In the past, the more self-improvement and personal development books I read, the more overwhelmed I tended to get about the level of work required to make any meaningful change in my life. It all sounded great while I was in the middle of reading the theory, but without a clear, measurable system to follow, the deeply grooved tracks of my life were hard to escape. The tendency then was to simply pay lip service to inspirational ideas and carry on as before.
I made lists from time to time, but generally just “improvised”, focusing on whatever situation presented itself to me, being more of an opportunist than a strategist. Having made it to 37, nothing was disastrous, but if you asked me “what have you done recently that you are really proud of?”, I would probably struggle to come up with a meaningful response. The pressure was building towards some personal changes that needed to be made.
The creation of the Purpose Planner has really been my journey towards becoming someone that I can be proud of first and foremost. Having a clear idea about what I want, creating perspective around what is a good use of my time, distilling it down to simple actions and then building those actions into my schedule. It’s not complicated but it does involve respecting a process. It is humbling and exciting to be learning more and doing more and it is amazing the clarity and growth I have achieved in a relatively short space of time. Setting up Roterunner, becoming an entrepreneur and a coach, collaborating with exciting people and projects, finding more time for my family and friends, while still working within a corporate framework is more than I could have imagined 2 years ago.
It has all been done with the Purpose Planner by my side, my written voice guiding me along and being my quiet accountability partner and GPS.
