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THE BIG IDEAS Living Forward

Life Planning
A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want
vs. The drift. BY MICHAEL HYATT & DANIEL HARKAVY · BAKER BOOKS © 2016 · 208 PAGES

So What Is a Life Plan

What you want, how to get it.

Your Life GPS

Three questions. “In this book we want to provide the clarity you need to articulate a vision for your
life—your whole life—and develop a plan for getting to a better destination. It’s all
Pull Power
Your future have it? about being fully awake to the realities of our personal and professional worlds and
OPTIMIZE Airlines using that fresh level of awareness to make better decisions and tell better stories
“In the even of life pressure...” with our lives.
Law of Diminishing Intent Living Forward will heighten your sense of what’s truly possible for you in life. If
Do it now! And, pay the rent daily.
you feel out of balance, aware that your current pace is unsustainable; if you are
making great gains professionally but don’t want to neglect personal priorities;
if you want to have better focus to succeed financially; if you have gone through
a recent tragedy and suddenly become aware that life is short; if any of those are
true, this book is for you.

Living Forward will equip you to make better decisions in every area of your life.
The good news is that we have more control than most of us realize. Each day is
filled with thousands of opportunities to change the story of our lives. We want to
help you make the most proactive, intentional, and beneficial decisions possible.

Finally, Living Forward will position you to make the most significant
contribution in this world that you can and add the most value to those around
you.”

~ Michael Hyatt & Daniel Harkavy from Living Forward

“The first step toward getting
Living Forward is a powerful little book all about helping us figure out our Life Plan—which is,
somewhere is to decide
essentially, the vision for every aspect of our lives and our plan to make it a reality.
you’re not going to stay
The book is the result of a collaboration between leading publisher + author Michael Hyatt and
where you are.”
his coach Daniel Harkavy.
~ John Pierpont “J.P.” Morgan
It’s basically like having one of the world’s leading life coaches walk you through the Life
Planning process he’s used with thousands of his clients. (Get a copy here.)

It’s packed with Big Ideas and I’m excited to share a few of my favorites we can apply to our lives
today so let’s jump straight in!

LIFE PLANNING VS. THE DRIFT

“Life Planning is the exact opposite of the drift. The drift is about passivity. Life Planning is
about proactivity. The drift is about blaming our circumstances and other people. Life Planning
is about taking responsibility. The drift is about living without a plan. Life Planning is about
having a plan and working it.”

That’s from Chapter 1: Acknowledge the Drift.

1 PhilosophersNotes | Living Forward


“To reach a port we must
sail, sometimes with the
wind, and sometimes against
it. But we must not drift or
lie at anchor.”
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes
2 PhilosophersNotes | Living Forward
Before we launch into creating a Plan for our lives, we need to see the areas in which we’re
simply drifting.
But, first, let’s celebrate the areas of your life in which you ARE on purpose. What’s awesome
these days?
I’m proud of how I’m showing up in these parts of my life: ________________________
_________________________________________________________________.
Alright. Fantastic. Now, what areas of your life need a little more attention?
These areas of my life need a little (or a lot) more work: __________________________
_________________________________________________________________.
Let’s move from drifting to planning!
P.S. Here’s some old school wisdom on ships and drifting to help bring the point home:
Orison Swett Marden puts it this way in Making Life a Masterpiece (see Notes): “It would be
impossible for a ship to come into a certain port without a compass as it would be for a man
or woman to make any headway on the sea of life without a purpose. Nobody ever drifts into
anything desirable. To get the thing worth while you must know where your goal lies, and you
must make straight for it, past all the rocks and sandbars.”
And, in Lead the Field (see Notes), Earl Nightingale tells us: “If you should visit a ship in port
and ask the captain for his next port-of-call, he’ll tell you in a single sentence. Even though the
captain cannot see his port, his destination, for full 99% of the voyage, he knows it’s there, and
barring an unforeseen and highly unlikely catastrophe, he’ll reach it. All he has to do is keep
doing certain things every day.
If someone asked you for your next port-of-call, your goal, could you tell him? Is your goal
clear and concise in your mind? Do you have it written down? It’s a good idea. We need
reminding, reinforcement. If you can get a picture of your goal and stick it to your bathroom
mirror, it’s an excellent idea to do so. Thousands of successful people carry their goals written
on a card in their wallets or purses.”
SO WHAT IS A LIFE PLAN?
“While others have written or spoken on this topic as well, the term Life Plan seems to have been
commandeered by the financial services industry. If you Google the phrase, 99 percent of the
results point to websites selling financial or insurance products. Not us. We are using this phrase
to refer to a specific kind of document. When we say Life Plan, here’s what we mean:
A Life Plan is a short written document, usually five to fifteen pages long. It is created by
you and for you. It describes how you want to be remembered. It articulates your personal
priorities. It provides the specific actions necessary to take you from where you are to
where you want to be in every major area of your life. It is most of all a living document
that you will tweak and adjust as necessary for the rest of your life.”
There ya go.
That’s a Life Plan.
• Short (5 to 15 pages long). Just for you.
• Capturing how you want to be remembered. (What’s your vision of your legacy?)
• Identifying your priorities. (What’s truly important to you?)
• Creating your plan. (What are you going to do to make that vision and priorities a reality?)

