Personal Assessment
Consider this: You would not think of getting into a car and driving around, hoping to find your destination without knowing exactly how to get there. Unfortunately, much of the population evidently does just that. Too many don’t analyze where they are and have no plans for where they are going.
We should be able to be the architects of our own destinies, to achieve and enjoy our lives in our chosen paths, and, yes, to enjoy happiness and peace of mind. But in order to do that, we must first know where we are.
Creating the Vision
Becoming an architect means being in control of the design, being a visionary. You must have a vision for what you want the design to accomplish. Architects are not in the “wish” game. They believe in their abilities to envision what can be, and they believe that they can create designs and develop plans to fulfill those visions. You must now believe in your ability to design your future. We will give you guidelines however, you are the architect… you must believe that what you take the time to study and embark upon will become your reality.
Attitude is Everything
Your life is the most precious asset you own, and from this point on, you will learn what makes the difference in terms of what you achieve in life and how you enjoy life. Later in this lesson we’ll talk about goals and plans, knowledge and skills, and the importance of habits and positive actions, but for now, we’ll focus on the most important asset you can manage… your attitude!
You can accomplish almost anything you want to accomplish once you believe you can. You’ve got to believe in yourself and your possibilities, and in order to reach this level of understanding about yourself, you must gain control of your attitude.
Goals & Plans
Over the centuries, qualitative studies have been conducted on successful and unsuccessful individuals in the attempt to crack the code of success. For some, it has been relatively simple to break this code; yet, for others, lifetimes have been spent trying to solve it with no success. As you might imagine, there have always been opinions and theories as to why one human being achieves success and another is unable to reach an equivalent level.
Today, there is credible research that documents what many philosophers and writers have been saying for thousands of years about the process of setting goals. There are many natural laws that are imperative to understand in order to understand the principles and processes that must be adhered to in order to maximize one’s potential and ability to set goals, create plans and then achieve them.
Knowledge
Even the best architects in the world are continually learning. As new technologies in building emerge and new design concepts take hold, architects must stay abreast of the changes or be left behind.
Knowledge plays a key role in enabling you to become the architect of your own destiny. It’s quite possible that you are where you are because of what you do or don’t know. What you know and how you convert that knowledge into positive actions in your life increases the value of the skills and services you provide. Your knowledge also affects your ability to realistically achieve your goals. But what you don’t know may be preventing you from becoming a more skilled person, a more valuable person who is able to contribute more to your chosen career or professional path, the life you desire to live. This is a sad fact: Most people do not know what they do not know, nor do they understand exactly how to maximize their true potential, achieve financial independence, happiness and peace of mind.
Action
To know something is admirable! Many are showered with recognition, certificates, and degrees for that which they know. To have mastered the skills essential to a trade or profession, more often than not, will ensure employment and opportunities to earn a living and pursue goals and dreams. However, as mentioned previously, there are those who possess both knowledge and skills but don’t seem to be able to convert these assets into success, prosperity, happiness, or peace of mind. What makes the difference between having knowledge and using that knowledge in a successful manner?
Knowledge and skill must always be converted into habits and positive actions.
Being the architect of your own destiny is about being on the journey. When we achieve one goal and fail to achieve another, we can be sustained and encouraged by the knowledge that both winning and losing are a part of life. Most important is to maintain a winning attitude. Whether winning or losing, we always understand that life itself is our greatest blessing!
The One Course is designed to help you plan the areas of your life that may benefit from designing or re-defining. Each lesson features a summary that provides a high-level overview of the material covered in each lesson. The sixteen activities in The One Course serve as aids in identifying how to improve your overall plan. Each activity is a prerequisite for the next lesson. Remember, when we are in pursuit of adding value to our lives, chances are we need to think differently about those things that ultimately determine the quality of our lives and the way we desire to live our lives. Are you ready to begin?
Consider this: You would not think of getting into a car and driving around, hoping to find your destination without knowing exactly how to get there. Unfortunately, much of the population evidently does. Architects do not expect to build buildings without first completing the plans. We should be able to be the architects of our own destinies, to achieve and enjoy our lives in our chosen paths and enjoy happiness and peace of mind. However, we must first know where we are going, and we must develop plans to get there.
We must have money to survive in our society. Not having enough money impacts every aspect of our lives—from the way we eat to the clothing and shelter we can provide—all necessities for healthy, stress-free living. Managing the financial part of life really has nothing to do with how much we have; what matters more is how you manage what you have. When we understand the difference in saving $100.00 per month versus saving or investing $500.00 per month, we are motivated to step up and save or invest more. The One Course helps to plan this most important element in life.