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.
Your Body Is A Temple- Seriously!
One area of my life I have been neglecting is my health. There is a history of both cancer and diabetes in my family. Mix this in with my age (early 40s) and my weight (I currently weight 230 pounds but my 6′2” frame distributes it well 
), I need to take control (and keep control) of my health. Plus, in order to truly enjoy life now and in the distant future, I need to be healthy and in shape. It is like they say: if you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything.
Doing What You Love To Make Money
One thing I have come to realize about myself in the last 15 to 20 years is that I can only work for myself and be happy. I was absolutely miserable working for other people. Regardless of how much I was paid, I would dread going to work each day. It wasn’t because of the work or the people I worked with or where I worked at- it was because I was not working on what I wanted to work on which was my work.
So I’m fortunate now that I can work on my own work and projects. With my wife’s income as a nurse and the income our cleaning business brings in, I’m able to pursue my business ideas and writing. But in order to take my life and my family’s life to the next level and beyond, my work needs to generate different income streams to fund these dreams of mine.
Getting Personal
Probably the biggest area I want to improve on are my personal goals. As far back as I can remember, I’ve always been a dreamer. Some of those dreams have come true, but some haven’t. In my adult life, the majority of the dreams which have come true were because I had a plan to achieve them. The ones I didn’t achieve were largely a result of not having strong enough reasons to achieve them or because I simply believed they were unachievable. While some were, some were not. And that is what I have to change.
I recently wrote an article on the power of belief and how that helped a number of gold medal winners achieve their dreams . Hearing their stories is further evidence on how the power of belief can change your life. I like to believe everyone is a dreamer. But, sadly, some dreamers are just that- dreamers. They, for whatever reason, never pursued their dreams or they tried but gave up. My mom was like this and I saw how it affected her. She settled for a life where she never pursued her dreams, settling for whatever life gave her. That is not a way to live. I want to be included in that group of dreamers who are actually living their dreams.
Money- It’s A Gas
I’ve never been a big fan of money. But I am a huge fan of what money can buy you! While we enjoy a comfortable life right now, we need far more income in order to take our lives to the next level. This refers back to my career when I talked about having multiple income streams to fund these dreams I and my family have.
After reading the highly regarded 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss and countless blogs about people who have implemented his theories and practices, I will be joining them as one of their own. It won’t be easy and it won’t happen overnight, but it will happen!
In addition to these multiple income streams, I also want to pursue other revenue-generating ideas such as real-estate investing. Real estate one of the more stable investment vehicles out there. While we are not interested in flipping houses, we are interested in purchasing rental properties as a steady source of income. But in order to do this, we will need the income which I plan on the multiple income streams to produce.
These Little Things
Like most everyone, I like to buy stuff. But I don’t consider myself materialistic. The things I like to buy, I don’t buy with the intention to impress anyone. I buy them simply because I like them. If you were to look in my office, you would see a book shelves filled with books, magazines, DVDs, video games, and pop culture collectible stuff. This is where the majority of my personal money goes.
That is not to say I don’t want to buy other things. As part of my dream life, I want my wife and I to have our own vehicles. And not just vehicles we can afford but ones we actually want. Additionally, we both want to update our television (our 6 year old 32-incher doesn’t really cut it anymore) as well as our kitchen appliances, for starters.
There’s nothing wrong or selfish about wanting to buy things just because you want to. It’s tough to when there’s not enough money to go around. Which is yet another reason why I have to build those multiple income streams.
To Wrap Things Up
There are five areas of my life I am going to work on and write about: health, professional, personal, financial, and possessions. In my next article, I’ll be going into detail on what my goals are for each area. I hope you decide to stick around and even leave a comment to let me and everyone else know what you think. Thanks!
Photo courtesy of David Reece
