Chances are that you go to work, come home, eat a little unhealthy food, watch four or five hours of television, go to bed, don’t sleep well and then get up the next day only to do it all over again. You spend more money than you earn, exercise less than you should and complain that there just isn’t enough time to get it all done. And you wonder why your life is the way it is.
Your life is the way it is because that’s exactly how you want it to be!
“How can you say that? I want to be happy, healthy and rich.”
That is a lie. If you really wanted those things, you would have those things.
The truth is that you want those things, but you just don’t want them enough to do what it takes to get them. You aren’t willing to sacrifice your current lifestyle in order to get what you want so you end up living with what you’ve got.
Do you have a written plan for every area of your life? Most people spend more time planning their day off than they do planning the rest of their lives.
What kind of house do you want to live in? What kind of car do you want to drive, how would you like to dress, what kind of restaurants do you want to eat at and where would you like to vacation? Do you know what you want your blood pressure to be and how much you want to weigh? How much money do you want to have in the bank for savings and retirement? Do you even have a plan for your retirement or your kid’s college or a medical emergency? My bet is you don’t have any of these things written down.
It is likely that these things are afterthoughts to you – things that happen after you have spent all of your money and watched your television shows – they are not your priorities.
Your time and money always follow your priorities. Look at how people spend their time and money and you always know what is important to them.
Do this: Get a sheet of paper and write down exactly what you want your life to look like. Be detailed. Then focus on these things every day. Add to the list when you think of something. This is not goal setting – this is priority setting. Take action on your priorities, talk about your priorities and spend your money and your time on your priorities. Then you really can be happy, healthy and rich.
Ouch! Of course, you are right. (Even my Larry Winget Bobblehead is nodding in agreement!) I don’t have any of my life priorities written down. I keep an ad hoc “Just do this stuff” list on my fridge (Pack a healthy lunch; walk a mile; make the bed) but it seems a bit “short term”. I will start my detailed plan tonight! Great post! Thanks!
Love the blog and your voice message! Cool and Groovy.
Hugs, from Al’s wife
Right on Larry. Like Jim Rohn says, “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they may have planned for you? Not much.”
This is absolutely 100% true. My husband and I have done this for over 20 years and every single goal/priority we listed has been met. It’s been our roadmap. You’ve got to know the big picture of where you want to be; without it you’re just a wanderer.
Thanks for telling it like it is, Larry!
You’re full of it Larry! Full of the good things people need to be reminded of day by day. We should all dare to be Great!
“A life without action is a life without purpose.”
Thanks, Rodney Lynn Lane http://www.LynnLane.net
http://www.rllane.blogspot.com
100% Agree. So far, anything that I have planned to achieve has happened. They are not impossible, but they do require lots of hard work to get there. Thanks for the posting to refresh my memory of what I should do. I have been lazy.
Amen! I have been banging my head against the wall with my parents for three years trying to get them to adjust their budget or at least develop one! My dad is three years from retirement but they have no money in the bank despite the three jobs between them and with car payments they can’t afford, eating out all the time, borrowing money from everyone but not being able to pay anyone back, my mom buying clothes and Kincaid paintings, getting her nails done, taking vacations while they barely manage not to lose the house from month to month I’m at my wit’s end! I’m a big fan of Big Spender and between the common sense information on the show and our own experience with budgetting I’ve tried to relay advice whenever I get that tearful phone call but I just get brushed off because I’m the kid (I’m 30 btw) and asked for a handout which we stopped giving months ago. It all boils down to the fact they know what the problem is, are miserable in their current lifestyle and yet insist on continuing it:(
I have a minimum wage lifestyle and practically live on mac and cheese because that’s practically all I can afford. Not much sacrificing I can do on that income. I don’t have a car or even a television. (No video games or electronic toys other than my cheap used PC with a dialup connection.) My idea of eating out is two double cheeseburgers at McDonald’s (with nothing to drink) when I have to work a double shift because my relief didn’t show up.
How do you get ahead when your energy is consumed in subsistence?