I was at a workshop last week and we spent a lot of time discussing our core self and the authentic life that we wanted to live. Here was a definition we came up with for living an authentic life.

“Authenticity is the courage to live life on your own terms, and the actions that must occur to achieve that dream”

We speak so much (including myself) about goal-setting and achieving our goals. But I think sometimes we forget the order of things. The goals are the means to the end, not the end in themselves. The end game is to live the life we dream of, whatever that might be and however that looks. It will be different for every person. And in fact I would go one step further than that. Achieving our goals – living our dream life – even that can become a bit mechanical and a drudgery or meaningless unless it is attached to a higher purpose.

But back to living an authentic life and living the life we dream. How many people do you know living it ?

Challenge – To construct your ideal life it is useful to consider your ideal average day. What is your ideal average day ? Write it down …

Here’s part of mine to get you started …

I get up early without feeling tired. Morning is the best part of the day. I go for a jog or walk along the beach. I come back and have breakfast and head off to work. I spend a few hours at my desk, organising, sending emails, taking and making phonecalls, checking the passive income that is coming into my account. I have a couple of meetings with like-minded people who inspire me and are doing great things in their worlds and making a difference. I have lunch with friends or colleagues or I go to the gym. The afternoon differs. It may be coaching. It may be meetings. It may be exercise. It may be doing something else fun. It may be planning the next adventure or project. I have the freedom to do this and no financial pressure. I get home from work in good time so I have time for my wife and family. We share. We laugh. We have fun. We couldn’t think of anywhere else to be ….