Thoughts on how to create the life you want.

Post 316 deals with taking the initiative to create the life you want.

"Every man, wherever he goes," wrote Bertrand Russell, "is encompassed by a cloud of comforting convictions that move with him like flies on a summer's day."

"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." - John F. Kennedy

“The inhabitants of every civilized country are menaced; all desire to be saved from impending disaster; yet the overwhelming majority refuse to change their habits of thought, feeling and action which are directly responsible for their present plight.” - Aldous Huxley.

Steve Jobs says, “When you grow up, you tend to get told that the world is the way it is and to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much, try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money ... But that's a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact, and that is that everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you, and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use, and the minute that you understand that, you can poke life and ... if you push in, something will pop out the other side. You can change it, you can mold it. That's maybe the most important thing, to shake off this erroneous notion that life is there and you're just going to live in it, versus embrace it, change it, improve it, make your mark on it. I think that's very important, and however you learn that, once you learn it, you'll want to change life and make it better, because it's kind of messed up in a lot of ways. Once you learn that, you'll never be the same again ... When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: ‘If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right.’ It made an impression on me, and since then, I’ve looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something."

"Putting off an easy thing makes it hard. Putting off a hard thing makes it impossible." - George Lorimer

Take the time to ask yourself, what “lever” do you pull in your life to create wealth and well-being over time? What’s the “Hot-Button” in your life?

Once you’re clear about that:
* If that’s the “game-breaker,” is that what you spend most of your time working on?

* Specifically, what percentage of your time, effort and energy goes into it?

* Everything else you do then is just an activity. So why do you do it if it doesn't contribute to pulling the “lever,” pushing the “Hot-Button?”

* And if you believe it’s still a necessary activity, should do it yourself or get someone else to do it for you or with you?

"It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult." – Seneca