It’s a common question to read in any book on achieving your goals.

“Where will you be 5 years from today?”

Instead of this being one question amidst a bunch of other prescription on how to be more effective or productive, this five year question is what the book Where will you be five years from today, is all about.

It’s a book to help you dream. One you should be sitting back with at a coffee shop or some other quiet place where you can pull out your notebook and think hard about the questions the book presents.

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There is no real structure to the book. It’s well designed and not only full if it’s own wisdom, but quotes from many other wise people from across the generations.

Now it’s not just a book of inspirational quotes. There are some spaces you could write directly in the book as you try to figure out where you’re going to be in five years.

It provides space to dwell on your top five values, and how to use them in your life. It provides room to ruminate on what your definition of success is.

This is not a book that should be consumed in digital form, it is a book you need to sit with and not only enjoyed for it’s wisdom but also for it’s layout.

In the future, I’ll be pulling this book out to sit with for an hour as I dwell on where I’m going in the next year or quarter. It will become an integral piece of my planning and dreaming process.

Now, let’s pull some of the quotes out of the book so that you might be inspired to make a change in your life today.

This is your life, your one-and-only-life, and you don’t want to miss any part of it. So, what is it going to be? You decide. Starting today, you can make the next five years the most exciting, satisfying, productive and amazing years of your life so far — or just another five years.

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And you are the one who’ll decide where to go – Dr Suess

Setting goals in only one or two areas of life is like rowing a boat with only one oar — you go round and round in only one direction. If you use all your creativity in just one area of your life, you are destined to be one-dimensional in others. (What’s the use of being a multi-millionaire five years from now if you end up with a broken family?)

This is a key thought to the way I run my coaching business. I believe that if you have a huge business with lots of money and you’ve trashed your family and relationships, you failed. Not partially succeeded, you failed.

My story has a dad that did the best he could, but worked long hours away from his kids. He was up early and commuted to his tech job in the city and got back around bed time. I knew early on that I didn’t want to be this, and I want to help other men break from the typical mould of a dad that doesn’t participate much. I want to help men be active involved fathers in and around the jobs that they do.

Either you are living out someone else’s dream for you, or you are setting your own course. Don’t let other people tell you who you are. Form the habit of saying “Yes” to your own ideas. Then write down all the reasons why they will work. There will always be plenty of people around to tell you why they won’t work.

One of the great ideas in the book is to sit down every day and come up with a few crazy ideas. Some of them are going to suck, but some will be amazing. The point is that you write them down and then revisit the ideas every few weeks to pull out the ones that matter. The ones that don’t suck.

Attitude is a choice. We create our own world by the way we choose to see it. For the next five years your mind can focus on fear, worry, problems, negativity or despair. Or it can focus on confidence, opportunity, solutions, optimism and success. You decide.

Yesterday is a cancelled check. The past is not your potential. There are far better things ahead than any you leave behind. The next five years are a blank canvas — clean and bright. Decide that you will throw all the paint on it you can.

MASTER A SKILL: Don’t just be good, be great. Take an “interest” and elevate it into an art form. Learn to do something so well that people will come from miles around just to watch you do it again and again.

If people are going to flock to see your work, that sounds like you’re a master and possibly have a great business. If you’re struggling with HOW to become this master, you should check out my book on how to become that master you long to be.

On any given day, without really realizing it, you may be the answer to someone’s prayers. If you’re too busy to reach out to people in your neighborhood or community, you’re too busy. Never forget that your touch, your thoughtfulness and your love really can work wonders in the lives of others.

To end this look at Where will you be in five years, I’ll share my definition of success, which was one of the final questions in the book.

My definition of success is running a business that lets my family get out in the backcountry at least once a week. It’s helping men build a business or work a job that lets them support their family and have the space to be an awesome husband and father. It’s helping people bring as much intention to their family life as they do to their work life.

Should You Read Where will you be in five years?

Yes, you should read this book. It should be on your list for at least once a year when you’re looking at your goals for the next year. You should be sitting back and thinking about what the book has for you this year, because it will be different every year.

If you really want to take it to the next level, sit down with your spouse or partner and work through it together. Start putting as much intention behind your family life as you do behind your work life.

Purchase Where will you be in five years on Amazon

Photo by: ansik