Life Plan…sorry it has been so long!
June 30th, 2009Wow, it has really been to long. Sorry, I lost my password to get on my blog and I have just been lazy…I’m back though! I thought I would share with you my life plan as I am just updating it. I first learned about a life plan in 2004 at a John Maxwell event and I immediately implemented it in my life. Basically what you do is you write out your personal mission, your eulogy (how you want to be remebered), and then you figure out your top 5 values. With each value you create a clarifying vision statement of what you aspire to in that particular value over the course of your life. You then take your life and push it out 20 years (yes 20 years!) and create a story or vision of what you want your life to look like in that particular area. Then finally you create action steps that you can take immediately in your life to start realizing the vision that you want. After you have created it, you then laminate it and keep a copy in your car, in your closet, in your shower and anywhere that you will pick it up and look at it constantly. It is an awesome tool. Basically you are writing your life story and then making it happen…you dig? I am still re-working my plan but I wanted to post this immediately for you all. Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions.
Chad Goldwasser Life PlanJune 29th, 2009
Chad’s Personal Mission Statement
I will live my life to be a servant to others. I will always strive to have fun, to grow spiritually, to make money, to learn something new and to build relationships every day. I will work to practice humility in my dealings with every person. I will take care of my family no matter what. I will remain cool, calm and collected regardless of the circumstances. I will keep myself physically fit and mentally challenged so that I can make positive contribution to the lives of others my entire life, especially my family. I will live my life in such a way that my family will be proud of me as a person. I will strive to be the person God created me to be. I will continue to discover my dreams and do what I can to:
· Stay on purpose in my life
· Grow to reach my maximum potential, and
· Sow seeds that benefit others.
My Values
· Tara and Children
· Personal growth
· Career
· God
· Health
· Family
How I Want to Be Remembered
Chad Goldwasser was a phenomenal leader. He was learning all of his life. Up until his very last day he was growing and changing and working to become the absolute best person he could be. However, he never took himself too seriously, and he was always full of humor, energy and fun. His most important priority was always his family and he loved them unconditionally. He was always creating positive memories with people and making sure that they knew how special they were to him. He led a very active life and continued racing and training his body up until his last days. He was a servant who truly cared about people and poured himself into those that needed him most. His passion for his life and mission was so evident through his enthusiastic and always positive attitude. He liked to accomplish things, especially with a team. He had his flaws, just as we all do and he realized it. He focused on his strengths and became dedicated to raising his abilities in his strength-zones, and he helped others do the same. He was always focused on improving his relationship with God. Chad lived his life with transparency. His life was an example of his definition of success. Success to Chad was knowing his purpose, growing to reach his maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others. He will he celebrated and remembered fondly.
Family: Tara, Mason, Aden and Samantha
Clarifying vision statement: Family
My life is devoted to being an absolutely great father to my children and developing a strong friendship with them. I will be my wife’s strongest supporter; I will always be her best friend and build a strong trusting respectful relationship for the rest of our lives
What I see
· I am at age 56 and living an incredibly rich and full life. My relationship with my children is strong. Mason is 28, Aden is 26 and Samantha is 23. During their lives so far I have focused on being their friend without pushing myself on them. They share many of my same interests and we still take many trips together. One of those trips is always to go biking or other adventures. Sometimes we go to Moab and other times we stray and venture out. Wherever we go, we always have a great time together and share a lot about their hopes and dreams as well as mine. They are all incredible leaders in their own right and I love learning from them. We have created many strong memories and traditions together. My children look at me as a model of success and integrity. They understand that I have committed my life to growing as a person, and to being a leader and a lifter of people. I have seen the impact my leadership has had on them and it seems that they are modeling their lives after both Tara’s and mine. They will always know how much I love them and how proud I am of them.
· Tara and I have been married for 31 years. We have known each other for 45 years of our life. We have a strong relationship and respect each other greatly. We have gone through many ups and downs, but early on we committed to always working together to get through anything, and we have. We have had many great times and built many great memories with our family. At this point we have traveled all over the world. We built a very strong and successful life based on our values and our beliefs. We committed a long time ago to growing together and we have done that. We have devoted our lives to helping others. We set the bar very high for ourselves because we believe that we can do anything together. We both committed to being strong models of how to live a good life free of envy, jealousy, negative feelings, and need of things. We are each other’s best friends and we respect each other greatly.
Steps I will take:
· Truly talk to my wife uninterrupted 20 minutes per night
· Send my wife flowers or a gift telling her I love her and respect her once a month
· I will tell her she is my best friend and that I respect her daily
· I will encourage all of her dreams
· I will take my kids on one family vacation per year
· I will make Thursday nights and Saturdays total family time.
· Our Saturday mornings will be our fun time, like the time I spent with my father
· I will take them on special dates regularily
· I will always carve out family time first
Personal Growth
Clarifying vision statement: Personal growth
I will devote my life to filling my mind, body, and soul with thoughts to help me build strong relationships. I will fill myself with wisdom (through books, tapes, and seminars), so that as I get older I may teach others, and live my purpose of positively impacting the lives of millions of people worldwide.
