It’s very common to think you know what you want, but not really have a clue.

You probably think you want lots of money. But what you really want is what that money will help bring you. Things like…

  • Fancy new car
  • Extravagant house in a nice neighborhood
  • The ability to vacation frequently
  • The latest media center with the biggest TV, best stereo and the latest computer connections
  • A computer that would impress even the biggest computer nerd

Seems pretty clear cut, huh? But, there’s a big problem with this list. It’s not the real list! These aren’t really your desires. They are steps that may help you realize your desires, but they aren’t the actual desires.

What you really want is what these things personally bring you. So, you need to ask a question like: What will this bring me? You need to ask this for each and every thing you have on your list. You can even ask this again and again until you’ve really hit the core of what you want.

After repeating this process it’s common to find that you actually have a good portion of what you really want already, and the other things could be had by doing something you hadn’t originally thought of. You might also find a common theme that can be taken care of by focusing on one direction, instead of scattering yourself all over the place.

You might find that downsizing is a much better choice than that new house. The house, car and other possessions might stand in the way of relatively easy travel and exploration (that fulfill a much larger part of your dreams). Whatever the question above leads to for you, it’s almost certain that you will learn something useful and new.

You might even find that money is not the real problem. It could simply be a problem of asset allocation, or put simply: where you put the money you already have!

Often a new way of looking at things, or thinking about things can have benefits that you would never have expected if you hadn’t gone through the process. Don’t just read and intellectualize this simple exercise, actually DO IT! Pretend you haven’t heard it before, and just follow through!

Lack of action is the greatest hindrance of success there is. Even a poor action can lead to the right action over time, but no action will just lead to nothing, period.
So, take action and do this exercise. Write your desires down. Then go through them one by one and write down what they will bring you. Keep doing this until you really know what you want, then look for ways to get to these real core desires.

You have nothing to loose by doing this. I’m certain you will learn something even if you have already done something like this before. We all change our minds, and even a month or two may bring new elements into your results. Besides, it can be fun and liberating!