Living Every Day...

...as if you mean it.

I read several blog posts yesterday about the new year, resolutions, and what to do with the rest of your life, blah, blah, blah, but one of them actually said something that struck me.  I may not do him justice, but the author (Dr. Boyce Watkins) said that every day we should be moving forward.  We should be striving to better ourselves in some way, even if that is just a small thing.  His exact words were "We are all becoming something, and it is our day to day actions that determine what that thing is."  In other words, what we do every day reflects where we want to be.  If I have a goal, shouldn't I be working toward that goal, even if it is only a tiny step, every day?

Another blogger mentioned CANI (Constant And Never-ending Improvement).  I've never heard this phrase before, but it is definitely a philosophy I subscribe to, primarily because I have a never-ending thirst for knowledge.  I can't say that everything I dive into is an improvement, but I do love to learn.  At the end of the day, learning something new gives my day value, even if the knowledge serves no discernible purpose.

I'm a long way from making every day count, or living each day purposefully, but I am trying to get there.  I yearn for a time when I can recognize something meaningful or valuable in every single day.  Until then, I'll keep moving forward.

What about you?  Do you have a goal you are working toward?  Is it obvious to you in your daily life?  It doesn't have to be obvious to everyone, in my opinion, as long as you know you are moving forward.

In Dr. Boyce's words:  "Ask yourself honestly:  based on my day to day actions, what am I becoming?  Are my words in line with my activities, or am I lying to myself?"

So what are you going to DO about it?

I had an awesome conversation with a really good friend today over lunch.  One of the things I love about meeting one-on-one with this guy is that eventually our conversations always end up being about our goals and plans for our future.  We never plan it, it just seems to happen.

One of the cool by-products of such a conversation is that I always go home inspired by our lunch conversation.  Today, we talked about turning malcontent into a plan of action.  One of the lines that I came away with was "what are you going to DO about it?"  We were talking about complaining about circumstances, versus using circumstances as a vehicle for change.  (Do I sound like Obama?  I mean real change.)

We talked about our immediate future, and then more long-term dreams, and how we might make them happen.  Or, in my case, even if it's a vague idea, what steps could I take in the right direction.  Like I said, I came away inspired.

Part of my resolve was to write out my goals.  We agreed that it is easy to dream big dreams, but it always helps to process them aloud.  The trick is to have someone you feel safe processing with that won't immediately laugh you out of the ballpark.  He's that kind of person.

I don't seem to have much trouble verbalizing dreams, but for me it always seems more like a test-drive.  When I talk about plans, I'm always looking for a reaction to see if it's a good idea or a horrible one.  

In this post, I'm just laying out goals for my future.  You wanna hear it?  Here it goes.

I want to travel.  That seems to be highest on my list these days.  I'm getting older, and there are many places I haven't seen.  If I'm going to get to them all, I had better start soon.

I want to own my own business.  Now this may seem ridiculous since I currently own my own business, but I don't want to do this business forever (or very much longer, in fact), but whatever I do next would still (ideally) be my own.

I would like to combine those two things into a business that would allow me to travel, and thus write off the travel as a business expense.  In lieu of being able to call it a business trip, I would like a business that could be done from anywhere in the world, so I can travel without the constraints of a set return date.

I would like to use what I've learned and whatever skills I possess to help someone else attain a dream that might not otherwise be within reach.  This goes along with having a flexible business because it would require a commitment of my time.  I've always had a dream, way back in the back of my mind, to start a school for disadvantaged kids that would inspire them to leap out of their comfort zones and do something they never thought they were capable of doing.  Now I know that there are plenty of schools like that, they just are usually out of the price range of these kids.  The key would be to find kids with the desire and will to work hard, and put them into a position to accomplish their goals.

Who knows, maybe there isn't a need for that, with all the charities and special-interest groups that exist nowadays.  I have only my own experience to draw reference from, and I know it would have been cool to have gotten a leg up when I was still in school, instead of having to wait until I was well into adulthood to see the possibilities.

Anyway, this is a start...