I remember a mentor telling me in my 20’s that their 40’s had been their favorite decade yet. 

I nodded my headed along, but I thought I had it made. I was living it up, I had a supercharged Range Rover, a big condo, Zenga suits, Tiffany cuff links and could easily stumble home from the trendy bars within walking distance of my modern condo. I was living life fast, making money, and having a lot of “fun”. 

But my mentor was right. As I got older, my interests began to change. 

In my 30’s I started to prioritize wellness. I enjoyed progressing in my fitness, more than progressing into a new income bracket. I enjoyed building deeper relationships/friendships through shared suffering and overcoming self-imposed obstacles. I made a “VIP” list of people I wanted to interact with on a regular basis, and started having real conversations that have been more valuable than any increase in income.

My 30’s were better than my 20’s. I prioritized doing things I was passionate about instead of just going through the motions to generate more income. My weekdays became the same as my weekends – I filled each day with what I enjoyed, and who I enjoyed being around. I became wiser, healthier, more community oriented, and more fulfilled.

My 40’s have been much of the same. I’m more authentic, vulnerable, and comfortable in my own skin. 

I feel more fulfilled in knowing who I am, where I want to be, who I want to be around. 

I live a life that I have intentionally designed. But this is an exercise that I come back to often: 

Every 90 days I perform a quarterly personal review: I set time on my calendar to ask myself the following questions: 

• What does my ideal life look like? How has it changed?

• What were my two main areas where I wanted to improve in the last quarter?

• Did I accomplish what I wanted to? Where did I fall short? Why?

• What kind of changes do I need to make to accomplish my goals?

• Are these still the areas where I am committed to improving?

• What do I need to do financially and with my time to be able to make this happen?

*Use a pen and paper when you perform this exercise.  

**Ask yourself these questions as a starting point, but add in more that are specific to you. You know you better than anyone else.

The first step to achieving anything meaningful is articulating the vision. Then, remember that building anything meaningful takes time.

In my twenties, I first made a list of the activities, people and environments that left me feeling energized and the same for those that left me feeling drained.

I slowly built my life around positive energy sources, but it didn’t happen overnight. I wrote down the changes that I wanted to make, built a plan, and then worked to hold myself accountable. 

Living a life by design in my forties, started almost twenty years ago. And this is the quarterly review system I used to get me to where I am today. 

Give my personal review system a try, and let me know what you think!