You Are Your Life Vision- Day 25 — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:06Hello and welcome to day 25 of
2. 0:09Lifebook's 30-day challenge. I'm so
3. 0:11happy to have you here with me today.
4. 0:13We're really getting some momentum now
5. 0:14in this course. Now, so far in this
6. 0:17program, we've examined 11 separate
7. 0:19categories of your life, 11. From your
8. 0:22health and fitness to your love
9. 0:23relationship to your financial life and
10. 0:25everything in between. And I hope that
11. 0:28you've gotten some really good insights
12. 0:30so far. Today is going to be amazing.
13. 0:34It's going to rock your world because
14. 0:36we're going to explore the final
15. 0:37category in the Lifebook program, which
16. 0:39is called your life vision.
17. 0:41And this is where all the thinking that
18. 0:43you've done so far really starts to come
19. 0:45together into one thing.
20. 0:47It's here that you're going to realize
21. 0:49that the Lifebook process isn't really
22. 0:50about 12 separate things as much as it's
23. 0:54about one thing, and that's you.
24. 0:57Your life.
25. 0:58You're one person with 12 different
26. 1:01aspects that makes up your life.
27. 1:03The Lifebook process is an organized way
28. 1:07of thinking about you and your life.
29. 1:10And you are a complex, dynamic, organic
30. 1:15creature. You're not math, you're a
31. 1:17human being.
32. 1:18So, these categories aren't concrete.
33. 1:22There There's no clearly defined edges.
34. 1:24And there's no structure out there
35. 1:27that's ever going to be 100% accurate in
36. 1:29capturing what you are all about at your
37. 1:32core.
38. 1:34But Lifebook is probably the best
39. 1:35program out there
40. 1:37for wrestling this all down and wrapping
41. 1:40our minds around an issue that's almost
42. 1:43impossible to fully comprehend
43. 1:46how best to live our life on this
44. 1:49planet.
45. 1:51These 12 categories make up your life.
46. 1:54And I'll tell you something, they're not
47. 1:56electives. They're all mandatory,
48. 1:59literally every one of them. You can't
49. 2:00leave any of these things behind.
50. 2:03So, you've got your financial life
51. 2:04handled, but you've destroyed your body
52. 2:06along the way. Well, what good is having
53. 2:08a lot of money if you're horribly out of
54. 2:10shape?
55. 2:11Or maybe you focus some good energy on
56. 2:13your physical fitness, but what good is
57. 2:15looking great if you've got really poor
58. 2:18relationships? You're not going to be
59. 2:19happy.
60. 2:20Or maybe you've taken great care of your
61. 2:22most important relationships, but if
62. 2:24you're living in constant financial
63. 2:26lack, if you've got to spend all your
64. 2:28time working with your nose to the
65. 2:30grindstone just to pay your bills, you
66. 2:32know, you're living a life of scarcity.
67. 2:34You're still living way below your
68. 2:36potential.
69. 2:38You've got to handle all these areas
70. 2:41because they all add up to one thing,
71. 2:45you,
72. 2:46your life.
73. 2:48Remember toward the beginning of this
74. 2:50program when we were in the health and
75. 2:51fitness category and I said, "A win here
76. 2:55is a win everywhere."
77. 2:58Well, I'm going to share a little secret
78. 2:59with you.
79. 3:00A win anywhere in your life is a win
80. 3:03everywhere in your life. You make
81. 3:05progress in any one of these areas, you
82. 3:08push your whole life forward. Get
83. 3:10stronger physically, it affects your
84. 3:12whole life. Get smarter intellectually,
85. 3:15it improves everything.
86. 3:17You know, create more financial
87. 3:18abundance, it makes everything in your
88. 3:20life better. It lifts everything. You
89. 3:22take your love relationship to the next
90. 3:24level, you take your whole life to the
91. 3:26next level in the process.
92. 3:29So, it's here in the final category,
93. 3:32life vision, that we begin to focus on
94. 3:35the most important aspect of the
95. 3:37Lifebook program, which is a singular
96. 3:41compelling picture of the person that
97. 3:43you want to become and the life that you
98. 3:45want to live.
99. 3:47And unfortunately, most people just
100. 3:49don't have any idea where even to begin
101. 3:52when it comes to getting clear on where
102. 3:54they really want to go in their life and
103. 3:57how they're going to get there.