What I see
Since my mid-20s I realized how important it was for me to grow as a leader. Now at 56 I have over 29 years focused on filling my mind with thoughts that have made me a better person. I realized early that the only way to change the world was to change myself. I put myself on a very strict planned out, committed growth plan and that has made all the difference. I am absolutely a product of the books I’ve read, the people I have surrounded myself with, the seminars I have attended and my absolute dedication to thinking on the right things. Through my business I have been able to teach others, and that has allowed me to grow even more. I am still, however, light hearted, fun and full of humor. My growth has been consistent and committed. I still have a lot to learn.
Steps I will take:
• I will spend two mornings from 7-9 a.m. at the office thinking and planning
• I will read 45 minutes (at least) daily
• I will write daily
• I will spend 25 weeks with winning with people and 25 weeks with people practices
• I will attend four growth workshops per year
Career
Clarifying vision statement: Career
I will build a strong company guided by our core values and beliefs. Our company will benefit everyone touched by it. I will always remember that I’m working to live and not living to work.
What I see
At age 56 my dedication and commitment to leadership and growth have paid off big time. My real estate company is now run by an amazing team that has been with me for more than 25 years. I am still involved in that company, but only for vision casting, leadership and motivation. Everything is run by strong systems and the leaders that have built them. My focus on reading and leadership development has filled me with good information and thoughts which I am able to convey and teach to millions of people through motivational teaching, training, and writing. Our real estate company has become legendary in America and around the world for our total focus on serving our clients. Our agents are the most elite in the business and our name is associated with the greatest service companies in the world. My teaching and training company has over 150 employees that are all a focused team working together to positively impact the lives of everyone we touch, we are changing lives. My companies run like a well oiled machine because of our dedication to teamwork, which allows me at this point in my life to focus in my career on the areas that are my absolute strengths:
· My Thinking· My Writing· My Communicating· My Leadership
Steps I will take:
• I will work hard to continue to implement Topgrading and attracting great leaders
• I will continue to teach and train and grow as a speaker and writer
• We will continue to clearly articulate our vision, mission, purpose and values
• I will always hire the best consultants
God and Spiritual Life
Clarifying vision statement: God and Spiritual life
I will continue to develop a strong relationship with God. I will continue to learn and grow in my faith at all times. I will let go of my old feelings towards faith and God. I will make sure to honor God in all that I do.
What I see
My relationship with God has grown a lot over the years. For a long time it was hard for me to let him in. I know that there is a lot to learn from the teaching of the Bible and I have been committed to working on and learning from that. I still have a long way to go, but my family has helped me commit to our faith and grow together with God in our life. I have realized that my time on earth is only a short time and eternity is what I must live for. I realize I will he tested throughout my life and my responses to those tests will become the strength of my character. My character and integrity will be the strongest aspects of my life because of my relationship with God.
Steps I will take:
· Will work every day to let go of my old feelings
· I will study from the Bible daily 10 to 20 minutes
· I will find a church that I feel I can grow at
· I will keep God with me at all times
· I will give 10% of my income to worthy causes and the church
Health
Clarifying vision statement: Health
I will continue to focus on my health and exercise regimen. Staying healthy will allow inc to live a long, happy, and prosperous life full of energy. My health will allow me to reach my maximum potential.
What I see
My health has always been important to me. For the past 30 years I have followed a healthy lifestyle because it gives me energy. I love to bike, run, and swim and any other fun challenging activity. When I was in my 30s I started racing and I haven’t stopped. I have maintained a weight of 160-170 for all my life. I’ve always been focused on eating healthy, visiting my doctor yearly and making sure that health is one or my top priorities. My health has made a huge difference in my life.
Steps I will take:
· I work out Monday through Friday at 5:30 a.m.
· I race four times per year no matter what
· I will he very strict, but also realistic about what I eat
· I will do nothing to excess
My Extended Family
Clarifying vision statement: Family
I will always develop strong, healthy relationships and friendships with the people that are closest to me. My extended family not only includes all my relatives, but also the people who are building their lives with me.
What I see
I’ve been blessed with a great family of people to surround me. I have made sure that I am the catalyst for keeping in touch with my brothers and the rest of my extended family. I will make sure to always honor them and let them know how much they mean to me. I will always support them and welcome them into my home. I will love them unconditionally throughout my life as they have loved me. My upbringing and my family have made a great impact on my life. I have developed deep and strong healthy relationships with all the people that have decided they want strong and healthy relationships with me. I always encouraged the dreams of my family and never let anything stand in the way of our relationship.
Steps I will take:
· I will call my mom on a weekly basis
· I will call my brothers often
· I will visit Minnesota one time per year and spend one week there (eventually we will buy a home on the lake there)
· I will always remember birthdays of all of my family and I will send them something