Your Ideal Day
Having worked through Clarity you will have developed your ideal day, let me firstly share Ann and my ideal day. We both wrote this way back in October 1994.
I wake up at 6:30 a.m. on another beautiful, warm summer’s day in mid-June. After my morning ritual, I step up into the cockpit and look around. The anchorage is full, I smile. There are lots of yachts here, all enjoying the location.
Ann and I are anchored in Greece on a beautiful Island called Lefkada. The island lies 60 miles south of Corfu in the Ionian Sea. I hear the birds singing their song, and a gentle breeze keeps the yachts pointing into the wind, which is coming from a northwestern direction.
Our ship’s dog, Mitzie, has stirred below in the salon. I can hear her at the bottom of the companionway hatch. A minute later, she climbed the five steps into the cockpit, jumped on the port seat, and looked across to the land. I say, “Ok, Mitzie, we will go ashore in thirty minutes.”
Ann is up. She’s in the galley making tea. I join her, and we have our breakfast looking out over the anchorage. I see our neighbours Rita and Peet waving from their yacht, and I wave back. Rika and Peet are from the Netherlands and are also liveaboards.
Half an hour later, Ann and I step into the dinghy, Mitzie jumps in, I start the outboard, and we motor to the shore and have a quiet walk around the olive groves. Arriving back on board, I spend an hour answering emails and calling team members.
The next part of the day is spent swimming with Mitzie on the sandy beach; she loves swimming in the sea. I do some snorkelling in the clear waters of the anchorage.
Once the sea breeze has arrived, Ann and I lift anchor and sail to Meganissi, a sun-soaked island about a couple of hours away. Dropping anchor and making sure it is dug in properly, I lower the dinghy from its davits, and we go ashore. Walking through the beautiful sun-drenched countryside to Vathi, we go to our favourite taverna for a leisurely afternoon drink followed by an evening meal.
The walk back to the dinghy settles the food and Ann and I have a nice cup of tea in the cockpit. I make some more phone calls, and Ann answers emails. It’s been another beautiful day in paradise.
Back to the Planning
As discussed in Step 1, you do not need to work out everything in minute detail. Your plan should only cover what you can see that you can do now. Here’s our fist to do list:
- Try this sailing lark to see if we like it
- What production yachts were on the market
- Which yacht builders catered for liveaboards
- Learn about yacht maintenance
- Think about how we will finance the yacht
- Read some first-hand experience books
Ann and I had no idea how we could make our dream a reality, but we could see that the initial plan should start with making sure we like sailing, so we booked a sailing course for June 1995.
Next, Ann and I bought tickets for the January London Boat Show so we could get an idea of what yachts were available, what they looked like inside and, more importantly, how much one would cost.
Next, the plan was to look at the second-hand market, what yachts were available, how they were processed, and whether they would be suitable for liveaboard.
There wasn’t much more either of us could do, so there was no point in overthinking the plan. We left the how to finance part as we had no idea how this could be solved. Remember:
“The money will come from where the money is at”.
Your Plan
Okay, the above gives you an idea of the process. I can’t guess what your dreams and goals are. Just list what comes into your head as to what you should do first. Your gut feeling, your intuition is always correct. Do not, however, get caught up in the money thing. The money will come from where it is at. It’s a leap of faith right now, but trust me, it will arrive just in time from wherever it is.
The Process
- Brainstorm
Write down what you think you should do, in no particular order, empty your mind. - To-Do List
Pick five to ten items from your brainstorming list which you feel you should start with. - Prioritise
Put your five to ten items in order of priority again, use your instinct to guide you.
Once this has been completed, you can relax and reward yourself. Getting through both steps one and two is an achievement. Believe me when I say most don’t bother. They either get hooked up at the clarity stage or listen to that neg ferret sitting on their shoulder. Telling them this is silly. It will never work. You are wasting your time.
You most likely heard it say those words, too, so keep ignoring it. Eventually, the voice will become quieter and quieter, fading into the background noise of the day. So, next is the action step part of the process.
Once you have enjoyed your reward, come back and continue. It’s worth it; keep going. Next, it is Step 3: Action