104. 3:59It's a little bit like that passage in
105. 4:01Alice in Wonderland when she's talking
106. 4:03to the Cheshire Cat and she says,
107. 4:05"Cheshire Cat, would you please tell me
108. 4:07which way I should go from here?" Cat
109. 4:09says, "Well, it depends a good deal on
110. 4:12where you want to get to."
111. 4:14And Alice says, "Well, I don't really
112. 4:15much care where I get to."
113. 4:17And the cat says, "Well, then it doesn't
114. 4:18matter which way you go."
115. 4:20And Alice says, "But I want to get
116. 4:22somewhere."
117. 4:23And the cat says, "Oh, you're sure to do
118. 4:26that if you walk long enough."
119. 4:29That's how most people live their lives.
120. 4:31They don't have any destination in mind.
121. 4:34They don't know which way to go because
122. 4:36they don't know where they want to end
123. 4:37up.
124. 4:39They don't know what to do because they
125. 4:41don't know where they're going. So,
126. 4:44instead of being focused with a clear
127. 4:46direction, they wander aimlessly through
128. 4:48their lives. They just kind of float
129. 4:50like a piece of driftwood wherever the
130. 4:52tide of life happens to take them.
131. 4:55They don't envision their future with a
132. 4:58sense that they can powerfully influence
133. 5:00it. They don't see themselves as in the
134. 5:02driver's seat of their life, in control
135. 5:05of their own life. They hope a lot, you
136. 5:08know, but there's no internal sense of
137. 5:09power
138. 5:11that they can make things happen.
139. 5:13Instead, they react to life. They sort
140. 5:16of let life happen to them.
141. 5:18They've given control of their lives to
142. 5:20other forces, to other people, to the
143. 5:22company they work for, to things out
144. 5:24there in their environment. They've got
145. 5:26no real sense of what their life is
146. 5:28about, no sense of personal meaning, no
147. 5:31sense of their own identity.
148. 5:34In other words,
149. 5:35they have no vision for their life.
150. 5:38Our ability to envision our future is
151. 5:42literally the defining feature of our
152. 5:44humanity. It's the most significant
153. 5:47difference between us and the other
154. 5:49animals to envision things as they might
155. 5:52be. To imagine things that don't exist
156. 5:55in the world right now, but could exist
157. 5:57if we make them real. It's literally the
158. 6:00most important thing that the human
159. 6:03brain does.
160. 6:05Our brains are designed to do that. Our
161. 6:08frontal lobe is markedly different than
162. 6:11any other creature on this planet. And
163. 6:13it allows us to think about the future
164. 6:16in a way that no other animal can, does,
165. 6:19or ever has.
166. 6:22This uniquely human ability to visualize
167. 6:26allows us to choose a possible future
168. 6:28for ourselves among many possibilities.
169. 6:32We can mentally sort through limitless
170. 6:35possible futures
171. 6:37and choose the best for ourself, and
172. 6:40avoid the worst.
173. 6:42And we darn well better exercise our
174. 6:45ability to do that, because not all
175. 6:48futures are created equal. Some futures
176. 6:51are definitely better than others.
177. 6:54So, if we don't exercise this ability to
178. 6:56consciously choose what we want our
179. 6:59future to be like,
180. 7:00we literally have no decision-making
181. 7:03framework with which to judge our daily
182. 7:06choices and actions.
183. 7:08Without taking responsibility to clearly
184. 7:11define where we want to end up in our
185. 7:13lives, we can't possibly know which path
186. 7:16is the right path to take. We're like
187. 7:18Alice in Wonderland. We'll eventually
188. 7:20end up somewhere, but who knows where
189. 7:23that'll be.
190. 7:24And here's the big challenge for a whole
191. 7:27lot of people.
192. 7:28Without a clear vision to guide us, our
193. 7:31default framework for making decisions
194. 7:34becomes pleasure and pain, just like the
195. 7:37rest of the animals on this planet.
196. 7:39Pavlov proved that animals are hardwired
197. 7:43to do whatever's necessary to escape
198. 7:46pain and move toward pleasure in the
199. 7:48moment. They have no ability to think
200. 7:51about later.
201. 7:52It's about pain and pleasure now.
