I’ve started doing daily videos, Monday through Friday, which are posted on my YouTube channel, LinkedIn, and my professional Facebook page. Recently, I did one on “What Does Success Mean to You”? I asked that question because success means something different to every one of us. Even if two people say “a happy marriage,” does a happy marriage look identical for each? Knowing what success means to you allows you to know where to focus, what to work towards, and how to creatively achieve it.
Far more importantly however, is what does your “Ideal Life” look like to you? They are not the same thing. Success needs to take place within the Ideal Life. The Ideal Life means we have created the ideal environment for success to occur. In your ideal life Is there a significant other? A family? A home? Two or three homes? Is there travel? A place of worship? A community? A cause you are supporting? Are you an author? Artist? Retired? You can see that it is far more than simply one-dimensional success.
Any version of an ideal life needs to have, as its basis, a set of values that you can easily live by.
Yes, there will be moments when your values are tested, when you are forced to recommit to them. However, when your heart and soul are governed by your values, the decision is quickly made (at your worst moments-relatively quickly perhaps…). What set of values do you live by and are completely invested in? What values govern how you see the world and all those in it? I pray you spend time to define them for yourself if need be.
Our version of the Ideal Life reflects the person we have become. For me it is living my purpose of working with leaders in transition so that the next step in their spiritual journey reflects who they are and who they choose to become whether as they move to another organization, expand their own business, get a divorce, or choose to step away. In supporting them through the many trials, self-questioning, self-betrayals, and fears that can arise, I help make the process so much easier while also providing someone they can confide in as they grow.
It also includes my family, my son, daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren. Spending time with them and calling them to grow continuously and also enjoy their lives is a gift I never want to lose. Friends who make me laugh and call me to remember who I am when I happen to forget and those who remind me of the healer I am while I work to heal my own mind/body/soul whenever something may arise are a gift beyond words. And there’s more…
As you prepare for the final quarter of 2023, I pray you take the time to assess what your ideal life looks like. I pray as well that you claim your values, your integrity, and your commitment to live your truth throughout the journey. Our faith, our way of life, our way of contributing to the world is expressed through the actions we take or don’t take. Our values are not what we talk about, they are reflected in how we live, love, and take actions. They are shown in our trustworthiness. Our willingness to live up to our commitments to ourselves and others.
Have a great week. Reclaim your values and your Ideal Life in case they have fallen to the wayside. Having them in your conscious mind brings so much more joy, passion, and purpose to what you do and to who you are…
