Life Imitating Art V, Working on the Life Plan

I've been writing about the creation of the company that runs this web site and how it was the natural outgrowth of where the founders are in our lives. We were aided in knowing where we were by the existence of "Life Plans" which laid out certain things that we wanted to accomplish prior to their being no time to accomplish them. A basic "no regrets" approach to life.

In soon-to-come posts, we will be getting into great detail about how one can go about creating their own Life Plans. As mentioned in Part IV, the materials required can be as simple as pen/paper (though I happen to like using a spreadsheet). Step 1 is simply writing down those "things you've always promised yourself you'd like to do." (Okay, this is step 2, step 1 is making the commitment to start the process but by the fact you are reading this we believe that you are already there). The next step is doing a little brainstorming. Looking at books, talking to friends/family, and looking at the world in terms of things that you might want to do but are not on track to do so now. For example, if you are driving down the road and see people heading out on a mountain bike ride (something you don't currently do) and you think ("I've always wanted to do that", well there you go). I have come up with many of the things on my Life Plan while driving in the car and seeing billboards, bumper stickers, hearing things on the radio, etc.

Reading books on the subject is also a good idea and we are in the process of reviewing every possible book on the subject. Keoghan's "No Opportunity Wasted" (a book we refer to a lot) has a nice grouping methodology that helps brainstorm ideas. When I first started my plan I was under the impression that the "right" number for such a thing was a hundred (as in the "100 things you want to do before you die"). Upon embarking on that task I learned a few things. One was that 100 is a very big number and it's not easy to come up with that many without cheapening the process by adding things that if you didn't do them by the time you were on your deathbed you probably wouldn't really care. I also learned the importance of keeping it fun and if it becomes too much of a task it probably won't get done by most people (me included).

The next step and the final one for now is to start playing with the list. Prioritizing it, looking at which ones can be done more or less inexpensively or easily. Also pay attention to those that have a limited time period. If you one of your projects is to sit down with a parent and write the family history and your parents are getting on in their years then this is probably something that needs to be started rather quickly. Also look for projects that can be combined. Having a goal to do something special with a sibling who you've had a hard time keeping in touch with can be combined with a trip that you'd like to take (assuming that this is something that they want to do). Losing weight and running a marathon is another natural combination, and so forth.

The Life Plan needn't ever be completed. It is a living document for as long as you are alive. New things can be added and others dropped whether because you've completed them or you just have changed your mind. The important thing is that you take the first important step to living a "no regrets" life and start writing down what you want to do. That establishes the road map and everything else builds from there.