When I first came across the term ‘living a remarkable life’, I was quite daunted. To live a life worthy of attention, this seemed a bit too much for me. I couldn’t think of anything worse. The thought of living a life that was worthy of other people’s attention, no that wasn’t for me.
No, they can sod off, I thought. It’s my life, and I’ll live it the way I want to.
And then the penny dropped.
The only person my life should be remarkable to is me. It should be worthy of my attention, my focus, time and energy.
It was then I realised that everyone should be living their own remarkable life. Each and everyone one of us should be giving our lives our attention. We should be living it intentionally and with purpose.
In this article, I will share some thoughts about why you might want to live a remarkable life. Oh, and of course, the steps you might take to start living one.
Remarkable to Me, Isn’t That Selfish?
I hadn’t ever thought about living a remarkable life until I listened to Tim Ferriss interviewing Debbie Millman. The interview blew me away. Debbie left me hypnotised, as she described creating a ten-year plan for a remarkable life.
It was one of those moments when it hit me that my life clock was ticking, counting down the days of my existence. Was my life worthy of attention at that moment? It was — but it wasn’t deliberate.
I had found love, gotten married and had two children. But we were drifting, my wife and me. We didn’t have a plan, no real ambitions apart from cooing over our grandchildren in the future.
We were drifting along, and I suspect that’s where many others find themselves.
As I sat and pondered on Debbie Millman’s words I realised this was something I was missing. I didn’t feel that I was living a life worthy of my attention, and to start with I worried it was selfish. Selfish for me to think about me and my life in such a way.
But it soon became clear to me that by not living with purpose and with a plan I was being more selfish. I wasn’t living the best version of me.
I was failing myself and those around me — how selfish was that?
Being the Best Version Of Us
I think if anyone ever challenged us, we would say we live life as the best version of ourselves. But do we? I don’t think that’s true all the time.
How many of us are drifting through life, living one day to the next? I suspect far more of us live in this state of drifting than we would ever imagine.
This isn’t living a remarkable life — far from it.
So how do we change that reality to living a life that is purposeful and empowers us to become the best version of ourselves?
For me, it starts with having a plan — a life plan — one that frames your life for the next ten years at least. But, before we jump into the life planning bit, we need to think about where we want to get to. What does that look like?
25 Questions to Help You Build a Ten-Year Life Plan
Well, for me, the podcast interview between Tim Ferriss and Debbie Millman was and is my point of reference. In the interview, Debbie shares 25 questions that pick up and transport you ten years into the future…
So, let’s say it is winter, 2030. What does your life look like? What are you doing? Where are you living? Who are you living with? Do you have pets? What kind of house are you in? is it an apartment? Are you in the city? Are you in the country?
What does your furniture look like? What is your bed like? What are your sheets like? What kind of clothes do you wear? What kind of hair do you have? Tell me about your pets. Tell me about your significant other.
Do you have children? Do you have a car? Do you have a boat? Talk about your career. What do you want? What are you reading? What are you making?
What excites you? What is your health like? And write this day, this one day ten years from now. So, one day in the winter of 2030; what does your whole day look like? Start from the minute you wake up, brush your teeth, have your coffee or tea, all the way through until when you tuck yourself in at night. What is that day like for you?
Dream big. Dream without any fear. Write it all down. You don’t have to share it with anyone other than yourself. Put your whole heart into it and write like there’s no tomorrow. Write as your life depends on it, because it does. And then, read it once a year and see what happens. It’s magic.
What we have is a very definitive and detailed vision of your life ten years from now. With it written down in black and white, it is there, giving a clear goal for the future.
This isn’t a whimsical dream; this is what you want your life to look like ten years from now. The interesting thing, well that’s what happens next — and that’s on you.
Life Planning For the Next Ten Years
Having created this vision, this dream of what you want your life to look like, the obvious thing to ask is how do you make it happen?
After all, you’ve taken the time to think and write down what you want your life to be like in 2030. Now you need to think about how you will get there. What steps will you need to take to get you on the right path to vision? Do you need to change career? Move home, or perhaps merge your spending to help you save for your vision.
Whatever it is, this becomes your life plan. It demands that you take the steps needed to achieve your vision.
Now, suddenly, you’re living a remarkable life, one where you are making your life and time worthy of your attention. The things you do, the steps you take. Well, they all count towards achieving the vision you carefully thought about and wrote down — reminding you of the life you aspire to.
Final Thoughts
I was a drifter, floating through life — living one day at a time. It’s no way to live. I don’t believe it brings happiness. If anything, I think it brings the opposite. Living a life worthy of attention — a remarkable life — well that brings different emotions entirely.
The questions Debbie asked, well, I hope they transport you forward as they did me.
Those 25 questions took me and my wife onto a vision that turned out to be a shared goal. It was just that we had never discussed it, and by talking about it, it became real, tangible and something worth fighting for.
Then, we had something to focus on. And with it a plan, with a desirable outcome. We might get there, or we might not. But I know one thing. I would rather try and be happy, than not try and be sad.
That for me is the key, and it’s why I think everyone should want to live a remarkable life. It brings with it something to make life worth living, to give yourself attention.
We have — as far as we know — one life. So, live it with purpose and a plan. Go and live a remarkable life.
