THE Most Important Question

By Terez Hartmann

Start HERE: A year of clarity, focus and forward motion!

The “Great Wheel of Life” has made another turn and here you a stand, gazing out at a buffet of infinite possibilities! For some, this is a wildly exciting thought, yet for others it may be the cause a full-blown meltdown, but in either case, there is a path to clarity, focus, and forward motion to be had for all who are will to ask THE most important question:

What Do You Want? (WDYW?)

It is astonishing how much of our lives and how many days can go by without taking the time to answer this MEGA important question FIRST and, not surprisingly, many of our goals and resolutions are based more around what others want or what they want from/for us, what society/current trends of the moment say we should want, what we used to want (but in truth no longer resonate with), or are just a remix of last year’s more generic intentions.

What if you gave yourself permission to consider what you REALLY want?

What if you dared to reach into NEW territory this year and carved out the time to discover what TRULY matters to you?

What if you did the things that ACTUALLY feed your well-being?

What if you opened yourself up to the NEW dreams that feel like the life of joy, freedom, and abundance you truly desire that are calling you?

With this auspicious opportunity of a bright, shiny, new year ahead for all of us, here are some ideas from my “Onward, Upward and Forward Master Class/Focus Mastery and Breakthrough Life Coach Certification Course” to help get your (or your clients’) wheels turning to start this next trip around the sun with clarity and focus!

Create Your “Wheel Life Map”

Why “Wheel Life?” When you think about it, everything that is thriving is in motion in some form or fashion; the cells in our bodies, the planets, the sun, and even the universe itself! So when you resolve to move your mind and body forward in some way every day, you can’t help but discover clarity, focus and REAL progress as well!

Get your mind moving now by taking a moment to focus in on these five life areas, and let the questions inspire even more clarity (and perhaps, even more questions!) as you contemplate THE most important question in new ways. WDYW?

Do note that even if you are still collecting data and have not yet figured out what you truly want, identifying the FEELING you’d like to experience will absolutely set you on the path of joyful discovery!

Once you answer the questions to the best of your abilities, focus in on your top three favorites to focus upon for this year.

LIFE AREA #1: ADVENTURES/EXPERIENCES

My upgraded/forward-flowing adventures and experiences feel:________________________

What new destinations do I visit and enjoy?
What new activities do I experience and enjoy?
What new types of cultures/people/creatures do I experience and enjoy?
What new/upgraded style/mode of travel do I experience and enjoy?
What gifts/upgrades do I bring to the world as I travel/enjoy my life?

My TOP Three:

LIFE AREA #2: BODY-MIND-SPIRIT

My upgraded, forward-focused/moving body, mind and spirit feel:____________________________________

What is my upgraded attitude about life?
What is my upgraded attitude about myself?
What is my upgraded attitude about others/the world?
What is my upgraded response to life challenges?
What are my new/consistent “home zones?”
What new things do I learn/discover:
What new movement/dietary upgrades do I add to honor my body and feed my physical well-being?
How does my upgraded body look, feel and function?
What upgrades do I allow for rest/sleep/reset/centering time?
What upgrades do I add to my daily activities that truly feed my soul?

My TOP Three:

LIFE AREA #3: HOME AND DAILY LIFE
My upgraded, forward-facing home and style of living feel:________________________________________

What is my upgraded version of where I live?
What is my upgraded version of the size/layout of my home environment/s?
What is my upgraded view from my space/s?
What elements does my upgraded neighborhood/surrounding area have that I love?
What upgraded things/furniture/tools/vibes fill my space/s?
What makes my upgraded space/s extra special?
Who shares my upgraded space, and what is our daily flow?
What is my upgraded mode of transportation/mobility/exercise?
What do I do to love, honor and maintain my home space/s, mode of transport and belongings?

My TOP Three:

LIFE AREA #4: CAREER/CREATIVITY/FINANCES

My upgraded, forward-flowing/moving career/finances/creativity feels:______________________________

What is my upgraded creative/work environment like? Where do I work/create?
What does my upgraded typical work/creating day look/feel like?
What is the nature of my upgraded work/creativity? What new things or ideas do I create or implement?
What traits do my upgraded/ideal creative team have?
What traits do my upgraded/ideal clients/participants have?
What is my target upgraded weekly, monthly or annual income?
What upgrades do I contribute to others/the world with my abundance?
What upgraded positive legacy do I leave for the next generation?

My TOP Three:

LIFE AREA #5: RELATIONSHIPS

My upgraded, forward-flowing/moving romantic relationship/s feel/s:_______________________________

What is the essence of my upgraded romantic relationship/s?
How does my upgraded relationship flow/how do we interact?
What forward-focused things do we share in common/what do we enjoy/create together?
What gifts/upgrades does my relationship bring to my life?
What gifts/upgrades do I bring to my partner’s life?
What is the essence of my upgraded family relationships?
How do my upgraded family relationships flow/how do we interact?
What do we share in common/what do we enjoy/create together?
What gifts/upgrades does my family bring to my life?
What gifts/upgrades do I bring to my family’s lives?
What is the essence of your upgraded friendship relationships?
How do my upgraded friendships flow/how do we interact?
What forward-focused things do we share in common/what do we enjoy/create together?
What gifts/upgrades do my friendships bring to my life?
What gifts/upgrades do I bring to my friendships?
What is the essence of my updated creative partners/career-related relationships?
How do my upgraded creative partners/career-related relationships flow/how do we interact?
What forward-focused things do we share in common/what do we enjoy/create together?
What gifts/upgrades do my creative partners/career-related relationships bring to my life?
What gifts/upgrades do I bring to my creative partners/career-related relationships?

