Did you ever wake up one morning and ask yourself: Where am I going with my life? Am I doing whatever it is that I’m doing for myself or for others? Is this what I actually want to accomplish? Do I really love my career? Am I honestly doing things for the good reasons?

You have, haven’t you? Well, you’re not alone. I  see people in the exact same situation every day. While client meetings, having lunch with a friend, when flying somewhere, even during family reunions… If you’re relentlessly asking yourself these questions over and over again  it might be time for a big change of life and for you to create YOUR own world!

This article  contain 3 Steps:
Step 1: My definition of  ”Your world”
Step 2: Imagine and define your world
Step 3: Review your actual life

Step 1: My definition of “your world”

“Your world” is a place  where you are in utter peace with yourself. Balance. A place where you feel good every day, every hour, every minute of your existence. A place where you have the liberty to choose what you want to accomplish each morning. A world that you are proud to talk about, that reflects your core values, where you can explore, share and continue to grow.

“Your World” Is a Vision. A way to live that you’ve imagined for a long time. A lifestyle that respects who YOU really are.

Let’s take My World for instance:

I started my own world 13 years ago, when I was 21. I was teaching Rock/Jazz/Blues guitar for a living and playing gigs here and there with my band. For the longest time, my focus was music. Everyone who knew me back then couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else. I had been playing for a while therefore my whole life was focused around that passion.

I remember a time, after performing in a live concert, when  I asked myself: Do I really want this lifestyle? And what I realized at that moment is that for me, music truly represents freedom, a way to express myself, a form of meditation! I also understood that for the last 2 years, I was mostly playing so I could pay my bills. And there is was, clear as day; to me, in my life, music should not be linked with money.

So, I started thinking about what I really wanted in life, including my core values.

I wanted to: have a  family, change the world, wake up each morning and be free to decide what I want to do, compose music, spend all day with the people I love, travel and be universal, think differently, bring inspiration all over the world, have money to do whatever I want, have a lifestyle that reflects all my core values.

My Core Values were: Family, Transparency, Creativity, Humanity, Respect, Difference, Unity, Uniqueness and Authenticity.

I knew then that music could give me all of that but I wanted to find a way that would offer me more possibilities to create and control each day of my life with more flexibility and stability. So I decided to start a  business ;o). I wanted to create a business where I could use my musical skills but not in a mainstream type of way. I knew that my brother Carl (the bass player in my band) was passionate about graphic design. It all became too obvious. I would start a graphic design business with my brother. Carl was very happy about this idea and initiated me to the web. We were in 1996.

After 2 years of hard working and trial and errors, we decided to focus on the web. Around that same period I met my better half (who would later become my wife) and a couple of months later she was working with us full time! Family being my main core value, I was up to a good start  ;o). During that period, my role was to make sure that not only my values were respected but as were those of my wife and brother! (Lucky for us, we pretty much share the same!). With passion, we chose all of our team members and clients and created a cool work environment that would allow us to be creative, inspired and overall be ourselves.

Now, thanks to great effort and by focusing on these values,we’ve created a world that gives us balance. Every day is exciting, different and full of creativity. My wife and I have 2 beautiful girls (1 and 6 years old) and, in the passed 5 years, we’ve managed to travel a lot. In addition, I can now play music whenever I want with no constraints.

My plan was simple: Imagine an environment that respects my core values. Believe in it, create it and share it with the world  ;o)

STEP 2: Imagine and define your world

Define your core values: It’s all about balance. You absolutely need to know you’re core values to be able to create your world. The core values define who your are, what you love and what is important for you. So take the time to identify between 5 and 10 of those values and write them down in priority order.

Now, imagine the life you’ve been dreaming of for a long time. Imagine it without constraints, bills to pay, obligations, nothing interfering. Only you and what you really want. To help you define that vision, I suggest that you write it, draw it or make a collage. Or you can even share it to someone and talk about it. The more you imagine it, the easier it will be to define your world. Remember, no constraints! And don’t let anyone put up walls or try to tell you it’s impossible. Imagine and live it over and over, you have to be positive that THIS is what you really want.

Confirm (be honest with yourself) that your dreams are not corrupted by society. Let me explain: Countless people will dream for ages about a “specific life” before trying to make it happen.  The problem is that many of them are dreaming someone else’s dream. Because they never really listened to themselves, they look upon other’s dreams. If a friend was to express his dream about having a big house in the Caribbean’s, surfing every day, enjoying the deep blue sea…  sure, it would all sound pretty awesome, wouldn’t it? But would you  take a minute to stop and think thoroughly about every aspects this lifestyle has to offer?

What about tornadoes? Would your kids actually want to change school or even follow you? Do you love skiing? Would a green Christmas make you anxious? Is this place safe enough to raise a family? This observation is just to illustrate that a dream can seem wonderful on the surface but when  you take the time to reflect on it you may be surprised.  Every day we’re exposed to the American Dream, TV shows, advertising, books, magazines, images… Just be convinced that YOUR dream is well defined and be honest about it.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO HELP YOU DEFINE YOUR WORLD

- Write it, draw it or make a collage

- Share it with people you love

- Visualize it , meditate on it (even if for only 30 seconds)

- Believe in your dream and SEE yourself and the people you love living it

- Don’t be afraid to adapt it as long as it still stands for what you desire

- Don’t let your dreams be corrupted by others and other’s dreams.

 

STEP 3: Review your actual life

Now that you’ve defined your dream with no constraints, it’s time to review your actual life. Honestly, it’s not an easy task because you have to be honest with yourself. So, between you and yourself, are you happy ? Don’t try to convince yourself by thinking that things could be worse or that life is life. Do you luuuuuuv your job? Do you control how you spend your time? Are you 60% close to be accomplishing your dream or only 5 %?

Is your life in balance with you’re core values?
If the answer is no, that explains a whole lot! When your life is not in balance you can encounter problems with motivation, patience, health and creativity.

It’s time to take THE DECISION!

Are You Ready to create your world?   YES     or      NO

This post is tagged Imagination