Will you choose to live the life of your dreams?

Maybe some of you remember the fascinating study that came out a few years ago from Bronnie Ware, a nurse in a terminal palliative care unit. She polled her patients in their last days asking them what their regrets were.

The number-one regret? That people did not pursue their dreams.

Kind of sobering, right?

And here we are. It’s the season of those dreaded words: fourth quarter. Summer’s over. Who’s got time for any more fun? And screw pursuing dreams, right? We have one last push to get everything done before the end of the year.

Enter stress and negative voices. “There’s not enough time.” “I can’t do it all.” “How will I ever get there?” And so many of us begin to push our to-dos into the next year.

This fall, I want you to do something out of the ordinary. Instead of waiting until January for your big goals, why not beat the rush, subvert the stereotype, kill the cliche, and start NOW?

Here’s something out of the ordinary for me: I upped my exercise routine and signed up for a new type of “bootcamp-esque” class that I knew would leave me sore for days. I could have “coasted” out the year and waited to try a new workout in January. But I decided to go for it. How to describe?

Forty-five minutes of pure, non-stop huffing, puffing, panting and sweating. Three letters just keep coming to mind: O-M-G. I have never pushed that hard in my life! I thought I had some idea of it. I did not.

Push Yourself Proud … and Maybe Even Have Fun

As I think about what brings me the greatest satisfaction at the end of the year, it’s pushing! Then, it’s being done pushing, and satisfied with my efforts. One goes with the other; they are inextricably linked. I am writing to you today to urge you to do one final push for your year. You really did think up some potent dreams at the beginning of 2017, and chances are some of them are still not fulfilled. What are you going to yell in your own ear right now in the homestretch?

If you want to sound like Lissa (the instructor I had this morning), you’d say: You can do this. Earn your break. Just 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 … more. You are a rockstar! But if you don’t talk to yourself like that, or hire an awesome professional to do so, then the voice in your head will likely say something like this instead:

• There’s no time..
• I’m too busy.
• Why do I have to do everything.
• Nothing gets done at this time of year.
• It’s too late.

… or you spiritual people, watch out for these:

• It must not have been meant to be.
• The timing wasn’t right.
• If it was meant to be it would have happened.
• I’m just going to make peace and be grateful for what I do have.

While some of those are lovely sentiments, they can also be code for it’s time to sell-out. But what words inspired me this morning? Don’t stop before the finish line.

Don’t stop impressing the heck out of yourself about what you can accomplish in a single day, especially these last months of the year. Endeavor to make yourself proud.

I was done with my workout in 45 minutes, and my brain function returned a short while later. I was lit up for the rest of the day. Why was my day so great?

Because I started the day doing something that impressed me — something out of my comfort zone. Could I have done it alone? Doubtful. There are ingredients to having and sustaining an awesome life and to ending the year with a bang. I made a short list of suggestions between now and the end of the year that you can use to do the same. It goes as follows:

Top 5 Things to Accomplish Before Jan. 1

1. Sweat your ass off.
2. Let someone push you beyond where you’d normally stop.
3. Write down a long list of everything you accomplished this year and read it out loud to someone; be proud!
4. Write down your list of things you failed at this year and write anything you need to say about it to put it truly behind you. Read that out loud to someone.
5. Take another look at your list of “failures.” Can you take steps toward those goals in these last few months of the year?
6. Call your coach for a butt-whoopin’ (or hire a coach).
7. On New Year’s Eve, cross out what you did accomplish on that list and leave whatever you didn’t. Now, burn it.

As you’re dreaming, thinking of the ways you’ll be different and better than before, remember that none of it happens without a PUSH in the right direction. What has motivated you then? What motivates you now? Each day offers an incredible chance to press “restart” on your life – on new dreams and new opportunities for growth. It might not come to fruition if you don’t have an action plan in place.

And that’s where we come in. At HG we teach a simple yet proven technique to get yourself in action towards the things you really want for yourself: Mastering Time. We teach you how to get clear on your dreams, create a time management plan, make promises around time … and get results.

Just as a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, consider taking that step this week and pushing yourself across the finish line of 2017 in a powerful way. Go for the gold, do something that scares you, and make yourself proud in some “unlike-you” kind of way. End your year on a high note. You’ll be sending a message to the future you in 2018: you’re ready for what’s next.

Cheering you on, go go go!

Love,
Laurie

P.S. RSVP today for my upcoming free tele-talk, Mastering Time, on Thursday Sept 28! Time management is one of my very favorite topics to coach and I definitely have a few tricks up my sleeve that I can share with you.