means freedom from pain, illness, disease; b) Health is the result of proper diet, proper exercise, and proper rest; 4
c) Resolve to live to be 80 or 90 years old; d) Develop the discipline to take whatever steps are necessary to enjoy high levels of health. 4. Loving relationships are the most important thing in life. a) Relationships are central to a happy life; b) Good relationships are the key to peace of mind, health and energy; c) Take control of your life and do whatever is necessary to assure high quality relationships. 5. Financial freedom is having enough money so that you don t worry about money. a) Set clear financial goals; make a plan, get busy; b) Learn what you need to learn to be excellent in your field; c) Discipline yourself to save and invest part of your income regularly. 6. You need worthy goals and ideals to live an ideal life. a) Decide exactly what you want, in every area; b) Write it down, in detail; c) Set a deadline and sub-deadlines on your goals; d) Make a plan, a list of activities; e) Work on your major goal every single day; 5
f) Goals give you a sense of personal power and control. 7. Self-knowledge and self-awareness are essential to inner peace and outer effectiveness. a) Be true to yourself; be honest with yourself; b) Take the time to understand why you feel and think the way you do; c) Be open to input and advice from others. 8. Self-fulfillment and self-actualization are the ultimate goals in life. a) Your goal is to become everything that you are capable of becoming; b) Your aim is to unlock and utilize your full potential; c) Strive for complete self-expression in your life; d) Remember, you are extraordinary! Life is not an accident. Success is not something that just happens to you as you go along. You are completely responsible for taking charge of your life and designing your future so that it is ideal in every way. History has proven that the wisest men and women broke down success into seven major categories, which are those discussed in this lesson. The first step is for you to decide exactly what you want. The second step is to make a plan and then take action on your plan, every day, until you achieve the goals you have set for yourself. There are no limits on what you can accomplish when you take complete control of designing your own future! 6
Action Exercises 1. From age 18, you are free to choose how to live each part of your life. What choices would you make differently if you had to do them over? 2. When and under what conditions have you enjoyed the greatest feelings of peace of mind in the past? 3. What three things would you change or do differently if you could to improve the quality of your life? 7
4. Your level of health and energy is largely under your control. What three things could you do more of or less of to improve your levels of health and energy? 5. What are the three most important changes you could make immediately to improve the quality of your life? 6. What three things could you do or stop doing to improve the quality of your relationships? 8
7. What three things would you do differently in your life if you were financially independent? 8. If your life were ideal in every respect five years from now, what three things would be different? What one action are you going to take immediately as the result of what you have learned in this lesson? 9