My TOP Three:

Choose and ACT

Now that you’ve narrowed your visions and intentions down to your TOP Three in each subject, choose ONE item from each life area to focus upon NOW.

You can opt to choose only one item overall, choose two or three life areas, or give some of your time each week to your #1 item in each of the five life areas to feed a happy and dynamic life balance.

Have your item/items in place? Take at least one action EVERY day that can help you move forward to REALIZE your goal/vision/intention, and resolve to continue this practice until you reach a point of completion.

Keep this list and all of your options handy.

Even When LIFE Happens…

When major challenges present themselves that interrupt your flow of life, it can be all-too-easy to fall off the wheel (or “wagon”). But, just because you may not feel like you can take action in one life area, it does not stop you from moving forward in OTHER areas. For example:

When I was in “ER life-or-death-on-call-24/7” mode with my family (toggling between my brother in the ER/Intensive care and doing what I could for my mom, who was also extremely unwell), my CAREER/CREATIVITY/FINANCES life area went on a hard—and seemingly indefinite—pause. Due to the volatile nature of that entire journey, I was simply not able to accept bookings for music gigs or coaching clients, and definitely was not in a place to do any filming for my next course or record new music (all of which being THE main things that I linked with major forward motion for me).

BUT in the in-between time, when things did calm down for a minute, I did carve out time to insert whatever self-care I could, did short, simple home-maintenance like doing dishes or laundry when feasible, worked on the writing aspect of creating course content (based upon coping and moving through my real-time challenges), did some research and made some loose plans for future adventures that could easily be moved or cancelled, and honored the relationship with my family by doing the best I could to support both of them through their incredibly difficult journeys.

Needless to say, I still managed to keep moving forward in small ways in my other life areas, and (though I may not have recognized it at the time), actually DID keep my foot in the door with my career, ALL of which paved the way for the productivity and joy I am experiencing NOW.

What life area can YOU still feed right now?

Get a Partner in Forward Motion

In a perfect world, we all ideally keep the promises we make to ourselves, but when the bazillion distractions of life intervene, it is far too easy to set your intentions aside in favor of looking at the shiny object, trend, post, tweet, video or feed of the moment. And when you add in extreme stress or mega life challenges, those visions and intentions can quickly fall into the basement, garage or junk drawer of your life priorities—ESPECIALLY when you are a leader, mentor, parent or person who serves others and who is used to putting everyone else first.

As a fellow coach and business owner, I have always thought of myself as a highly self-motivated, self-directed person, but when I decided to reach out and connect with a like-minded accountability partner, my productivity and follow-through increased by leaps and bounds! So whether you are an aspiring coach/mentor or the captain of an empire, do consider the idea of a coach or accountability partner—it can be THE piece that changes EVERYTHING.

Imagine looking back at the past year thinking, “Look at what I did!!” instead of “Oh well… perhaps next year…”

The Bottom Line: Start HERE: A Year of Clarity and Focus!
New days, months, seasons, holidays and years will come and go throughout the span of a human life, as will new thoughts, ideas, dreams and visions—along with new challenges that come with living life in 3-D.

But when you have a clear sense of direction, a good map, a working compass, a helpful guide, and a powerful willingness to keep moving toward what you truly desire, you activate the very REAL magic of getting to feel the satisfaction, pride and joy of experiencing (and manifesting) the upgraded version of YOU and your life:

“Onward, Upward, and Forward
to an upgraded version of ME
Instead of my fears
I will follow my dreams
For I’d rather go where they lead!”

Here’s to resolving to embrace a year (and LIFE) of clarity, focus and forward motion for the benefit of ALL and to TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLY, living YOUR very precious Life on FIRE!

Author’s Note: For additional ideas and tools to help yourself and others discover clarity, focus, and forward motion while increasing your income potential, CLICK HERE (insert link to Focus Mastery + Breakthrough Life Coach Certification Course on Transformation Academy)

Terez “Firewoman” Hartmann is a Visionary Creative & top-rated instructor, Law of Attraction & Allowing YOUR Success specialist, published author, speaker, singer-songwriter, recording & performing artist & composer, “Catalyst for Fab-YOU-lous” and true Renaissance Woman who has already helped over 10,000 students in over 130 countries allow success and live life on FIRE. She is deeply passionate about helping other Powerful Creatives and Leading-Edge Thinkers live unique, empowered lives on their terms by cultivating the courage to dream, to express themselves boldly & authentically, and to focus Onward, Upward and Forward into new possibilities. http://www.terezfirewoman.com