Now that we got our Life Google Map, prepared our LifeMobile, started our LifeEngine, and took charge as own LifeMechanic, the last part is to schedule our LifeTuneUp. Success takes a sense of direction, preparation, action, and modification. Success also takes time. Just like the road trip, it takes a certain amount of time to get to the destination. It would be a lot quicker if we took an airplane rather than a car to get to California. The same applies in life. There is always a better and faster way to reach our goals. Our job is to find the best method.

We do this by schedule an appointment with ourselves to brainstorm ways to improve our performance. The only requirement is that it has to be done on a regular schedule and cannot be skipped. We must complete our LifeTuneUp the same way we do tune-ups for our cars. It can be once a month where we spend this time writing down the things we need to do in the coming month to get us closer to what we want. This list could include the books we need to read, the people we need to see, or the money we need to make. This time is also to evaluate what worked and what didn’t work in the past month and what change we need to make to get better results.

Remember, failure is just a form of feedback and those who succeeded did so because they just tried more. Most of us probably know that Thomas A. Edison was the one who invented the light bulb. But not many people knew that it took him almost two years of failed attempts until he found the right material for the filament to work. After each failed attempt, he would evaluate why and find a different material to test. He did this over 6,000 times! When asked about the more than 10,000 experiments it took to develop a storage battery, he said “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Compared to Thomas Edison, the world we live in today is a lot easier. I’m sure Edison would give anything to have a tool like the internet. It’s what we do with the tools and time we have that make the difference. When we do our LifeTuneUp appointments, we sharpen our tools. And with the right tool, knowledge, and action, success is not a matter of if… but when.

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With a Life Google Map on hand and the LifeMobile prepared, we are ready to start. But as we all know, things always come up at the last minute. Isn’t it funny how the parking lot near the health club would always seem to be full which leads us to not go exercise more? Ever wonder why we always seem to run out of time which leads us to not read or learn new skills to improve ourselves? Or, how come the other person wouldn’t just understand our point of view which leads us to not resolve the conflict? The truth is there will always be a reason that will cause us to not start building our dream life. But just like a coin, as long as there is a head, we can be sure to find a tail on the flip side. For every reason for us to not take action, there is always a reason for us to do it. The key is what are we focusing on?

There is a saying that whatever we focus on it’ll grow. Think about it. When we haven’t eaten for days and are starving like mad, what is the only thing we think about? We think about food, right? And what do we do? We look for food and wouldn’t stop until we had eaten and are satisfied, right? It’s the same way with our dream life. If we can train ourselves to think about it every single breathing moment, we will surely find a way to get the life we want. It won’t matter what obstacles we face or what reason people say against it. If we know what we want and believe without a doubt in our heart that one day we’ll get what we want, we will find a reason to go out and make it happen.

The most important decision we can make right now is to just do it now, not tonight, not tomorrow, not next month, not when everything is ready and perfectly planned, but right now. What can you do right now to help yourself? One characteristic of successful people is that they take action. I’m sure Warren Buffett did not know everything there is to know about the stock market when he bought his first stock at age 11. Charlie Munger, Buffett’s long time business partner, said that one of the reasons Buffett is so successful is that he got an early start. Tiger Woods is the same way. He hit his first golf ball when he was 4. Of course, Warren Buffett and Tiger Woods do have the unique ability and talent to succeed. But remember also that we didn’t know how to do the most basic things, like walking and talking, when we were born. Everything can be learned. To go back to our road trip analogy, the ones who start their LifeEngine and take off early will most likely get to where they want to be first.

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Now that we have our Life Google Map in place, the next step is to prepare ourselves for the journey. So how do we begin? Have you ever been on a road trip? I still remember the road trip my family took along the west coast to visit my brother in California. It had been a long time since we last saw him and a drive along the Pacific Ocean with all the attractions along the way did sound quite nice. We had a Jeep at the time. It was a perfect car for the trip; lots of room for comfortable ride and for all our stuffs. Gas was not as expensive back then so it was okay to drive the Jeep. We knew roughly how many days we would be there so we packed our clothes, a swimming suit, and a camera to capture all the fun moments. Food and snack was also on the top of the list. The day of the trip was coming close and we looked over the Jeep one last time to make sure all the oil and fluids were ready for the drive.

Just like preparing for our road trip, our life trip also needs preparation. What will get us to our destination (our dream life) is our Lifemobile and we need to get it ready. So how do we do this? We do it the same way as a road trip. We sit down and make a list of the things we need and we go and get them. If our destination is to have the dream house, we would first find out how much it will cost and how much money we need to get it. We then start to earn more and save most of it. We would make a timeline on when we will be ready to buy. We would also find a few real estate agents and loan officers who can give us some useful advice. The last steps would be to go out and look at many houses and finally make the offer, negotiate the price, and close the deal.

All the steps above take actions and lots of ground works. If we want to build a 100 story building, most construction experts will tell us that we needs to dig deep into the ground to lay a strong foundation to support the structure. Most people would also say that Michael Jordan is one of the best basketball players of all time. But a few people actually know that he would come early for practice before everyone else and would stay longer afterward. He spent hours and hours every day shooting the ball until he can do it with his eyes closed. When asked about the reason he succeeded, this is what he said; “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” A quote from Gary Player, the great golfer summarizes it best. He said “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” So what are we waiting for? Start to prepare right now. If time will pass by anyway whether we do anything or not, why not do something for a change?

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