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xenomorphlover's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
A fairly standard "change your life!" type of book.
yaltidoka24's review against another edition
3.0
Put together a life plan and be explicit about what you want to get out of your life. Review this plan through the year and adjust it as you see fit, but always work toward something.
massaglia's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent book, especially for those who feel lost and are "drifting". It provides a step-by-step plan for people to evaluate where they are in life, what type of legacy they would like to leave behind, and guidance to put together an actionable, achievable plan. As a career counselor, I'm continue to look for resources to share with students and with clients. I will add this text to my list of recommendations.
V
V
danstratton's review against another edition
5.0
I have read the wisdom of Michael Hyatt for over a decade. This book is some of his best work. Partnering with Daniel Harkavy, they put together s short, easy to read book on how to put together a Life Plan. What's a Life Plan? It's a document you write, detailing the legacy you desire to leave, the priorities and values that serve as boundaries, and the recognition of where you are today and how you are going to get to where you want to end. Sounds like a lot of hard work, doesn't it?
Well, it is and it isn't. That is the value of Living Forward. They lay out the framework and give plenty of examples, tools and encouragement to get the job done in a few hours. Yes, it can be challenging to actually write down what you want to be and then admit to yourself where you are. But what is the cost of not doing this exercise? Drifting through life, hoping to end up where you desire, but deep down knowing the chances are slim. This a Life Plan to guide, the decisions in between become easier, the goals and plans gain purpose and the destination will come into view. The only thing you don't know is how long you have to do it before you move on from life. So... get started.
Well, it is and it isn't. That is the value of Living Forward. They lay out the framework and give plenty of examples, tools and encouragement to get the job done in a few hours. Yes, it can be challenging to actually write down what you want to be and then admit to yourself where you are. But what is the cost of not doing this exercise? Drifting through life, hoping to end up where you desire, but deep down knowing the chances are slim. This a Life Plan to guide, the decisions in between become easier, the goals and plans gain purpose and the destination will come into view. The only thing you don't know is how long you have to do it before you move on from life. So... get started.
mochaberry79's review against another edition
5.0
How do you want your life to look when you reflect on it? What do you want people to say about you and your impact on the people around your? What do you need to do in order to get there?
Living Forward helps you to answer these questions for your life and make a plan to achieve these goals. I hope that once you are done reading, that you will take the opportunity to put together your life plan. Spending the time to reflect and think ahead is a powerful tool to begin living in a way that will allow you to meet your goals for your life.
Living Forward helps you to answer these questions for your life and make a plan to achieve these goals. I hope that once you are done reading, that you will take the opportunity to put together your life plan. Spending the time to reflect and think ahead is a powerful tool to begin living in a way that will allow you to meet your goals for your life.
thaicoco05's review against another edition
This book will catch a person off guard. I hadn't thought about how badly I'd been "drifting" until reading this book. Great for perspective.
rebeccakb's review against another edition
3.0
If you can get an entire day away to do the life plan, great. If you can't- don't be discouraged from doing it. Not everyone can escape for a day regardless of the need to do so. Just focus on the steps and get it underway so you can implement it.
nikkipeterson's review against another edition
2.0
This is a nice basic life planning resource if you haven’t learned from another source before, but I found it really not relatable. Because this book felt so geared towards a high level income bracket, it left me wanting someone to just summarize it and teach it in a way that felt less uppity. So I guess good resource with unhelpful delivery, unless you’re a wealthy middle-aged man.
mrscaew's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this; good framework for how to think about your life. Need to go back through not in audio so I can better incorporate into my goals and planning.
forgottensecret's review against another edition
4.0
'A Life Plan is the app you need to stay on the path to the life you desire. Without a plan, chances are good you'll end up at an unintended destination: an unhappy marriage, an unfulfilling career, in bad health, or all of the above.
Most of us see the inherent wisdom of planning. We may plan for next year's vacation, our children's college education, or our own retirement. But for some strange reason, it never occurs to us to plan our lives.'
There is a murmur in many of us, a howl in others, signalling a gap between who we currently are and who we can be. This is not a new concern. The Stoics, Aristotle in his 'Nicomachean Ethics', and many of the other ancient philosophers would tell us that we are living out of alignment with 'eudaimonia'. The American psychologist, Abraham Maslow, would diagnose this disconnect in his teaching on self-actualisation as, 'What one can be, one must be.' Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy in 'Living Forward' provide a modern framework for closing that gap.