202. 7:55If we don't exercise our ability to
203. 7:57think about later,
204. 7:58we default to whatever feels good in the
205. 8:00moment. And I'll tell you that's a
206. 8:02recipe for disaster, which leads to just
207. 8:05about every unhealthy, unproductive,
208. 8:08life-destroying activity you can
209. 8:09imagine. This is where addiction lives.
210. 8:11Smoking, drinking, taking drugs,
211. 8:13overeating, gambling, sex addiction,
212. 8:17anything to get a little bit of pleasure
213. 8:19in the moment and to avoid pain. And
214. 8:21that's no way to live. That's not having
215. 8:23a fully human experience.
216. 8:25As human beings, we have the
217. 8:27extraordinary ability to create a vision
218. 8:30for our lives that allows us to
219. 8:32transcend the pain and pleasure
220. 8:34response. We're the only animal that can
221. 8:36do that.
222. 8:38And that makes all the difference in the
223. 8:39world.
224. 8:41That's why you need a clear vision for
225. 8:44your life. When you have a clear vision
226. 8:47that you're absolutely committed to
227. 8:48achieving, you can accept the fact that
228. 8:51there's going to be both pain and
229. 8:53pleasure on this journey. It's just part
230. 8:55of the process. There are going to be
231. 8:57victories and there are going to be
232. 8:58defeats. There are going to be wins and
233. 9:00there are going to be losses. Some days
234. 9:02are going to be great and awesome and
235. 9:03easy and some days won't be so easy.
236. 9:06That's not important. Your destination
237. 9:09is what's important. Your life vision is
238. 9:11what's important. It's the constant
239. 9:14through the inevitable trials and
240. 9:16tribulations that you're going to
241. 9:17encounter.
242. 9:18Your life vision is like your North
243. 9:20Star. It's your guiding light. It gives
244. 9:23you a damn good reason to tolerate a
245. 9:26little short-term pain and deny yourself
246. 9:29a little bit of short-term pleasure
247. 9:31because you know that there's a big pot
248. 9:34of gold at the end of that rainbow.
249. 9:37And never has it been more important to
250. 9:40have your own life vision than it is in
251. 9:42today's culture, which I got to tell
252. 9:44you, it's essentially designed to
253. 9:46challenge every ounce of self-control
254. 9:49that you have. You walk the aisles of a
255. 9:51supermarket, you're going to come in
256. 9:52contact with 35,000
257. 9:55brands. 35,000 brands all trying to get
258. 9:58you to do what they want you to do.
259. 10:01So, guess what? If you don't have a
260. 10:03clear vision for your life, it turns out
261. 10:05that there are plenty of people out
262. 10:07there and plenty of companies out there
263. 10:09that are going to be happy to sell you
264. 10:11theirs.
265. 10:13So, can you see how critical it is to
266. 10:15have a clear vision of your future, your
267. 10:18own decision-making framework? You know,
268. 10:20to be able to stop running your life
269. 10:22controlled by what feels good in the
270. 10:24moment.
271. 10:25To be able to actually get yourself to
272. 10:27get out of that warm bed in the morning,
273. 10:28even though you know it's going to be a
274. 10:29little bit uncomfortable, because you've
275. 10:31got a higher vision for what you want in
276. 10:33your life. You've got a higher vision
277. 10:35that makes that short-term pain
278. 10:37irrelevant.
279. 10:38Or to save your money instead of
280. 10:40spending it, not for the sake of
281. 10:42hoarding, but because you've got a
282. 10:44bigger vision. You You want to build
283. 10:45your dream house, so you can pass on
284. 10:47that Gucci purse that you'd really like
285. 10:49to buy in the moment.
286. 10:51To exercise some emotional control and
287. 10:53not snap at your lover, even though you
288. 10:55might want to in the moment, because the
289. 10:58vision for your love relationship is
290. 11:00clear and it's more important than a
291. 11:02little ego burst right now.
292. 11:05To be able to make your daily decisions
293. 11:07based not on what feels good right now,
294. 11:11but based on a clearly defined
295. 11:12destination that you're absolutely
296. 11:14committed to reaching in your life.
297. 11:17That is having a fully human experience.
