Copyright 2018 by Linda K. Watts
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.
Cover design by Rain Saukas
Cover photo credit: iStock
Interior chart graphics by Hwesta
Print ISBN: 978-1-63144-078-6
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-63144-079-3
Printed in the United States of America
Note to Readers:This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with respect to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher and author are not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.
Dedication
I dedicate this book to my dear mother, Elizabeth Anne Rugh Watts.
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to my family and friends who have inspired me and to students and workshop participants whom I have learned from through their own life-mapping journeys. I especially wish to thank Linda Langton (Super-Agent), Paula Kalamaras & Paul Kraly (Scribes Unlimited), Gianmichele Grittani (Hwesta Graphics), Zvia Bird, Debra J. Breazzano, Denise Naughton, Rev. Lee Ireland, Cheryl Watts, Sophia Watts, Sri Harold Klemp, Kathleen Ulrich, Janet Parker, Corinne Harmon, Margo Stuart, and Carole and Graham Poulter, and Kery Colvin, without whose helpful reviews and heartful support this book would not have been possible.
Contents
Introduction
What do you want to be or do when you grow up? Wherever you are in your life right now and whatever your age, you have many pathways open before you. You have the freedom to choose which future options to explore and which to leave behind.
Life Path Mapping is a self-discovery process that can help you to follow your heart every step of YOUR way forward. The credo and intended result of the self-discovery process provided with this book is for you to Live Your Dream, Now! You do not need to wait for some nebulous set of life conditions to come about such as relocation, retirement, or an empty nest. You can begin Now to implement behaviors and attitudes that allow you to create around you the life of your dreams, fulfilling your deepest values and enhancing your quality of life.
How to Use This Book
This book provides a complete Life Path Mapping guidebook with its embedded self-discovery Toolkit. The chapters will conduct you through your own life-mapping process as you compose your own Life Path Maps Portfolio using the Tools (journaling prompts, charting techniques, and creative representation activities) that I have provided for you at the end of each chapter. You can use a large-sized journal or sketch pad to create your Portfolio, following the directions provided for each Tool in this book. If you prefer, upload and print the separate Life Path Maps Portfolio Toolkit online for a small fee from my website, Better Endings for Your Life Path ( betterendingsnow.com ).
The Life Path Mapping process provided with this book proceeds through three stages as a self-discovery adventure. Each chapter-ending Tool fits within a gradually unfolding, layered sequence of activities and reflections designed to equip you fully to Live Your Dream, Now! describes these three stages in detail.
Because this book conducts you through a comprehensive Life Path Mapping process, it is most useful for you to engage with the chapter-ending