“Truth is, everyone is in
the process of creating—and
leaving—a legacy. The question
is not ‘Will you leave a
legacy?’ but ‘What kind of
legacy will you leave?’”
~ Michael Hyatt & Daniel Harkavy
“Strategy without action is
hallucination!”
~ Mike Roach
PhilosophersNotes | Living Forward
Of course, the book is all about systematically walking us through the creation of it.
Let’s take a quick look at some key Ideas in rockin’ it.
YOUR LIFE GPS (THE 3 ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS)
“The same is true when it comes to your Life Plan. It is the result of answering three powerful
questions. Let’s consider them one at a time.
Question 1: How do I want to be remembered? In planning anything, the best place to begin is
at the end. What outcome do you want? How do you want the story to end? How do you want to
be remembered when you are gone? ...
Question 2: What matters most? Maybe you have never given yourself permission to ask this
question.... what’s important to you? What matters most in your life? This is a question about
priorities. No one else can decide what they are for you.
Question 3: How can I get from here to where I want to be? If you are going to improve your life
and realize your potential, you will have to figure out where you are now; where you want to be;
and how you get from one to the other.”
The book is basically all about helping us answer those three essential questions.
Throughout the book, Michael and Daniel come back to the metaphor of a Life Plan serving as a
sort of Life GPS.
If you want a GPS to work, what do you need?
• First, you need to know where you want to go.
• Then, you need to know where you are.
• And, of course, you need to start moving toward your destination.
Like a GPS, our Life Plan helps us map all that out and efficiently guides us to our ultimate
destination. Let’s do a little reflection on each of those elements:
—> How do you want to be remembered?
Begin at the ultimate end—your funeral. What do those closest to you have to say?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
—> What’s most important to you?
What REALLY matters to you? What are your top, essential, non-negotiable priorities?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
—> How can you get from where you are to where you want to be?
What’s one thing you *know* you could be doing that would help you get where you want to be?
________________________________________________________________.
And, what’s one thing you could STOP doing that would help you get where you want to be?
________________________________________________________________.
3

“Make no little plans; they
have no magic to stir men’s
blood and probably will
themselves not be realized.
Make big plans; aim high in
hope and work, remembering
that a noble, logical diagram
once recorded will not die.”
~ Daniel H. Burnham
“Decide what you want,
decide what you are willing
to exchange for it. Establish
your priorities and go to
work.”
~ H.L. Hunt
4 PhilosophersNotes | Living Forward
Nice work.
#babysteps to clarity.
DOES YOUR FUTURE HAVE PULL POWER?
“Keeping you eye on the future is essential for making the most of today. You need to
acknowledge where you are, but you also need to see clearly where you are going. What do you
want in each of the major categories of your life? What would they look like in their ideal state?
... What’s important is that the future be enticing enough to stay focused. We call this pull
power.
A goal needs to draw you. ... Pull power is essential to reach our goals. You need to see a future
with such clarity and desirability that you will go through all the uncomfortable things life
throws at you to attain it.”
Pull power.
Does YOUR future have it?
If yes, then you’re probably feeling pretty fired up and ready to move through the inevitable
obstacles life throws at us.
If not, then, well, you’re probably NOT feeling so spiffy.
As you may recall, Piers Steele says the same thing in his Procrastination Equation (see Notes)
where he shares the results of his uber-meta analysis of hundreds of research studies on
motivation.
His equation starts with what he calls “Expectancy + Value.” If you want to be super motivated
you need to be REALLY excited about your future and believe you can create what you want.
The result of that?
Pull power.
Michael and Daniel help us identify each of the major categories of our lives and then create a
compelling vision for each to generate that pull power.
How about a quick take now?
Take a moment to capture your ideal vision for each of these categories:
Your health and energy and vitality: _______________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Your relationships: __________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Your creative/professional work: ________________________________________
________________________________________________________________.
Awesome.
Get clear.
Get excited.
Remember pull power.
(P.S. Check out some online tools at LivingForwardBook.com.)
 “WELCOME TO OPTIMIZE AIRLINES...”
“Self-discipline is the “If you’ve traveled by plane, you’ve undoubtedly heard the flight attendant say something like

ability to make yourself

this: ‘In the event of a change in cabin pressure, panels above your head will open revealing
oxygen masks.’ If you’ve traveled more than occasionally, you can probably recite the rest of the
do something you don’t
spiel: ‘Pull the mask down toward you to activate the flow of oxygen. Cover your nose and mouth
necessarily want to do, to get
with the mask. Place the elastic band around your head and continue to breathe normally.’ And
a result you would really like
then they always say, ‘Remember to secure your own mask before assisting others.’
to have.”
Why? Because if you run out of air, you can’t help anyone. Here is a little insight into how
~ Michael Hyatt & Daniel Harkavy
we look at life. We have to attend to ourselves first (second only to God for us) in order to be
spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, and physically available to others.

