Have You Found the Starting Point on Your Journey to The Writer’s Life?
By Ted Capshaw

I love helping people turn their dreams into reality. For me, there’s nothing more rewarding than to see someone accomplish what they’ve set out to do. You could say it’s become my “truth” in life.

But in my 20-plus years of working with people from all walks of life and experience from Ivy League College-educated to those just starting out in their careers, there’s one giant misstep everyone makes. They jump into action without doing the first and most crucial step. And that is figuring out where they are now.

You see, without knowing where you are now in life, you can’t truly assess what you need to do to get to where you want to go or be. Let’s say your dream is to become a well-paid writer, but have you taken the time to figure out how you are going to make this life-changing goal become a reality?

Or let me ask it this way: If you were going to map out a road trip across the states, you would not simply pick your destinations without a starting point. You couldn’t. You would get lost. Or you’d wind up in some place that took way too long to get to, or a place you absolutely hated.

All that time wasted just to wind up in a destination that made you unhappy. If this sounds familiar, you are not alone.

Unfortunately, many people I work with have done this very thing. They have been wasting a ton of time, mental energy, and frankly, money going down a path that doesn’t get them where they want to be in life.

They are doing things like …

Reading a different book every week looking for “the answer.”

Scanning the Want Ads for a new job.

Trying new hobbies looking for fulfillment.

Spending money on trips they think are going to create some sort of calm or peace in their life.

Spending money on meaningless “stuff.”

Spending time with people who are “life suckers” not “energy givers.”

And lastly, but certainly not completing the full list, thinking to themselves, “If I only had ___________.”

The good news is, all of this can be avoided. When I work with people who are doing all of these things that hold them back from achieving their goals, the first thing I do is guide them to what I call their “truth.” Essentially, what I draw from them is the truth of their current life.

It is something many of us don’t really know because we’re too busy simply chasing things that don’t make us truly happy.

Now, you may recognize that you’re not happy in your life, but the problem is you don’t know why. That’s because you haven’t taken the time to break down all the specific things that make you unhappy … or happy.

It’s really a matter of taking an audit of where you are now in life so you can make a plan to get to where you want to be … or your end goal. How do you audit your life in a meaningful way?

Do this short three-part exercise

It starts by asking and answering a set of specific questions that let you zero in on what matters most. We’ll focus on the big three areas: Career, personal, and finance. I’ll break each down into specific questions that will help you begin to make big changes.

First, let’s talk about your career …

Start by asking yourself what parts of your job give you joy and which suck the energy right out of you? What are your strongest skill sets? What specifically do you need to learn in order to get to the next level? Then think about things such as your commute … is it too long? Do you work too many hours? Have you found that you don’t get along well with your boss?

Take the time to answer each question … really thinking about your answers.

Next, let’s look at your personal life …

When you are alone, do your feel at peace? In your current life structure, are you able to spend ample time with people who make you feel loved? Have any of your dozens of commitments to “eat healthier” or “work out more” been sustained? What parts of your day do you feel the most productive?

And now, money … I could — and will — do a whole other essay on money. But for now, answer these questions …

How much money do you need to pay every bill and live a decent life every month? And define what decent life means to you. Is it having enough money left to spend on little luxuries like a new watch or new piece of furniture for your house? Or enough money to work fewer hours and spend more time with loved ones.

How much money would you need in the bank to feel comfortable spending more time on creating your writer’s life? (This needs to be a specific and thought-out number.)

What did you waste money on last month?

Do you have a true savings plan? Do you even know what you would be saving money for? When thinking about finances, how much of your desire for money is predicated on you comparing yourself to others?

Here’s the thing. When you take the time to answer each of these questions (and by the way, this isn’t the complete list of questions I would ask you, but we don’t have room to list them all here in this article), what you are really doing is stopping yourself from chasing things that don’t have that much meaning to your life.

Before taking another step towards creating the writer’s life of your dreams, slow down and pinpoint where you are now so you can figure out where you want to go … I am hopeful that you will be able to map out a more concrete and achievable plan to create more happiness, fulfillment, time, and money.

Once that happens, you can step off the never-ending treadmill of running after things and actually live a life of true purpose … or your own “truth.”

Did you take the time to do the exercise? Did you struggle with any of the questions? Share in the comments below and we can help each other get started.