Erica Sosna - Your Life Plan

Table of Contents

2014 Erica Sosna

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Sosna, Erica.

Your life plan : how to set yourself on the right path and take charge of your life / Erica Sosna.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-85708-486-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. SuccessPsychological aspects. 2. Self-actualization (Psychology) 3. Change (Psychology) I. Title.

BF637.S8S646 2014

158dc23

2013048408

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-0-857-08486-6 (pbk) ISBN 978-0-857-08489-7 (ebk)

ISBN 978-0-857-08487-3 (ebk)

Cover design by Mackerel Ltd

Original illustrations by Curtis Allen (www.curtisallen.co.uk)

For my grandmother, Rima Sosna, whose love, wisdom and experience has taught me courage.

Introduction

The art of navigation is to know where you are, where you are going and how to get there safely.

Sailors Almanac

W elcome to Your Life Plan. A practical book to help you navigate your life and be the hero in your own story.

How are you feeling today, right now? Disgruntled, tired, curious, excited, neutral? What created that feeling? How are you feeling about your life in general? About your existence, your contribution, your success, your relationships?

Stop a moment. Listen to your environment. See it in action around you.

How much of your life feels like your choice? How close is your reality to the life you would like to live?

This book is a practical course in how to choose and then live a life that is meaningful, exciting and adventurous for you. Everyone's life project is unique. Having a life project a dream or goal that feels like a real challenge, can give you focus, energy and purpose.

If you set yourself a Quest to start today, right now, what would it be? If you are already on a journey toward a goal, what would be most helpful in getting you to your destination?

These are the questions this book can help with.

My aim is to help you be the hero or heroine in your own life.

When I say hero, I don't necessarily mean the cape, the tights and the clenched fist. Only one of my heroes, Freddie Mercury, came with the full regalia. When we think about heroes or heroines, we think about people who took action on what they believed in, were courageous, determined, creative; people who changed themselves, their world or the environment in some lasting way. All of us possess the capability to do this in the right context and given the right support. If you are going to stretch for your dreams, you are going to need to awaken the hero (or heroine) within.

Being heroic doesn't mean you will always have a happy ending. I can't guarantee that if you use the tools in this book, everything will work out exactly the way you would like it to. What I can promise, is that the experience of setting out on a journey and taking steps to realize a dream or ambition, will bring you all kinds of benefits, adventures and value that you would not experience if you stayed where you are.

As a society, we love the idea of the hero. How many songs, from the sublime to the ridiculous, include this word? How many refer to it indirectly, the experience of doing something remarkable or unusual, perhaps once in a lifetime or as a way of living? So much of our film, fiction and theatre is all built around a central character who we root for and watch evolve over a period of time. And we humans love to share real life stories that speak powerfully about what we can achieve when we put our minds to it.

Over the last ten years, I have worked with hundreds of people of all ages, using the structure of stories, the idea of the hero, and the skills of project management to help them to find their inner hero and create what they want for themselves. I've helped people downsize, change careers, find a relationship, rebuild a relationship with a loved one, relocate across the globe, pass their exams, overcome anxiety disorders, set up a business, and find balance in their work lives.

There is nothing in the world that I am more passionate about, or good at, than helping people clarify and catalyze their own direction. That's my purpose in life

to help you find yours.

So, you are in good hands.

As a coach and consultant, I've found that seeing a client's life as a story can be a very effective tool for working on their life path and choices. When you begin to see yourself as a character and your life as a plot, you notice the patterns and the plot line in the journey you have taken so far. You begin to empathize with yourself as the hero, on an uncertain path, doing the best you can, and the themes and dreams that surround you take on a mythical quality. This sense of being part of a larger narrative, integral to the world around you, playing a part in the stories of others, connects us both with our ancestors and with the present.

Our story can help us to make choices about the changes we want to make or the adventures we want to go on. I've always loved a good story and Ive noticed that whatever age we are, we become as rapt as children when someone offers to tell us a tale. When I trained as a storyteller for grown-ups, I noticed that stories could be educational, inspiring and even life saving. They often reflect universal truths about humanity and how life happens.