How to Get the Life You Want:

According to Stephen Covey, in his book 7 Habits of Highly Effectively People, in order to be successful and live the life you want, you must "put first things first".  A pretty old saying if you ask me.  Something my own parents or grandparents have said for decades.  Now I am going to tell you the same thing again.

Take action. 

That is the first thing you must do.  Set goals, put a plan in place and take action! Inaction breeds slothfulness, and slothfulness breeds drudgery, so you must move swiftly on your goals. Setting goals brings clarity of priority. This will inspire you to take action, Act swiftly, lest your inspiration is gone.

Have faith.

The Bible says, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen." But you must also know that The Lord Our God is not going to come down from heaven and make things happen for us. The Bible also says, "Faith without work is dead." We have to take massive action to make things happen for ourselves. We have to work for what we want or live a life of envy and shame. According to Arthur Ashe, the famous World No. 1 tennis player, you must "start where you are, use what you have and do what you can." Therefore, with that kind of attitude, there is no room for excuses.

Find your talent. 

Go to work.  “Work” doesn't necessarily mean going to work for someone else. Working for others is a prime example of drudgery if that's not where your heart is. It does not matter what your title is—if you are not using your talent and loving what you do, you are living a life of drudgery. When we wait too long to take action, we have to face the drudgery of life. I am not saying drudgery is all bad; let's face it, there are worse things that could happen. Sometimes drudgery with contentment is a great gain. However, to make great things manifest in your lives, you must be willing to take risks and initiative. It is morally unjust and ungodly not to use your talents. Figure out what it is you are good at and work hard to develop it and use it to help others.

Seek and you shall find.

You see, when we sit back and don't take control of our lives, we actually start to feel bad about ourselves, subconsciously. Inaction will inevitably lead to unwanted results and ill feelings regardless of how we see it prima facie. The reason most people are unhappy with their current lifestyle is due to their lack of courage to take initiative and massive action to change their situation. They make themselves content to live a menial or subpar life. But seriously, who wants that? That is not even God's desire for any of us. He said, “Seek and you shall find.” There is plenty out there in this glorious world for all of us to share and part-take of. Yes, we know the "greedy" want to take it all; but can you honestly call them greedy if you refuse to do what they are willing to do to have the life they want? If you give up on taking steps to achieve your birthright of abundance, whose fault is that? Why is it that some are making it happen and some aren't? Do you think this is how it was ordained?  I don't.  The Bible says, "From the sweat of your brow, you shall eat bread". It says, "Knock and it shall be open." "Ask and it shall be given".  It says, "God loves a cheerful giver".  These are all clues to our abundance—to having the life we so desire.  Let righteousness direct your path. Remember to divert your focus from the monetary aspect of your goal. If you work hard and help others, the blessings will come—that's a given.  

Stay focused.

The goal is to focus on achieving your life's purpose: serving God, and helping the needy and taking care of yourself. God wants us to help the poor.  Isaiah 1:17 said: "Learn to do right; seek justice and defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless and plead the case of the widow." Bear in mind that some are poor and feeble, and they do not have the strength, courage, or stamina to fight the greedy or defend themselves. They are afraid of further or potentially negative consequences of any actions they take. If it is any consolation, God did not create money or power.  They are both fabricated by man. So focus on neither.  The Bible tells us, "The fool and his money shall soon depart", (Proverb 13:23). Though one may have plenty today, their unjust ways will cause them to eventually lose it all.  On the other hand, if you focus on judgment for those who have plenty, you will fail to see your own abundance and it will be destroyed.

Do more. Do better.

Personally, I had a late start in life, due to a number of setbacks. Needless to say, I was overly cautious in my earlier years, fearful and much of a worrywart. I have finally learned the essence of chutzpah! Albeit, I am still playing catch-up. I came to Canada in my mid to late teens and got stuck in a system of culture shock, and being an introvert didn't help either. I had some idea about my purpose in life but had no clarity or direction. I was lost, hopeless and confused. I did not accomplish a lot of things I dreamt about. I procrastinated a lot and worried about everything. Nothing was that important to me. This is why I can now encourage others to take action and do more with what they have. Don't sit on the sidelines watching, waiting and worrying.  Do more. Be better. Set goals, plan and achieve your dreams. Don't let anyone's values or fear come between you and your dreams.  Who knows, maybe my life today would be much fuller and richer, or maybe I could have been dead. The fact is, the path I took kept me here, still standing, and I am grateful for that. That's enough for me to keep pushing. You will never know if you don't go looking for those opportunities or take calculated risks. What I do know now, is there is much more to life than merely surviving. I did not take massive action to vastly change my life or to be in charge of the one thing God gave me dominion over—my destiny—until I was older, partly because of fear and partly because of the power of procrastination. I just sort of went with the flow—followed the status quo. Stayed mostly on the main floor or in the basement of life. The thing is, time is of the essence, so you must make hay while the sun shines so you can build later. Maya Angelou puts it so nicely, "Do the best you can with what you know, and when we know better, we do better."

Make it happen.

Young people: do not be fearful, do not rely on your parents or a mate to be there for you, and most importantly, do not rely on mediocre jobs to live a fulfilled life. Figure out your purpose early on in life and go after it with a massive action. Find your talent and use it. Take daily steps to fulfill your dreams. Do not sit on the sidelines and watch things happen. Jump in the game—win or lose. Never give up on your dreams. You get what you put in. Above all, have an attitude of gratitude. Change your thought pattern, and change your life. Know this: positive thoughts, lead to positive actions, and positive actions lead to a positive lifestyle.  Focus only on what is going well in your life, and take steps to change the undesirables.  Live the life you desire.  Arise and Shine!!

Be blessed...Be bold...Be strong...Be you!

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Andrene Gregory is a life coach with certification in LifeSkills training and Personality Dimensions. She helps adults live a strength-based life, regain their confidence and find the courage to navigate through challenging situations. Her unique approach to getting desired results includes personality assessment, self-knowledge, goal setting, and action planning.

Andrene provided one-on-one coaching and group workshops. Find out more at aggiestrongulc.com