Live and Let Live

I believe that one of the keys to creating our best lives comes with being able to identify what that life looks like and actually painting the picture of what it entails. There are many ways that you can do this. One of the ways that you can implement this is by doing a vision board. Other ways may include having a goal setting book or writing a story about your life and how it looks in the future tense. However, today, I want to inspire each and every one of you to create a living document called a “Live Out Loud List”. Now, some may refer to this as a bucket list, but I have never liked that name. I mean who wants to think about beating the death clock every time they plan their awesome adventures, not me. Instead, let’s focus on how much life we have to live and all of the wonderful things we can accomplish in our lifetime. Here are my 3 tips on creating a Live Out Loud List that will help you create your best life adventures.

Write It Down

This seems simple enough, but let me narrow the scope for you a bit. When developing our list, here are some things we want to be sure to take note of:
Places we want to travel
Events we want to attend
Adventurous experiences we want to have
Lavish things we want to splurge on
A journey of Inner Peace

Those are a few items that will get your list going. For example, my ultimate goal is to travel the world and experience different cultures. One of the things I do is always take note of places I want to travel to. I can see a video or photo of a beautiful place and I immediately take note of it in my head or on my phone. I then add it to my ever-growing list of places I want to travel. I’m going to use this travel example for all 3 of these steps I am about to teach you. Once I develop this exhaustive list I then move on to step two.

Plan It

A dream without a plan to fulfill it is just a dream. Now, is where the work really begins. We know where we want to travel or what we want to do, so now it is time to do our research. Typically when I research the places I want to go, especially abroad I check 5 things.
The economic or governmental controversy that may involve war or hardship.
Best time of the year to go for good weather or festivals
Cost Averages
Known attractions that I may want incorporate in my visit
Adventures native to that area that I can’t experience anywhere else.
Once I have identified these 5 things. I set a date for when I would like to make that trip whether it be alone or with other people. If I am inviting other people to join in the fun, I present them with the idea to get their buy-in. Once I’ve gathered a rough estimate of how many people may want to go, I contact my travel agent, The B. Professor, the best international travel agent ever, and then I give him all of my specifications and he provides me with a full itinerary that is customizable with the cost attached. Together we develop a payment plan and I send it out to my crew and whoever is on board pays their deposit, which leads me to the last step.

Make It Happen

Now here comes the fun maybe a little scary, but in an exciting way kind of scary part. Lol! It’s time to do it. Now that all of the travel plans have been made and the payment plan implemented, we are ready to board the flight and experience life beyond the United States of America.

I am actually in the midst of the make it happen stage as we speak. In January 2019 I will be taking my first trip to South Africa. I can’t wait to set foot in the Motherland and what an adventure it will be. We will have a day layover in Doha and then travel to Johannesburg for a couple of days, then our last stop will be in the amazing Cape Town. Let me tell you, I am ready to shop until I drop. I may need another suitcase. I’m going with some of my closest girlfriends and none of them have ever been to Africa either, so I am excited to share this experience with them. We are even booking a photographer to commemorate the experience.

So let’s recap. No matter what your “Live Out Loud List” consist of, there are 3 steps you want to take. First, you need to write down what it is you want to do or experience. Then you need to actually plan it and be sure to take into account cost, wardrobe, and any economics that may play a part in it. Lastly, you want to make it happen by paying a deposit or registering for the event, etc. No matter what your dream is, just make sure you own it and fulfill it.

Until next time…always live your best life out loud!