298. 11:22The importance of a clearly defined
299. 11:25compelling life vision that pulls you
300. 11:27forward just can't be overstated. If you
301. 11:30want to live the best life you're
302. 11:31capable of living, you've got to have
303. 11:33one. You've got to organize your entire
304. 11:35life around it. You've got to tie
305. 11:37yourself to it. You've got to be guided
306. 11:39by it and draw upon it. Let it pull you
307. 11:43into your future. And let it create
308. 11:45itself through you.
309. 11:48So now let's take a deeper look at
310. 11:51exactly what a life vision is.
311. 11:54The dictionary definition of the word
312. 11:56vision is a mental image of what the
313. 11:59future will or could be like. A mental
314. 12:03image of what the future will or could
315. 12:06be like. And our ability to hold that
316. 12:09mental image in our minds is the
317. 12:11greatest ability that we have as human
318. 12:13beings. I'm telling you to imagine
319. 12:16things that don't exist in the real
320. 12:17world right now, but could exist if we
321. 12:20make them real. That That's like magic.
322. 12:22It's one of the most powerful things
323. 12:23that a human being is capable of doing.
324. 12:26The ability to create a clear vision for
325. 12:29the person that we want to become and
326. 12:31the life that we want to live is a
327. 12:33uniquely human experience. We're the
328. 12:36only ones that do that.
329. 12:38But here's the thing, it's not the
330. 12:40easiest thing in the world to do. And
331. 12:42doing it right entails some pretty deep
332. 12:44work. You know, it's a big mission. It
333. 12:46takes a pretty good deal of insight into
334. 12:48who you really are deep down at your
335. 12:50core and what you really want out of
336. 12:52life. Not just what you say you want or
337. 12:54what you think you might want, but what
338. 12:56you truly want out of life all things
339. 12:58considered including your abilities to
340. 13:01pull things off, your the price that
341. 13:03you're willing to pay to get what you
342. 13:05want out of life. All things considered.
343. 13:07We're going to encounter some fairly
344. 13:09sophisticated philosophical questions
345. 13:11and principles along the way that on the
346. 13:13surface may seem a little bit
347. 13:14paradoxical and somewhat tough to
348. 13:16navigate. But as usual at Lifebook we've
349. 13:20got this process wired. We've been to
350. 13:21this party before and we're going to
351. 13:23take you through step by step. And we're
352. 13:25going to make this fascinating
353. 13:27assignment as easy and fun as we can
354. 13:30possibly make it.
355. 13:32So, on to your exercise for today.
356. 13:35You're going to begin the process of
357. 13:37creating your life vision today. Now,
358. 13:40it's going to take you some time. I've
359. 13:42been working on mine for 20 years, just
360. 13:43so you know.
361. 13:45But, this is going to be fascinating and
362. 13:47super exciting for you to just start the
363. 13:49process. All I want you to do today is
364. 13:52take a look at the 11 categories of your
365. 13:54life that we've examined so far.
366. 13:57All 11 of them, one after another,
367. 14:00and answer two simple questions in each
368. 14:04life category.
369. 14:05Question number one,
370. 14:07what exactly do I want in this area of
371. 14:11my life? What do I want in my health and
372. 14:13fitness? What do I want in my emotional
373. 14:15life? What do I want in my love
374. 14:16relationship, et cetera.
375. 14:18Question number two,
376. 14:20why do I want that? What's that going to
377. 14:23do for me? What's the reason that I want
378. 14:25to make that happen?
379. 14:26Now, it could be just a sentence or two
380. 14:28in each category, or you might find
381. 14:30yourself writing a little bit more in
382. 14:32some categories.
383. 14:34This is going to be profound, and it's
384. 14:35going to be an eye-opening experience
385. 14:37for you that will start the process of
386. 14:40unlocking
387. 14:42your life vision, which is huge.
388. 14:45What exactly do I want in every area of
389. 14:48my life, and why do I want that?
390. 14:52Tomorrow, we're going to explore your
391. 14:54life vision a little bit more deeply,
392. 14:56and we're going to leverage the good
393. 14:57thinking that you're going to be doing
394. 14:59in today's exercise. So, until then,
395. 15:02have a great day, do your exercise at a
396. 15:05really high level, and I'll see you
397. 15:07tomorrow as we continue our exploration
398. 15:10of your life vision.