Now Moments, Phase 2, by Tiger Todd
How to Plan the Life You Really Want through NOW MOMENTS
Last week, we entertained the idea of NOW MOMENTS, a way of pausing life long enough to see our problems and challenges through fresh eyes, as if through the eyes of an expert from another industry or even by a celebrity. But rather than calling the William Morris Agency and requesting that Bruce Willis or Angelina Jolie step into your life, make your deals, lead your family, or create a strategic plan for your future goals, why not save the money- and the hassle of having paparazzi follow you everywhere- and play this new role yourself?
"They are literally 'being lived.' They are acting out scripts written by parents, associates, and society." - Stephen R. Covey
By looking at what you have been going through with fresh eyes, you have probably been awakened to some resources you had forgotten were available to you. NOW it is time to create a PLAN by applying the "opportunity inventory" you derived to each of your "lives": your personal or family life, your business life including your bosses and clients, and your community or "heroic" life.
"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." - Albert Einstein
Remember, like the character in a movie, the role you play during your NOW MOMENT is a character who must change to overcome the circumstances that you are confronted with. Coupling these new character elements with the opportunities you discovered during your NOW MOMENT releases the power that will change those circumstances that were previously beyond your control.
"A goal without an Action Plan is a daydream." - Dr. Nathaniel Branden
NOW it's time to record the plan or map for your unique character- one you want to live into- so that you and those around you have a path to follow. RIGHT NOW, create a working draft email of your new Success Plan by clicking "Forward." Don't send it to yourself yet, just create the draft. I'll wait.
"If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land." - Isaiah 1:19
Did you click "Forward"? If you did, NOW take another minute and start filling in the scope of your new Success Plan in the spaces below.
If you didn't, congratulations- you've just diagnosed your own problem! In the past, this is where I would faltered, too. I'd rationalize myself right out of action by saying things like, "How's filling out a stupid list going to help me through my problems?!" I later discovered that the problems and challenges in my life remained precisely because I let thoughts like these interfere with taking action. The way I overcame my opportunity-destroying habits was to make the decision to be as willing and obedient to instruction again as I was when I was younger, or as obedient as Forrest Gump was to Jenny, Bubba, and Lieutenant Dan when they hollered, "Run Forrest, Run!" Remember, "NOW" isn't "later this afternoon." NOW is NOW, and the power of NOW is in the NOW. Don't think, just do.
FILL IN the goals in the following spaces NOW, and write them as if you are already the character who performs them:
For example,
One of your Family NOW Goals might be to invest an additional hour with each of your children every week:
NOT,
"I will invest an unshared and uninterrupted hour with each of my children every week."
INSTEAD,
"I invest an unshared and uninterrupted hour with each of my children every week."
Your Business NOW Goals might include:
"I build trust with my clients, for both me and my employer, by making at least 3 status calls and sending 3 status emails each week."
Your Heroic NOW Goals might include:
"I share my expertise with my community by writing a one-page business strategy handout for shelter residents every week."
NOW it's your turn:
My Family NOW Goals are:
1.
2.
3.
My Business NOW Goals are:
1.
2.
3.
My Community NOW Goals are:
1.
2.
3.
Make sure you have at least one goal written under each life area NOW. Then save your email draft so you can write down more goals as more they come to you. By the end of the week, you will not only have created a map that will lead you to the fulfillment of your goals, you will also begin to see that these new character attributes will have empowered you to accomplish every one of them. Go live the life you really want to live NOW! -TT
