Writing your List
"Without leaps of imagination, or
dreaming, we lose the excitement of
possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form
of planning."
— Gloria Steinem
There is nothing like a birthday to get you
thinking about your future. What do I want
my life to look like from this moment on? If
I could do what I want with the rest of my
life, what would that be? What would a
perfect day look like?
In the last few weeks, I’ve had three friends
tell me that they have met the man/woman of
their dreams. Each of these friends wrote
down exactly what they wanted in a partner
several months before they met the ideal
mate. They went into detail, listing all the
characteristics - physical, mental, emotional
- that
made up their perfect spouse. I had dinner
with one of my friends and his wife last week
and he explained that she fit his list almost
perfectly. It made me start thinking about
the times I have gotten exactly what I’ve
written down.
Shortly before I moved back to San Antonio, I
wrote a list of all the features I wanted in
a house. I listed things like stone
exterior, fireplace, three bedrooms, and an
office. I added items like a covered porch
and a climbing tree (my son was eight at the
time). I shared the list with no one. My
father hooked me up with a real estate agent
who searched Leon Valley (the area I grew up
in and wanted to return to) for a
three-bedroom, two bath house. That was all
the agent knew about my requirements. I visited
one weekend and she showed me one house. It
was as if she had seen the list and ruled out
anything that didn’t meet the qualifications.
That house was exactly what I wanted and was
in a great neighborhood with plenty of kids
my son’s age. It even had a tree in the
backyard suitable for climbing.
Writing it Down
I’ve never doubted that knowing what you want
and writing it down is powerful. When I
give seminars, I urge people to write
down their goals in present tense. (“I have
$100,000 in my savings account.” “I am
healthy and at my ideal weight.”) I have been
reminded that it helps to write down
what you want in detail – whether it’s a
house, a partner, or an ideal day.
My Big Dream
Next month, one of my long-held dreams is
coming true. I’m leaving on a two week trip
to Europe. My friend Yvonne
and I are flying to Venice, then boarding
a cruise ship and visiting Croatia, Turkey,
and Greece. We return to Venice and have six
days to explore Italy before we take off from
Rome to head back. If you’ve been to any of
these places, let me know what I need to see,
where I need to stay, what I need to look out
for, what I need to take with me. (I don’t
need advice on cameras – I’m taking my own
photographer.) This trip is one of the
dreams I wrote down approximately two years
ago.
Creating Your List
Give yourself the time this month to write
down what your perfect day looks like. Add
to that a list of exactly what you want in
your life - maybe the characteristics of a
partner, the design of your dream home, the
vacation you've always wanted to take, the
perfect job.
What do you really want to do? What have you
written down? Maybe it’s time to write those
desires down and take one small step toward
making them happen. Let me know what you
have on YOUR list.
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