Your future starts now .. (not when you retire)

As I’ve mentioned before, if I could share only one idea, it would be this: we get more of what we focus on.

Another version of this rule, taught on business courses (my MBA) the world over, is: ‘What gets measured gets done.’

So, I want you to take a little time to measure your progress as your new destiny begins to unfold. Keep a 28-day journal. Each day, write down at least three new things you’ve noticed about yourself or your life.

This may be a new behaviour that came naturally to you, or a different way of being in an old, familiar situation. Perhaps you found yourself being more confident at a party or social gathering, or you stood up for yourself at work.

Maybe you found a ‘lucky’ penny in the street, or just realised that without any extra effort on your part, things have been going your way.

You can use an inexpensive notebook or a fancy journal if you prefer. What’s important is you take the time to write down whatever you’ve noticed that is new, different, fun or surprising.

The very act of recording these changes will help to reset the way you perceive the world and amplify the positive effects of everything we’ve done together.

Here are a few important things to remember before we part:

1. It isn’t what you’re born with or what happens to you in life that determines your destiny — it’s the choices that you make along the way.
2. No matter what’s happened to you in the past, you’ll always have choices about how you move forward.
3. Absolutely everyone can be happy.
4. When we live fully in the present, we have more power available to us to do whatever it is we want to do.
5. The best way to predict the future is to create it.

Live your life without regrets

How does all this apply to living a life with no regrets? Well, if we were to state common regrets in terms of their ‘positive’ opposites, here’s what we might wind up with:

1. I want to live a life that makes me happy (not necessarily one that others expect of me).
2. I want to work smart, creatively and effectively (rather than just hard).
3. I want to build wonderful and lasting friendships.
4. I want to be even happier.

The scientific research shows the more clear and precise you are about what you want, then you are significantly more likely to achieve it.

However, a happy life isn’t just about achieving goals. To live a life that’s more fulfilling, it’s important to make sure you’re living according to your values — whether they’re to do with love, achievement, family, health, joy or helping others — every single day.

So, even if you don’t achieve all your goals on an exact schedule, you will be living a life of value, and will be significantly more likely to be heading in the direction that you want. Overall, this will ensure you’re living on your own terms and building your days around what matters to you most.

Scientific studies show that usually 80 per cent of your success will come from 20 per cent of your efforts.