They structure the book in four parts:
'Introduction: An App for your Life
Part One: Understand Your Need
Part Two: Create Your Plan
Part Three: Make it Happen'
Their main thesis is that we need a 'Life Plan' in order to escape the 'Drift'. Let us first define those two terms. We can define the former as:
'A Life Plan is a short written document, usually eight 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.'
The drift, on the other hand, is a consequence of feeling unable to mark out where one wants to go. We drift when we don't have a clear, enchanting destination in mind. That is, one that has 'pull power' (I'm reminded here of the sirens in Homer's 'Odyssey' - our best goals should share some of that allure). The authors emphasise this point by constructing a powerful analogy between the Life Plan and a GPS app. In planning a long journey, it is almost a moot point on whether we will use a GPS - we have to, there will be no way to undertake such a long journey without it. For the Life Plan, this is the equivalent of using a GPS. Three fundamental questions must be asked when constructing our Life Plan:
1. How do I want to be remembered?
2. What matters most?
3. How can I get from here to where I want to be?
The third question fits the GPS metaphor perfectly. The authors tell us that the answer to Q3 is equivalent to the necessity of a GPS for several reasons, of which I will include four:
'A GPS requires you to input your destination.
A GPS gets you to your destination faster with less hassle.
A GPS gives you constant feedback on your progress.
A GPS helps you get back on track when you lose your way.'
In reading this book, it provokes nodding and a recognising that we often vacate deciding the course of the intervals of our lives. There are undoubtedly a collection of suitable reasons: vagueness of what one values, temporal discounting, a personal history of not having success in long term goals, unpredictable obstacles, etc. But in abandoning any determination of how we want, for example, the next five years to look, we are in consequence inducing the world to distract and shepherd us through that pasture of time. Many of us value independence of thought, or are reverent of the heroes that Joseph Campbell details, yet our lives often do not objectify those ideals. If one agrees with Jean-Paul Sartre in 'Existentialism is a Humanism', that man alone is responsible for his actions, then in failing this preparatory stage of assigning times and deadlines for one's goals, then one is burying themselves by the unsympathetic shovel of another. The five years or the life shall pass, but with respect to the accumulation of actions, life could have ended much earlier with a similar output. We are then, each day nudging closer to the destination that we value, or we are immobile with the handbrake on. Time will be in movement, and like a game of Mario Kart, the time will run out even if the player chooses not to move off.
My favourite part of the book is in Chapter 6, 'Chart the Course'. This centres on creating a concrete outline for our 'Life Accounts', which relate to the main areas of our lives (which can vary for each individual). They divide each of the Life Accounts into five sections:
'Section 1: Purpose Statement
Section 2: Envisioned Future
Section 3: Inspiring Quote
Section 4: Current Reality
Section 5: Specific Commitments'
Section 2, in particular, was a good reminder to incorporate all five senses into one's vision, and to do so by the present tense. The authors give a good explanation on why we should frame our goals in terms of this tense, rather than in the future form. They tell us:
'The difference between each set of statements is subtle but central to what we're doing. Fantasizing about the future doesn't do much good by itself, but when presented with a clear and compelling future, our minds get busy trying to make it a reality. We consciously try to close the distance between where we are and when we see ourselves, actively formulating plans and next actions. What's really important is that we believe we can achieve our goal. If we believe we can, even our subconscious gets to work, problem-solving and directing our focus. The more belief and confidence we feel toward achieving our goal, the higher the probability of our making the changes required to hit our targets.'
To those more interested in the science behind why belief is a necessary component, Gabrielle Oettingen, a professor of psychology at NYU, outlines the reasons in 'Rethinking Positive Thinking'. Very briefly, her idea of WOOP uses mental contrasting and implementation intentions. From her research, she writes about the role of belief, 'When we think our wishes are feasible, the future and present reality become fused together on a nonconscious level; when they're not feasible, the future and present reality don't become fused but actually become disconnected.'
Overall, 'Living Forward' is a welcome addition to the books which attempt to stir one from the narrowness of daily living. There are plentiful examples of the Life Plan at the end of the book, and one can even find a corresponding workbook online. Fundamentally, the arbiter of any of these plans or the power of a vision is whether it is causing a person to change their daily and weekly actions. If not, then it is just another mental trinket, and means nothing. For one looking to do the work, and to craft a vision for their future, this book could be what you're searching for.
Most of us see the inherent wisdom of planning. We may plan for next year's vacation, our children's college education, or our own retirement. But for some strange reason, it never occurs to us to plan our lives.'
