Are You the Pilot or Passenger of Your Life?

At the end of his life, when finishing his book The Last Lecture (which was his "message in a bottle" of life-lessons he wanted to pass on to his kids), Randy asked himself what he knew for sure and it was this:

"We cannot change the cards we are dealt; just how we play the hand. Are you spending your time on the right things? Because time is all you have."

I used to host Review-Preview salons at the National Press Club. I believe they're one of the best ways to "connect and reflect" and make sure we're playing our cards "right" and spending our time on the "right things." We'd go around the table, discuss who and what impacted us the past year and share our hopes for the new year.

A guest came up to me after the first gathering and said, “Sam, this was like doing a verbal vision board. I’ve done vision boards in the past and it’s uncanny how many of the things I put on my board came true. I don't know why I don't do them more often."

Exactly. So often, years blend and blur into the next. Time races by and it feels we'll never get "caught up." Well, as Michael Altschuler says, "The bad news is, time flies. The good news is, you're the pilot."

One way to get "caught up" is to answer these 10-10 questions at a Review-Preview with friends, family and employees. Taking the time to answer these questions is a way to honor the people, places and experiences that were time well spent - and a way to "pilot" the upcoming year to plan how you're going to spend your time on the right things.

This is a way to practice ADVANCE GRATITUDE. By projecting what we'd love to take place and then taking responsibility for facilitating that, we create a life we love.

Review of the past year:

1. What is a favorite place I discovered, explored or spent time in?

2. Who is someone who really impacted me? How so?

3. How did I change? What new/different beliefs and behaviors did I adopt?

4. What's a meaningful achievement or skill I acquired that I’m proud of?

5. What happened that was unexpected or surprising? How did it affect me?

6. What will I remember about my health from this year – and why?

7. What was my biggest challenge or lesson I learned the hard way? 

8. What did I NOT find time for? 

9. What is the best book I read or movie/TV program I saw?

10. What experience and/or person am I most grateful for? Why?

PLEASE NOTE: When previewing the coming year, you might want to state your intentions in the past as opposed to the future tense. Why? Your subconscious believes what you tell it.  Experts say this is one of the reasons New Years Resolutions rarely work. Stating goals in the future tense, (i.e., as “I’m going to … “ or “I will …”) comes across as wishful thinking. It's more effective to express what you want as if you've already experienced it, (i.e., “I loved meeting … “ or “It was so satisfying achieving that ...”) because that's perceived as a statement of truth which helps turn your wishes into a successful reality.

Preview of the coming year:

1. A particularly satisfying achievement this past year was …

2. A new place I thoroughly enjoyed discovering and exploring was …

3. I am so glad I got to meet and spend time with _____ because …

4. It was so satisfying to acquire this skill and/or get back into this hobby …

5. I am grateful for doing this spiritual practice ____. It made every day more …

6. I will always be glad I took better care of my body and health by …

7. I finally made time for …

8. One way I contributed and gave back was to …

9. Something that really added joy to my life and contributed to my well-bring was ….

10. One of the most important beliefs or behaviors I changed was to …

- - -

Sam Horn, Intrigue Expert,3 time TEDx speaker, has the best of all worlds doing work she loves' speaking for such clients as National Geographic, Boeing, Cisco, Capital One, Intel; writing books and blogs that add value; and helping consulting clients create and craft one-of-a-kind projects that scale their impact – for good.