In my previous article,Into The Great Wide Open, I talked about how I was going to chronicle my journey from an ordinary life to an extraordinary life. Not that I’m living a horrible life or anything remotely close to it. But if you are like me, you know there is more to life than “just getting by”. And you probably feel (as I do regarding myself) that you are capable of so much more. But for one reason or the other, you haven’t taken the necessary steps to take your life and yourself to the next level.
So what I will be doing now and in the future here at My Adventure Today is writing about my experiences- good and bad- as I work towards building the future and life I envision for myself and my family. As I mentioned already, I talked about the impetus for doing this in my previous article. Now I’m going to go over those areas of my life I want to make some changes in- some changes which you yourself might be wanting to make.
When the idea to start this blog first planted itself in my head, the intention was to create blog which inspired people to take that exhilarating leap into the great wide open. So my focus was to write articles dealing with goal setting, lifestyle design, productivity, and everything in between. Some of my favorite ones so far include The Formula For Success, How To Successfully Reach Your Goals, and Are You Doing What You Love To Do?.
But those kind of articles only carry so much weight to them. It is one thing to read about the power of belief or how to set goals but seeing those things put into action- that is where the real magic is! This is why I’m going to focus more on talking about my own experiences as I jump into the great wide open.
For the last week and a half, my wife and I have spent a lot of time watching the 2010 Winter Olympics currently going on in Vancouver, BC. While there have been some great competitions, one of the more enjoyable parts of watching has been the interviews and stories done on some of the medal winners and personalities of this year’s Olympics.
Two stories in particular were very inspiring and are great examples of how important belief is in being successful. One story was on Norwegian downhill skier Aksel Lund Svindal who 3 years ago had a horrific skiing accident during a downhill course at the Golden Eagle jump in Beaver Creek, Colorado. As a result, he was hospitalized for weeks recuperating from extensive facial, back, and neck injuries.
While some people after such an accident would call it a career or find it too difficult mentally to compete, he told the interviewer he believed in himself and his abilities and resumed training soon after being released from the hospital.
Last week, he beat out the US champion and favored-winner, Bode Miller, to win Gold for Norway.
Quite the heady question. This is a simple question I’ve been wrestling with for the last couple of years. Granted, it isn’t as easy as it sounds. This is mainly due to not only what it is you love to do but also what your individual situation is. To make matters even harder, you may find what you love to do isn’t something you can do for a living or may end up being something you enjoy but not really love enough to do for a career. But we will leave this problem out of the equation for now.
Back to the question raised by this post, after reaching the age of forty, I have found myself looking forward and backwards on my life. While I have been fortunate to have been able to pursue some interests as a career, I haven’t actively pursued something I actually love to do as a career.
I have always been big on setting goals. To me, how do you accomplish anything of substance in life if you don’t have goals? Needless to say, I’m a big fan of goal setting. I have daily, monthly, and yearly goals for myself and my businesses.
One of the biggest traditions known to modern man is the setting of goals around New Years. I know I’ve been guilty of doing this but that was till it finally dawned on me how silly it was. Since then, I’ve been kind of notorious for my goal-setting practices. Goal setting took me from living with my parents with no job, no money, or college degree to living on my own in a new state with a job and a bachelor’s degree in a matter of three years! It all started with setting some goals for myself.
One of the funniest people in the world (in my opinion) is Ricky Gervais. You may know or recognize him as David Brent from the British version of The Office , or from last year’s Ghost Town where he played a smug, pompous dentist who could see and talk to ghosts. A great movie which you should definitely checkout. Or you may recognize him from various guest appearances on The Daily Show, David Letterman, or from hosting this year’s Golden Globes awards show.
Besides being one of my favourite comedians, Ricky Gervais is also a source of business inspiration for me.
I would venture to say the last decade was a pretty rough one for a number of people- including myself. From the Bush administration to 911 to the financial crisis, many people around the world found themselves facing life-changing situations. I include myself in this group.
While I wasn’t directly affected by the fiasco that was the Bush administration (I’m not saying that to get into an argument- it’s just my opinion) or 911 or any of the other major problems the world faced last decade, I did go through a lot of changes last decade. The ones which I am most happy about would undoubtedly be marrying my wife, seeing the birth of my little boy, and kicking my smoking habit. On the other side of the scale, I lost three close family members to various medical conditions.
Needless to say, I went through a variety of emotions and states last decade. But in the end, I am a much stronger person with goals which have been largely defined by what I went through.
Sometimes you have to go through some rough $&@! to realize what your goals are along with evaluating (or revaluating, for some) where your life is and where you want it to be. Because of what I went through- good and bad- I not only realize what I want out of life but I also know I want to help others do the same. Which is why I started My Adventure Today.
My name is Wesley Craig Green and I'm an entrepreneur, writer, and dreamer.
If you are interested in lifestyle design, personal development, taking control of your life, and building your own personal empire- then this is the blog for you!
@PatFlynn I'm reading The Magic Of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz. Should be able to find it on Amazon. Great, inspiring read so far.8:08 PM - Mar 3, 2010
Identifying Areas Of Your Life To Change- http://ow.ly/1dQPl8:06 PM - Mar 3, 2010
RT @remarkablogger: 3 Deadly Ninja Comment Tricks for Maximum Blog Traffic http://bit.ly/dvUJ3v (pls RT) - Great tips! Thanks for sharing.8:06 PM - Mar 3, 2010
Into The Great Wide Open - http://ow.ly/1cY4Y10:10 PM - Mar 1, 2010
I have to admit, following only a handful of people on Twitter makes Twitter funner and more enjoyable.3:38 PM - Mar 1, 2010
In my previous article,Into The Great Wide Open, I talked about how I was going to chronicle my journey from an ordinary life to an extraordinary life. Not that I’m living a horrible life or anything remotely close to it. But if you are like me, you know there is more to life than “just getting by”. And you probably feel (as I do regarding myself) that you are capable of so much more. But for one reason or the other, you haven’t taken the necessary steps to take your life and yourself to the next level.