There is a murmur in many of us, a howl in others, signalling a gap between who we currently are and who we can be. This is not a new concern. The Stoics, Aristotle in his 'Nicomachean Ethics', and many of the other ancient philosophers would tell us that we are living out of alignment with 'eudaimonia'. The American psychologist, Abraham Maslow, would diagnose this disconnect in his teaching on self-actualisation as, 'What one can be, one must be.' Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy in 'Living Forward' provide a modern framework for closing that gap.
They structure the book in four parts:
'Introduction: An App for your Life
Part One: Understand Your Need
Part Two: Create Your Plan
Part Three: Make it Happen'
Their main thesis is that we need a 'Life Plan' in order to escape the 'Drift'. Let us first define those two terms. We can define the former as:
'A Life Plan is a short written document, usually eight 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.'
The drift, on the other hand, is a consequence of feeling unable to mark out where one wants to go. We drift when we don't have a clear, enchanting destination in mind. That is, one that has 'pull power' (I'm reminded here of the sirens in Homer's 'Odyssey' - our best goals should share some of that allure). The authors emphasise this point by constructing a powerful analogy between the Life Plan and a GPS app. In planning a long journey, it is almost a moot point on whether we will use a GPS - we have to, there will be no way to undertake such a long journey without it. For the Life Plan, this is the equivalent of using a GPS. Three fundamental questions must be asked when constructing our Life Plan:
1. How do I want to be remembered?
2. What matters most?
3. How can I get from here to where I want to be?
The third question fits the GPS metaphor perfectly. The authors tell us that the answer to Q3 is equivalent to the necessity of a GPS for several reasons, of which I will include four:
'A GPS requires you to input your destination.
A GPS gets you to your destination faster with less hassle.
A GPS gives you constant feedback on your progress.
A GPS helps you get back on track when you lose your way.'
In reading this book, it provokes nodding and a recognising that we often vacate deciding the course of the intervals of our lives. There are undoubtedly a collection of suitable reasons: vagueness of what one values, temporal discounting, a personal history of not having success in long term goals, unpredictable obstacles, etc. But in abandoning any determination of how we want, for example, the next five years to look, we are in consequence inducing the world to distract and shepherd us through that pasture of time. Many of us value independence of thought, or are reverent of the heroes that Joseph Campbell details, yet our lives often do not objectify those ideals. If one agrees with Jean-Paul Sartre in 'Existentialism is a Humanism', that man alone is responsible for his actions, then in failing this preparatory stage of assigning times and deadlines for one's goals, then one is burying themselves by the unsympathetic shovel of another. The five years or the life shall pass, but with respect to the accumulation of actions, life could have ended much earlier with a similar output. We are then, each day nudging closer to the destination that we value, or we are immobile with the handbrake on. Time will be in movement, and like a game of Mario Kart, the time will run out even if the player chooses not to move off.
My favourite part of the book is in Chapter 6, 'Chart the Course'. This centres on creating a concrete outline for our 'Life Accounts', which relate to the main areas of our lives (which can vary for each individual). They divide each of the Life Accounts into five sections:
'Section 1: Purpose Statement
Section 2: Envisioned Future
Section 3: Inspiring Quote
Section 4: Current Reality
Section 5: Specific Commitments'
Section 2, in particular, was a good reminder to incorporate all five senses into one's vision, and to do so by the present tense. The authors give a good explanation on why we should frame our goals in terms of this tense, rather than in the future form. They tell us:
'The difference between each set of statements is subtle but central to what we're doing. Fantasizing about the future doesn't do much good by itself, but when presented with a clear and compelling future, our minds get busy trying to make it a reality. We consciously try to close the distance between where we are and when we see ourselves, actively formulating plans and next actions. What's really important is that we believe we can achieve our goal. If we believe we can, even our subconscious gets to work, problem-solving and directing our focus. The more belief and confidence we feel toward achieving our goal, the higher the probability of our making the changes required to hit our targets.'
To those more interested in the science behind why belief is a necessary component, Gabrielle Oettingen, a professor of psychology at NYU, outlines the reasons in 'Rethinking Positive Thinking'. Very briefly, her idea of WOOP uses mental contrasting and implementation intentions. From her research, she writes about the role of belief, 'When we think our wishes are feasible, the future and present reality become fused together on a nonconscious level; when they're not feasible, the future and present reality don't become fused but actually become disconnected.'
Overall, 'Living Forward' is a welcome addition to the books which attempt to stir one from the narrowness of daily living. There are plentiful examples of the Life Plan at the end of the book, and one can even find a corresponding workbook online. Fundamentally, the arbiter of any of these plans or the power of a vision is whether it is causing a person to change their daily and weekly actions. If not, then it is just another mental trinket, and means nothing. For one looking to do the work, and to craft a vision for their future, this book could be what you're searching for.