“Life’s an adventure. Enjoy the view,” was the notation inside this birthday card from my kids.
“I hope this one’s not on your bucket list,” added my son. “But I’m sure there are many more in store.”
I love that card!
Not just because of the cover photo—which I think is hilarious—but also because of the spirit of adventure it conveys, the encouragement to keep inspired to try new things.
That would be my intention, anyways. But it’s good to get that added motivation, from the card, and from my son.
That’s not to be taken for-granted, of course! I’d just hit the age when many people do just the opposite. They stop adventuring. They lose motivation. They go into a downhill coasting mode.
To me, that’s sad.
Brendan Burchard is one of my favorite motivators. Following an accident that nearly took his life, he realized that, at the end of his life, he’d want to look back and ask himself, “Did I live? Did I love? Did I matter?” And so he decided to devote his life to helping others realize their goals and potential.
Now his blog posts go to 10,000,000 people per week (2000 times as many as mine). He’s been recognized as one of the top 25 most influential people by SUCCESS magazine, is one of the top 100 most followed public figures on Facebook, has the #1 personal development show on YouTube and is a New York Times Bestselling author
I think I can learn something from him.
So I’m reading one of his books, The Motivation Manifesto: 9 Declarations to Claim Your Personal Power.
On the very first page, he sets the tone: “We must ask why we participate so humbly in society’s frantic race, allowing ourselves into its mazes of mediocrity and settling for scraps of reward when nature has offered unlimited freedom, power, and abundance to the bold, the determined, the creative, the independent—to each of us. We must ask if our desires to feel safe and accepted are in fact enslaving us to popular opinion—and to boredom. We must ask: When will we be ready to ascend to another level of existence?” (italics in original).
Not many pages further, I underlined a huge reminder to me: “We must remember we are not the sum of our intentions but of our actions. Bold and disciplined initiative is our savior; it allows us to rise, to leap, to soar to heights of true greatness.”
When I returned from South America, I made a list of my top 10 most iconic places in the world I have visited. I was actually quite impressed with that list. Then I thought of quite a few more places still on my bucket list that could displace some of the items currently on my Top 10. And I was quite impressed with that list, too. Certainly, no time to get into “coast mode.”
Some of my past trips were really hard to commit to. But, when I finally put down the deposit, I never regretted it. Sometimes the first step is the hardest, especially when we are venturing into new territory.
Your bucket list might not include travel to exotic or iconic places. But adventures of whatever kind await, I’m sure. Regardless of your age or place in life.
It’s worth repeating: “We must remember we are not the sum of our intentions but of our actions. Bold and disciplined initiative is our savior . . .”
Yup, life’s an adventure. And I will enjoy (new) views. For at least the next 30 or 40 years.
At least, that’s how I see it . . .
The Motivation Manifesto can be purchased through Amazon.
Rent 2 Own tip
How much of a home can you qualify for? We get lots of applications from people with a low income who would like a high priced home. Of course, we’d all like Champagne on a beer budget!
Well, the bottom line is that there is a fixed formula, set by federal regulation. You are allowed to spend “X” percentage of your monthly income on housing costs (mortgage payment, taxes and a value for utilities). If the interest rate is low, of course your payment will be lower and you can afford a higher valued home than if the rate is high.
But, here’s a rough rule-of-thumb: At today’s interest rates and with a down payment of 10%, you can qualify for a home valued at about 5 times your annual salary. That’s if you get a mortgage today. At Fraser Valley Rent 2 Own, because we are qualifying people on the basis of meeting bank qualifications in two or three years, we have to be a little more conservative, due to the uncertainties of interest rate adjustments or regulatory policy changes over the term.
