When it comes to living your life the way you believe you were meant to live you need to know what values you base your decision-making on. How can you make good decisions if you do not know why you are making them? If you have goals that are thought through and you know these goals are at your deepest core value, how do you know that to be true if you do not write out your values so you can see them? Here is a good way to define your values.

1. What are you reading? Look at the keywords in the books you read or the tapes you listen to. While you are reading or listening take notes, get a feel for the material. This will help you pick out the value words.

2. What are the subjects that drive you to succeed? What gets your motor running? At one point in my life this value was food. I put food right up with family on my value system and at 270 pounds it showed. Write these items down also.

3. After you have gotten a broad spectrum of what you think you values are write every one of them on a single sheet of paper. Find 12 values that you feel are your top ones and write them on a separate sheet. Fold that piece of paper up and leave it alone for at least one day.

4. When you come back to the 12 values sheet you need to read it, understand it, make a change if you need to. Once these values are in your mind take the three top values and put them on a separate sheet of paper. These will be your guiding values. This may sound easy but it is not, if you really want to know what your values really are.

After you have completed this exercise try matching values to goals. If there are goals you have not been reaching maybe they do not line up with what you really believe. Maybe you will see a trend and be able to set new goals that do line up with your values. Either way knowing what you truly value will help you in your life’s walk.

Each of us is created with certain gifts that we are to use in the time we are here on earth. What I would like for you to see is that no matter who you are, what you put into life is exactly what you get out.

Jesus tells us that a good tree bears good fruit, and a bad tree gives bad fruit. Beyond that your attitude will determine how many friends you have and your level of relationships with these people. Your attitude at work will depend on whether you are advanced at work or whether you work at all. Your attitude toward learning will determine whether you spend time learning or not.

We are very fortunate in America to live in a free society. We can chose to take advantage of the freedom we have and make a life that we were designed to live in the job we were designed to do. Or we can sit on the sidelines and complain about the lot we were cast and become miserable old curmudgeon who have no true friends and die mostly alone.

If you knew you would die on a certain day at a certain time would you choose to live a miserable unfulfilled life or one where you choose to use the talents you were given by God and live a joyful life doing what you were designed to do.

Here is some news, you are going to die someday so why not use the gifts God gave you and make something of what you are.

If you let life happen to you, you will probably lose. Sitting around and waiting to hit the lottery is not a long-term goal. You have to start paying attention to the calling that is in your heart, start setting goals, and start reading books to help you see beyond tomorrow.   When you realize you control your future and you start making better choices; then you will start to see changes in your life that you never thought would happen.

Here is the stuff you do not hear in goal-setting seminars. There will be times when you think you have failed. These time of doubt come into every persons life. Unless you quit, you have not failed. Mistakes and setbacks happen but they are not failures and you need to see them for what they are, setbacks. If you keep going you will see success.

One of the best times for me to get things done is when I am alone on a personal retreat.  I usually take one day every three to four months and go away to think, dream, plan, and write.  I get a hotel room either here in Jacksonville, or close by so I do not have the stress of driving far.  This time away helps me get out of my familiar surroundings and open up my mind for new ideas.

So how do you do this?

1. Plan ahead.  Know where you are going.  Like I said I go on short trips for my get aways.   If you are going somewhere unfamiliar then make sure you have driving directions before you leave.  Get your hotel reservations made in advance.  I use La Quinta Inn’s and no I am not getting paid to write this.  From my experience La Quinta has some of the lowest rates and best hotels at least around here.  $45 per night a lot of time.

2. Set your agenda.  What do you want to get done?  By asking yourself this question and writing out what you want to do you will get more done than if you just show up.  My writing agenda looks like this.

• Arrive and relax – first thirty minutes.
• research – thirty minutes to one hour
• break 15 minute
• write thirty minutes to one hour
• supper and unwind one to two hours
• read or listen to something motivational 30 minutes (this usually spurs and idea or two)
• write thirty minutes to one hour or until tired.  ( I am a night person so I do more at night.  If you are a morning person get rest now and start writing more in the morning)

3. Don’t turn on the TV.  I have turned the TV around before if I thought I was going to try to watch it.  If nothing else unplug it so you are not tempted.  If you turn it on you will get nothing done.

4. Take what you want to drink with you. This may sound simple or just to picky, but if you take bottled water or soda with you will not have to leave the room to go looking for a vending machine if you get thirsty in the middle of what you are doing.  I even take snacks and sometimes sandwich stuff so I can stay secluded as long as I want. Besides, it will save you some money.

5.  Don’t go down rabbit holes. By this I mean don’t follow every link on the internet when you are researching.  I can waste a couple of good hours just following links to every affiliate program squeeze page around.  Just make a conscious effort to stay on topic and not to get lost looking for the next big thing.

While this is an easy list, it is also one that many of you know you have left off one of these things and wasted and entire evening or lost your train of thought never to get back that one good idea.  Plan ahead, stay focused, and accomplish everything you need to.