If you have trouble with the semantics of putting yourself first, think of it as preparation to serve
others.”

“Welcome to OPTIMIZE Airlines.

This is your friendly flight attendant speaking.

Please be seated and fasten your seatbelts.”

<— Wouldn’t it be awesome if, when experiencing the inevitable changes in life pressure, panels
magically appeared and opened above our heads to give us the soul oxygen we need? :)

Alas, it doesn’t quite work that way.

So...

We have to proactively give ourselves our own oxygen by rockin’ our fundamentals on a daily
basis.

Note: This is ESPECIALLY important when we’re experiencing the turbulent ups and downs of
life’s challenges. Too often we drop the very things that would keep us stabilized right when we
need it most.

And...

Remember: If you aren’t getting oxygen, you can’t help anyone else.

Unless we’re being super weird about it, taking care of ourselves is not a selfish act. It’s essential
if we’re going to consistently connect to something bigger than ourselves and most fully give
ourselves to our family and world.

How’s your oxygen?

What’s one little thing you can do to dial it in on this preciously fun little trip that is our life?

(Now a good time to make it stick?)

THE LAW OF DIMINISHING INTENT

“If you’ve heard renowned business and life thought leader Jim Rohn’s ‘law of diminishing
intent,’ you know why this is important. The law of diminishing intent says that the longer
you delay doing something, the less probability you have of actually doing it. You lose all the
emotional energy. That’s why we encourage you to schedule a day within the next two weeks to
create your Life Plan.”

The Law of Diminishing Intent.

Basic idea: You get fired up about something—whether that’s installing a new habit, pursuing a
great biz idea or relationship or, in this context, creating a Life Plan.

PhilosophersNotes | Living Forward 5


“Let us endeavor so to live
that when we come to die
even the undertaker will be
sorry.”
~ Mark Twain
If you liked this Note,
you’ll probably like…
Making Life a Masterpiece
Lead the Field
The Compound Effect
Getting Things Done
The Happiness of Pursuit
Take the Stairs
6 PhilosophersNotes | Living Forward
The Law of Diminishing Intent tells us that the longer you wait to actually do it, the less likely it
is that you’ll get around to it.
So... TAKE ACTION when you feel inspired. Use all that emotional energy and channel it in the
direction of your vision by taking whatever baby step you can.
Then, we need to maintain that intention + momentum every day.
In Take the Stairs (see Notes) Rory Vaden calls it “The Rent Axiom” which is “the mind-set
success is never owned—it is only rented—and the rent is due every day.”
He puts it this way: “They [people who set New Year’s resolutions but don’t follow through]
are simply, through their own unawareness, victims of the law of diminishing intent. They are
people who do not realize how fickle—and fleeting—our own intentions can be. Understanding
this phenomenon explains why New Year’s Resolutions rarely work. We can’t make a
resolution once a year and expect it to leverage us to action for that entire period of time.
Instead, as Albert Gray wrote in 1940, ‘Any resolution that is made today must again be made
tomorrow.’ And the next day, and the next day, and the next day (remember the Rent Axiom?).”
In Habits 101 we talked about the importance of never missing a day. Same Idea.
What’re you fired up about?
Now a good time to take the first step? Or the 10th? Or the 100th?
Let’s keep our intention strong. Take action and pay the rent every day as we make our Optimal
Life Plan a reality!
Brian Johnson,
Chief Philosopher
About the Author of “Living Forward”
MICHAEL HYATT & DANIEL HARKAVY
Michael Hyatt is the former chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers,
now part of HarperCollins. He is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and
USA Today bestselling author who has lived by the plan in Living Forward.
Connect: michaelhyatt.com.
Daniel Harkavy has been coaching business leaders to peak levels of success,
performance, profitability, and fulfillment for more than twenty-five years. In
1996, he harnessed his passion for coaching teams and leaders and founded
Building Champions, where he serves as CEO and executive coach. Connect:
buildingchampions.com.
About the Author of This Note
BRIAN JOHNSON
Brian Johnson loves helping people optimize their lives as he studies, embodies
and teaches the fundamentals of optimal living—integrating ancient wisdom
+ modern science + common sense + virtue + mastery + fun. Learn more and
optimize your life at brianjohnson.me.