I want to plan out on paper a dream I’ve had for sometime now.
It’s one of those “If you knew you could not fail” types of goals.
Usually when I plan big goals, I start at the beginning and work towards the goal. In this exercise, I want to start at the conclusion and work backwards.
As a public speaker, I’ve always wanted to put together a Personal Development Seminar to tell a better story with your life. But since I’m dreaming, I don’t want this to be an ordinary seminar. No way. I want a large stage, bright lights, appropriate music and a topic that delivers emotion to the audience.
While Tony Robbins has Fire Walking, and Craig Duswalt has Rock-n-Roll, I want something similarly spectacular.
Something so cool that you can’t help but be drawn into the story.
Come with me to the Theatre. It’s Friday night.
The stage curtain is pulled. The house lights drop and in the darkness a speaker walks out on stage. He stands front and center. A spot light shines straight down from the ceiling, illuminating only his body. The rest of the stage is still black.
The speaker starts talking. He paints the picture of what you will see. He starts off with the timeline.
It’s been two weeks since you died.
He points to the right side of the stage where a new spotlight reveals a casket. And while your death has been hard on the family, we now fast forward two weeks. The casket is pulled off stage and its light is dimmed. The speaker now tells you that we will now go to an important place.
More important than the funeral parlor.
More immediate than the church.
It’s a place that children, family members, and friends all end up.
The curtain pulls back and two distinct sides of the stage are silhouetted in the dim light.
A light from the ceiling illuminates the right side of the stage
A man and a woman are standing in what looks like a garage.
All your stuff is there for the world to see.
Your son and daughter introduce themselves. They are well dressed, and your garage seems somewhat organized.
The light drops…
The other side of the stage is illuminated.
This side is a total mess. Boxes, trash, and junk are all over the place.
The man and the woman on this side are disheveled. The introduce themselves as your children.
The light dims and the main speaker comes back up.
He announces that this is your legacy.
You get to choose sides.
One side has a good use of time, good habits, long term goals, and two kids that have made an impact on the world.
The other side is full of vices… alcohol, drugs, unhealthy lifestyles. Jobs that have come and gone. The kids are high school dropouts.
The next 90 minutes are emotional as the light reveals side to side the effects of life choices.
Your legacy is revealed back and forth in the garage.
Choices on each side must be made.
What gets thrown away, what gets saved.
When you have to clean out someone else’s junk, decisions become tough. Emotions run high. Both side have their problems and successes.
At the end of 90 minutes, the curtain draws closed.
A break is taken and then as the audience returns, the main speaker comes back.
The curtain reopens and the stage is empty, except for two locked doors surrounded in frames. One door says “personal” the other says “the world.”
Above the doors is the word impossible.
The speaker tries a key in each door. They are both locked.
He turns around and announces that your goal overnight is to figure out where to go and how to find a key to open them.
When you return on Saturday, you get to plan your legacy, your impact on the world, and create goals, habits, and time blocks to help you get there.
We start at the end of your life and work backwards.
The five parts spell LIGHT… Legacy, Impact, Goals, Habits, and Time
LIGHT that applies to you
Relevant LIGHT
A day and a half of exploring your life.
Question: Does this make any sense as a seminar?
