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1-Page Summary of Drift

Overview

One day, Michael Hyatt was hiking in the Colorado Rockies when he got lost. Fortunately, he had a GPS app on his phone that helped him find his way back to where he needed to be. Wouldn’t it be great if we could have something like that for our lives? A life plan is an application that helps you chart your course towards success and happiness by helping you set goals based on what’s important to you.

Both authors benefitted from creating a life plan and want to help others do the same. In Living Forward, they provide everything you need to create your own vision and get on track toward it. You will discover what is truly possible for yourself as well as opportunities to change your story. Don’t worry—you have control over this process!

Understand Your Need

Harkavy lives on the Oregon coast, where he enjoys surfing and going to the beach. He was out one day when his friend got caught in a riptide and was swept out to sea. Harkavy paddled out into the water and helped him change course so that they could get back to shore safely. Life is like this experience: You can find yourself far from where you want to be if you give up or are dragged off course by life’s currents (like a riptide).

Drifting can happen in a number of ways. You might not be aware that you’re drifting, or you may have been distracted by something else and drifted away from your original path. It could also occur when you are overwhelmed with too much to do. Drifting has negative consequences, such as confusion and loss of perspective, but there is an answer: life planning. Life planning helps people envision their future and move toward it.

People who write down their goals and priorities are more successful. A life plan is a document that lists what you want to accomplish in your life, how you want to be remembered when you die, and the steps needed for success. It helps people achieve clarity about what’s important in their lives. The format of a life plan includes three questions: “How do I want to be remembered?” How would friends and family like to remember me? What will my legacy be? “What matters most?” You probably know what’s important in your life — your spouse, children, or boss — but only you can decide what really matters most. “How can I get from here to where I want to be?” If you’re going to change anything about yourself or your life situation, it’s helpful if you understand where things stand now so that you’ll know exactly how much work there is left before reaching your goal.

Having a plan helps you stay balanced in your life. It also gives you an idea of how to spend your time, so that you don’t have too much on your plate at once. If you’re working towards a goal, it’s easier to say no if something else comes up that will distract from the task at hand.

Create Your Plan

After visiting a dying friend, the author saw a beautiful sunset. He realized that life is like sunrise and sunset: The setting goes along with the rising, and what matters is what happens inbetween. What will happen between your “sunrise” and “sunset”? What will your legacy be?

When planning your life, it’s important to imagine the end. Think about how you want to be remembered and what others would say about you. Then write two eulogies for yourself: one from today, and another from a future in which you have accomplished everything that you hope to accomplish. What is the difference between the two? How can you start shaping your legacy now?

To shape our lives well, we must examine our priorities. What’s most important to us? Start by listing the various areas of your life. These include work, hobbies, finances, marriage and family, social relationships (friends), spirituality (religion), physical health and fitness (exercise), intellectual pursuits such as reading or learning a new language and so on. Your list may vary depending upon what you consider most important in your life right now. Once you have identified all these areas of importance to you then evaluate how each area is faring for you today—are they growing or declining? Are there any that are not doing well at all? Are some more important than others to you right now? Depending upon your answers to these questions will determine what needs attention first when making changes in your life toward achieving greater balance between all aspects of it.