Chapter 4: So, did you try it?

So, did you try it? (Writing your Primary Aim, that is.)

If you did, you probably felt the same overwhelming sense of smug self-satisfaction that I did after I’d written my Primary Aim. In fact, I was so smitten that I rushed out and bought a clip-frame so that I could hang a copy above my desk and gaze at it.

The honeymoon period lasted for about a week before it suddenly struck me that simply staring at a clip frame and admiring my own vigorous brand of sincerity would not, in and of itself, bring me success.

I actually needed to do something.

Reading through my Primary Aim over and over, I started to think about my strengths and weaknesses in relation to the specific individual aims I had written. I wanted to take a balanced view but all I could see were two gaping holes:

• “I want to enjoy my work; I want it to challenge and excite me.”
• “I’ll need quite a lot [of money] to build the house I envisage (maybe £500,000 or more)...”

I don’t enjoy my work; it doesn’t challenge and excite me. And I don’t have £500,000 and I don’t know how to get £500,000.

So, I wrote down two simple questions.

• What can I do for a living that will challenge and excite me?
• How can I generate £500,000 in savings within 2-5 years?

(I don’t have the answer, of course. This is a work in progress, remember.)