Living Forward summary

A GPS is a great tool for helping you reach a new destination. What’s more, if you accidentally take a wrong turn, it’ll reroute your journey without judgment or criticism. Wouldn’t it be great if navigating through life were just as straightforward?

Unfortunately, life is far more complicated than just getting from point A to point B. Sometimes new roads appear out of nowhere. Or a tree unexpectedly falls down and blocks your path. In situations like these, you need to be paying attention to the changes around you so that you can reassess where you’re going – and how you’re going to get there. This is precisely where a Life Plan can help.

To create a life plan, you must start at the end. The first question you will have to ask yourself is, What will my legacy be? 

You might think legacy is restricted to important public figures like Martin Luther King Jr. or Abraham Lincoln. But this isn’t the case. Every individual leaves behind a legacy – and you will, too. Once your life has ended, your legacy is the way you’ll be remembered by the communities you’ve been a part of. In the context of your Life Plan, your legacy is your final destination. 

Fifty-two. That’s the number of Saturdays you get every year – not very many, if you think about it! And if you’re spending half of them racing around, consumed by busyness and preoccupied with stress? That means you have even less time to do what really matters. 

Most of us spend a disturbingly large portion of our lives meeting other people’s expectations. It can be extremely difficult to cut through the noise of these demands and stick to our own priorities. 

Life is a bit like running a cross-country race – without a map. You might have already figured out your ideal destination. But if you’re not completely clear on how to get there, you’re at risk of taking a wrong turn along the way.

Taking the wrong turn happens when you follow someone’s advice without questioning whether or not it aligns with your goals. Opportunities can also take you on a tangent. That work promotion might be tantalizing, but will it bring you closer to the life you’ve envisioned? To avoid detours that lead you away from your Life Plan, you must ask yourself the final Life Plan question: How will I get from where I am to the ending that I’ve imagined?

Picture yourself standing at the edge of a lake. You’ve just witnessed something extraordinary. A chest holding three million dollars has been dumped into the water, and it’s yours for the taking – if you can get to it. 

There’s a rowboat at your disposal, but the chest will be too heavy to lift by yourself. You could call a friend and ask for help. But the current is dragging the chest away, and you’re at risk of losing it. What do you do?

In an episode of the TV show I Love Lucy, Lucy gets a job wrapping chocolates in a candy factory. But the chocolates come down the conveyor belt faster than she can wrap them. Worried she’ll get fired, Lucy frantically stuffs unwrapped chocolates into her clothes to hide them.

Life can often seem like Lucy’s conveyor belt. Demands bombard you faster than you can manage, making you feel forever behind and overwhelmed. If you’re like most people, you’re juggling family, social, and community demands on top of work. How on earth will you get everything done – and still have time to factor the Action Plans into your Life Plan? 

Years ago, one of the authors, Michael Hyatt, was working at a fast-growing organization that needed a formal strategic plan. The company’s leaders went to a three-day retreat led by an external consultant. It was a huge success. After vibrant discussions, the attendees drew up a detailed plan complete with action points and accountabilities.

But after the retreat, no one consulted the plan. It just sat on every executive’s bookshelf, gathering dust. As a result, none of its amazing ideas were implemented the way they should have been – nor were they later adapted to suit a new set of circumstances.