This is the first post in the Planning Your Adventure series.

Before you can get anywhere, you have to know where you are going. Today we are going to start drawing your map. X marks the spot, right?

I will draw my map as we go along, to give you an example. I’ll use this color text to separate it from the directions.

First you have to determine your X. Let’s start with a deceptively simple question. “What would you do if nothing could go wrong?”

Some examples would be:
• purchasing something (motorcycle, house, computer, etc)
• learning some skill (cooking, a new language, jousting, etc)
• doing something (going on a trip, finding more geocaches, trying out a new restaurant, visit a long-lost relative, etc)

My list:
• Running motorcycle (either fix mine or buy a new one)
• RV -windstream
• My own company
• Cross-country motorcycle trip
• Travel to Ireland/Europe
• Hot air balloon ride
• Hang glide
• Get pilot’s license
• Paint a picture
• Sell my ring design
• Sell stationary design
• Be debt free

This can be a hard question to answer truthfully. (I’ve had the advantage of time to think about it.) If you are struggling, think back to dreams that you have given up on for some reason or another. Think of things that you hate or fear and write down the opposite. Don’t limit yourself and do not concern yourself with how these things will be accomplished. Just list your dreams.

If that didn’t help, try answering these questions:
• What would you do, day to day, if you had $100 million in the bank?
• What would make you most excited to wake up in the morning every day?

If you are still having a hard time, fill in these five spots:
• one place to visit
• one thing to do before you die (memory of a lifetime)
• one thing to do daily
• one thing to do weekly
• one thing you’ve always wanted to learn

Now you have a list of dreams. Using at most a 6 month timeline, indicate the most exciting and/or important dreams.

Reordered list, in order of importance & doable within 6 months
• Travel to Ireland/Europe
• Running motorcycle (either fix mine or buy a new one)
• My own company/passive source of income (notice that I am defining this further)
• Be debt free
• Paint a picture
• Cross-country motorcycle trip
• Hot air balloon ride
• Hang glide
• Get pilot’s license
• Sell my ring design
• Sell stationary design
• RV -windstream

I have a number of goals left, too many for a beginning project. I narrowed some down because they are not achievable in 6 months or less (pilot’s license, buy windstream, cross-country motorcycle trip) and some are just not as important/exciting to me (selling designs, hot air balloon ride and hang gliding).

Now that you have indicated the most important dreams that you can complete within 6 months, it is time to choose which ones to focus on. I recommend trying only one or two at a time to start with.

I will focus on the most important goal (a trip to Ireland/Europe) and an easy one to complete (paint a picture).

Now that you have your goal firmly in mind, the X drawn on the map, it is time to figure out how to get there! Next time we’ll Define & Measure!