- Cover of The Magic of Thinking Big
You life up to now doesn’t define you
The first step in lifestyle design is belief. You have to be convinced beyond doubt that you can design your perfect lifestyle and then make it happen. This is probably the most difficult step of them all, particularly if you have spent 20 years or more letting someone else define your lifestyle. I f you ever had dreams of a perfect lifestyle they have probably been buried and forgotten. It is hard at midlife or beyond to let yourself hope and dream. You have settled for a life of limitations and dependence. You have forgotten the power that the dreams of your youth possessed. You have discounted your youthful enthusiasm and optimism. You probably don’t know anyone who is even thinking about taking charge of their life.
Don’t give up on yourself!
If this is you, then read on. There are other people like you who still have the dream of changing their life. More important there are people who are making it happen. Age is not an issue. Education is not an issue. Personality is not an issue. All that really matters is that you believe that it can happen for you. At this point you don’t even need to have a detailed plan for your life. This will come later so long as you believe that you can.
What if?
But maybe you are wracked with doubt. You believe that the price tag that your boss has placed on you is correct. You don’t think that you have anything else to give and that your value is limited. If you have enough belief to read this post, then you have enough belief to start the adventure. Start by asking yourself ‘what if?’ to any question you have and then telling yourself ‘why not?’ If you start down a challenging path doesn’t each hill you climb make you stronger? Then just decide to start.
Change your thinking.
Start your adventure by training your mind to think differently. Start a reading program to change your thinking. The book I recommend first is The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz . Get a copy and start to believe you can.
Belief really is the hardest part. Getting to mid-life (or beyond) and having been smacked down a time or two, it gets a little more difficult to go at it head on again.
I know what you mean. Just now Wordpress wouldn’t let me reply to a comment on my own blog. I should be depressed. I can be my own worst enemy or my best friend. I can accept the definition of me that the world has determined or I can just make my own. Whatever the world sees, there is greatness in me just dying to get out. I have to recognize it and let it go. You too.
Well put. I meet a lot of people who wind up acting envious once they find out what I do for a living (run my own affiliate marketing company which is pretty much automated enough that I can travel whenever I want to.)
It’s almost funny that those same people tell me, “I could never do that.” It wasn’t easy, it didn’t happen overnight, but I managed to get the ball rolling and believe me, I’m not a rocket scientist.
Self-confidence can be hard to master, but it’s crucial. If you can’t believe in yourself, who will?
You are the guy to tell the story – and I hope you will