When I set out on the path of pursuing my life’s work, I first envisioned that I was going to become a cartoonist. I wanted to break into the superhero comic book biz, and become the next big action art superstar.

I wanted to create a nationally syndicated daily newspaper superhero strip. In my wildest of dreams, I saw myself winning an Academy Award for my work in animated motion pictures. Those things never materialized as I had envisioned, though.

When I moved from New Jersey to South Carolina, an interesting thing happened: the interest for the cartooning had slowly faded out of my life, much like a movie fades to black.

My artwork now graces the walls of both my home office and my bedroom, and while I look at it fondly, it doesn’t fuel me with the passion to get back to the drawing table.

When people come by and look at the work, I’m always asked, “Why are you not doing anything with this ability?”

Creating the Life You Want: The Secret

And here’s what I learned: I am doing something with this ability.

You see, the ability is a creative ability.

Everyday I am creating the life I am living.

Most people will regard being creative with being a musician, actor, or some other artistic type (like a superhero action cartoonist).

But I’ll let you in on a little secret: Everyone is a creative person.

Creativity is something every human being has, not just a talented few.

And that includes you.

Yes, you.

You are creating all the time, whether you’re aware of it or not.

While it was wonderful for me to sit and create the artistic works that I have done, I’m now aware that true creativity is about creating something more important: the most important thing we are creating are the lives we live.

And knowing this, my work now is to help people become aware of this creative power, this creative power we all have to create our lives. But it goes one step beyond that. I work to empower people to create the lives they want.

Creating the Life You Want: The Question

How does one do that?

The answer lies in asking ourselves this crucial question: “What do I really want?”

Only when we answer this question honestly and sincerely, can we then start creating the life we want. And I mean really want—not the lives in which we turn over this creative ability to others, allowing them to create the lives they want us to be living (which shows up as living in accordance to the expectations of these other people—and being angry and resentful toward them when we, on some level, allowed that to happen).

One of the reasons I named my company LifePlan centers on the belief that in order to create the life you want you must first have a plan, a blueprint if you will.

Just as an architect must have a plan before the house can be built, the same holds true for building a life we want to live in. In that sense, we become the architects of our own lives.

And coming up with the plan is just the first step.

As with the architect, there’s a lot of work between the blueprint of the home and the finished project. And with creating the life you really want, there’s no difference. There will be many obstacles to overcome, but with diligence you can create anything. After all, you’re a creative being!

Creating the Life You Want: The Exercise

If you noticed, part of the title of this post is called “Working Your LifePlan.” It’s part of an ongoing series in which we get together, in this space, and I assist you in working your life plan. As part of that work, I’ll be inviting you to participate in some exercises that I intend to be helpful for you.

Our first exercise plays on the idea that you are the architect of your life:

Imagine that your life is a giant home, containing many rooms. Each room represents some aspect of your life: there’s a room for your relationships, your social life, your job/work/career, your health, your spiritual life, your family life, your finances, and so on.

How does your life-home look? How does it look from the outside? How does each room look? What condition is the house in? What’s the condition of the furnishings in each of the rooms?

If you consider yourself artistic, take a large piece of paper and draw your house out.

Once that’s done, think about how you’d like to remodel the house you’ve drawn. What changes would you make to have it be the perfect house for you, representing your perfect life?

Now that you’ve done the exercise, what step could you take today to get the remodel underway?

I’d love to hear about the rooms in your “homes,” and the changes you’re making in your “remodeling.” Please share your insights and comments with me below.

Your partner in creating the life you really want,