The first time I considered quitting my job and thinking, “there must be more to life than working the monotonous 9-5 and waiting for my 2 week vacation a year,” I reached an “a-ha” moment.

I have to give credit where credit is due of course.  This moment I would owe to the first life/business coach I ever hired.  She came in a faux hawk hair-wearing, potty mouth, non-bullshitter French woman.  Her name was Isabelle Mercier a.k.a. the woman who got my ass into gear.  It was from her that I started to give myself permission to dream about my ideal life and actually see how it was possible.

I had many dreams of the perfect life for myself.  But I knew I needed someone to kick my ass into gear and help me laser-focus on what I needed to do to get there.

As gung-ho as I was to set my cubicle on fire and escape the confines of the conventional life, I was in a state where I wasn’t too sure about my talents, and how I was ever going to pay my bills while I ventured into entrepreneurship.  Heck, I didn’t even know what type of business I was meant to have!  I needed a swift kick towards the right direction, and fast.

Working with Isabelle for the first month or so wasn’t only about what business I wanted to have.  She motivated me to think about my ideal life, into the small details of how my schedule looks like, where would I be working from, who would I want to help, and how would I do it MY way.  Not copying others, not conforming to what others may think they want from me, but the Lydia-style that was authentically mine.

I dug deep and talked to her a lot about what I wanted to experience from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed.  As I continued to work on my ideal life and career, I got more excited.  A little scared at times, because holy crap, it was actually possible!  This can actually happen when I actually broke down the steps of what I needed to do, and how I was going to do it, in less time than I thought I would need.

It’s time to start dreaming, and crafting up your ideal life as if you already have it.

Let me wet your whistle with the following questions to spring up some ideas when you write about your ideal life that you desire:

• What is your ideal income?  How much do you want to be making per month?  Per year?
• Where are you working from?  Are you on a laptop by the beach?  Half of a home base in your home country and the other half of the year somewhere tropical?  Describe the little details like the weather and the community.
• How many vacations/holidays are you taking each year?  Are you taking it monthly or a large amount of time at once?  What do you prefer?
• How are you making the most out of your day for yourself?  Are you doing yoga in the afternoon to break up the day?  Going for a run for 2 hours each day?
• What is your schedule like?  Are you a morning or night person?  Do you work 4 hours a day, 5 days per week?  Maybe 7 hours per day, 3 days per week?
• What are your ideal clients like?  What is their personality like?  How do you feel when you are helping people like them?
• Do you see yourself doing other projects like retreats, speaking functions, networking, or mentoring?  How else can you share your gift with others so that you truly embody what you are passionate about?
• If you are mixing business with travelling, are you travelling with anyone?  Your kids and/or significant other?  Can you see them exploring the world with you?
• Is your business virtual or face-to-face?  Would you like to do both?  Which one makes you happier?
• Are you giving back to the world with the money you earn?  Is there a charity or a non-profit you really love and would love to share parts of your profits with them?  How does it feel to be depended on for something bigger than yourself?
• What does your life look like at the end of the year?
• What do people think when they think of you and your work?  What words are they using to describe you and your passions?

Use those questions to describe your ideal lifestyle business, and write a page worth of content.  Keep writing more if you like!

Get creative, dare to dream, and write as if you could do all these things without fear.  If financial issues or fears were not there, what do your dreams look like?

I find that if I do this exercise in a quiet place, where I feel the most comfortable, my head is filled with ideas.  I put on some music, sit in a spot where I can lounge, and even sift through travel magazines to get photos of amazing spots I would like to work from.

Now it’s your turn.

Get a blank pad of paper, block off an hour or more of your time, and get your ideas flowing.  Don’t think about how you’re going to do it, just write.  You deserve a blissful life on your own terms, so you better get used to asking for it.

After you’ve done this, I want you to share with me by commenting below about your experience.  I want to hear your version of your ideal life, and how you felt when you actually dug deep into your heart to write about it.

August 2014 Issue