Smart Women and the Movie Up

A few days ago, our family went to see the movie "Up." We laughed at a lot--especially at how silly we all looked in our 3D glasses! In the movie, the character Ellie was both adventurous and feisty. Ellie had a wild imagination and Carl (her young friend who later became her husband) found her enchanting and fell in love with her. After their marriage, Ellie created a very special "Adventure Book" and inside she had written, "Stuff I'm going to do." This got me thinking about why Smart Women should have their own special adventure books and make plans and set goals around the "stuff they are going to do."

As I reflect on my life and dial it forward to now, I've been fortunate to travel on many adventures and I have a lot of memories to put in "My Adventure Book." There are a lot of photos and memories around the "stuff I'm going to do."

How about you? Do you have an adventure, Big Idea, or goal that you would like to take action on? Do you daydream about doing something different but you aren't sure how to get started or make it happen? In my work with women, they explore and discover what their next adventure is and we work together to create a plan that is clear and easy for them to follow to make it happen. Maybe they want to start a new business. One woman decided to take a 6-month sabbatical and I'm helping her map out valuable time so she uses it wisely.

Here are a few tips to help you make your next adventure a reality:

1. Get it on paper - The first step to make your adventure a reality is to write it down on paper and place it somewhere where you will see it every day. Take the idea out of your head and write it down. Make sure it's written in a positive, clearly defined statement: "I'm going to Hawaii, to the island of Maui, on August 20, 2009. I will learn how to body surf while I'm there." Do you see how powerful that is? Make a clear statement with a deadline attached to it.

2. Create a plan - Grab a pen and a blank sheet of paper. Sit down and write your adventure at the top with the target date. Now begin to make some notes about what you will need to do to make it happen.

3. Tell someone - You have no idea how powerful it is when you actually tell someone else about your planned adventure. Many times, we daydream about ideas and adventures but we never tell anyone. Why? We are afraid--afraid that if it doesn't happen, people will laugh at us or worse, see it as "failure." What's interesting about sharing your adventure or Big Idea with someone else is two things occur: You get more excited about your idea as you share it with someone, which propels you into action. Two, many times the person you share it with may be able to help or offer a resource. Example: Maybe this person knows someone with a condo or time-share in Maui who would like to rent it to you at a great rate.

Just in case you haven't seen the movie, I won't tell you how it ends. I will, however, share one thought: Take some quiet time to think about what you really want in your life. Ask yourself, "What is my next Big Adventure? My next Big Idea?" I invite you to use the tips I've outlined for you. It really will make a difference in your life. And if you've seen the movie, then you will understand, "Cross my heart, I promise."

Anything is possible. Everything is waiting for you.

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