If you have already completed the “Find Your Focus” course, you will have already done a shorter version of this exercise.  You can refer back to that one if you like, and it will be worth putting in the extra time to get an even richer expression of your ideal life.

Using the course workbook, take a pen and write the date exactly 5 years from now at the top of the Unit 1 page.  To make it realistic, use this calendar generator to even put the day on it.  A tip - if you're doing this on a weekend, date it for a Monday, you want to be creating your perfect weekday. It’s best to read through the instructions fully, and then settle yourself down, and give yourself the treat of really experiencing your perfect day, writing it down as you go.  If today is a warm day, maybe you’d even like to go sit in the sun somewhere, especially if that's where you are in your perfect day!

Note that I said, “take a pen” – that is because it is important that you actually write down your vision of your perfect day long-hand, on paper, in your own handwriting.  This makes it so much more personal than typing it on some soulless screen. The same goes for all of the writing exercises in this entire course.

Your perfect day

This exercise is quite a common one in coaching, though I should acknowledge that I first came across it as preparation work for Marcus De Maria's "Wealth Workout" weekend, and I found it very effective indeed.

Experience

As you create your perfect day, put yourself in the picture, and write it as if it is actually happening, right now, to you.  What do you see, hear, touch, smell ... taste, that's always a good one, is it cordon bleu cookery, smoked salmon with your scrambled eggs for breakfast?

What sensations are you experiencing - maybe the crisp taste of champagne and the fizz of the bubbles on your tongue?  Or the warm sun on your face, the cool water of the pool all around you.

Throughout, as you create your day, keep in mind the five ‘modalities’ of physical experience:

• Visual (seeing)
• Auditory (hearing)
• Kinesthetic (feeling, touching)
• Olfactory (smelling)
• Gustatory (tasting)

Emotions

And how are you feeling - what are the emotions that you're experiencing?  Pride in your achievements, or maybe in your family?  Glee, as you look at your lovely house, or your collection of cars?  Simple contentment for a life well lived?

Whatever your emotions, write them down at each stage of the day - excitement at breakfast, security at lunch, sheer indulgence over dinner ... or maybe later?  Really feel what your ideal life is like, how it feels to be you, right now.

Stages through the day

As you create your perfect day, step through the day, starting with the moment you wake up in the morning, then breakfast.  I wonder what you your morning activities are?  Who is with you for your delicious lunch, your delightful afternoon, your sumptuous evening?  And what are the thoughts you have of tomorrow as you prepare for sleep?

• Rise AM
• Breakfast
• Morning
• Lunch
• Afternoon
• Evening
• Thoughts of tomorrow

Your Home

What does your home look like? How big is it, how many bedrooms and bathrooms?  Where is it located, is it in the city, or out in the country?  Come to that, what country is it in?  Is it the only home you own?  Which home are you spending this perfect day in?

What re the facilities of your perfect home?  How big is the garden, what style is it?  Does it have a swimming pool?  Is it outdoors, or indoors?  Or both?  What sports facilities does it have?  Maybe a private gym?  A billiard room?  A tennis court?  Even your own polo ground, maybe?  (One of the guys in my network has a photo of himself playing polo as his profile pic).  Does your home have a garage, or perhaps stables?  How big?  What's the layout?  Did you buy it ready built, or was it designed personally for you and your family.

How many cars are there?  Or boats maybe?  What marque are they? (In your perfect life, you don't buy just 'makes' of car, do you!)  What colours?  How are they trimmed, what's the upholstery?  Who cleans them for you?  Who drives them for you?

Who helps you to run your gorgeous home?  Do you have a cleaner?  A cook?  A gardener?  How about a chauffeur?  Maybe even a butler?

What sort of equipment do you have around the home?  TV, Hifi, computers?  All fully networked all around the house?  You can have your own private cinema if you like.

Company

And who do you spend your day with - family?  Friends?  Trusted colleagues?  What family do you have?  How wonderful is your spouse?  How well-groomed, and attentive?  Any children or grandchildren?  How old are they, what do they love?

Activities

How do you spend your time?  Do you still work?  Because you love your work, don't you?  In this perfect day in your perfect life.  And your leisure activities - theatre, dining, sports, what fills your day with joy and contentment?

Write it all down

Write it all down now, starting from the moment you wake up, and run through the day, right up until the moment you settle down to sleep.  Don’t spare any detail – the more vibrant your picture of your ideal world, the more effective it will be in starting your quest for your focus.

One final thing – if you’ve done a similar exercise sometime before, do it again!  You need to have it fresh in your mind as we move on to tomorrow’s tasks.  Re-energise your vision by enjoying living it all over again.

Have fun with this, and I'll see in the next unit!