While I am not quite “Three Score Years and Ten” yet, any birthday does make you contemplate the past.
Quite a few years ago, I came across a list of 100 questions to give older family members to answer. By answering these questions, you may gain a deeper understating of your relative’s life.
At some point I will do this excercise for myself and create my own book ( maybe in time for my 70th birthday?)
I gave these questions to my Mum and, well, she went above and beyond and wrote a whole book!!!
I had the (very large) file she sent me turned into a hard covered book and got copies for the whole family. The family were then presented with the book on her 70th birthday.
Over the last few weeks I have been organising my computer’s hard drive and I came across the file. I had not read through it for a while, and it was fun to skim back over it.
You can download her book here... or click on the image below.
Living your best life means something different to everyone, but at its heart, it means living a life true to your values, bringing you joy and fulfilment. It’s about being intentional with your choices and creating a life that you love.
The problem is that many of us feel stuck in our current reality and believe that our dream life is out of reach. We may feel like we’re too old, too busy, or too broke to make significant changes in our lives. But the truth is, it’s never too late to start living your best life.
I understand that change can be scary, but I also know that it’s necessary for growth and progress. That’s why my program is designed to help you make small changes in your life, one step at a time.
Each month, try focusing on a different area of your life, such as your job, money, health, or relationships. I’ll provide you with the tips and support you need to make significant improvements in that area of your life.
For example, if you are focusing on health, you may look for exercise routines, healthy eating habits, and ways to reduce stress. If you’re focusing on relationships, you will find tips on communication, peace making (and keeping), and building stronger connections with your loved ones.
Now, let’s talk about the idea that you need a big salary to live your dream life. While financial stability is important, it’s not the only factor that determines your happiness and fulfilment in life. In fact, research has shown that once you reach a certain level of financial security, more money doesn’t necessarily lead to more happiness.
I believe that true wealth is measured by the quality of your life and the experiences you have. That’s why I designed Rise to Rich to help you create a life that helps you map out YOUR 10/10 ideal life that brings you joy and fulfillment, regardless of how much money you make.
At the end of the day, what’s most important is that you’re living a life that makes you happy and fulfilled. It’s not about how much money you make or what you do for a living – it’s about creating your best life.
In conclusion, if you’re feeling like there’s something more out there for you, know that you’re not alone. Many of us have felt that way at some point in our lives. But the good news is that you don’t have to settle for a life that doesn’t fulfill you. By taking action and implementing some of the tips and strategies shared in this post, you can start moving towards the life you’ve always dreamed of. Remember, it’s never too late to start living your best life.
Start today, take it one step at a time, and trust the journey. Your best life awaits you!
In today’s busy world, we seem to be constantly pulled from pillar to post with barely the time to stop and take a moment for ourselves this can often lead to feelings of overwhelm and frustration.
Recently, our televisions have been filled with high-level sports matches including the Australian Open and Test cricket it occurred to me while watching some of the after match interviews that these high-performing individuals definitely do not do it all by themselves. Behind the scenes is a huge team of coaches, strategists, advisors, agents, and partners
Would it all boils down to, is that on game day, the player has just ONE goal that they are completely focused on at that moment.
So what can we learn from this?
I feel as women, we are subconsciously programmed to want to do it all and feel somewhat “less than” if we ask for help.
And of course, there can often be budget constraints after all who can afford to hire a nanny, a house manager, a bookkeeper, and a chauffeur just to do some of the jobs that we as mothers and wives are often expected to do?
Where to start?
Completing my lifestyle quiz might help you uncover the areas of your life that you may be struggling with right now. When the parts of our lives are going really well, we don’t seem to mind added responsibilities, but those struggle areas can seem like job after job and nothing gets done.
Start with the lowest scoring sections of the quiz and ask yourself whether you need help in this area. There are many ways to get this help without spending a lot of money some examples could be:
Arrange a cleaning-chatting-drinking-dancing day with a girlfriend. Spend a couple of hours at your house and then a couple of hours at her house and in no time both places will have had a good clean and you will have filled your heart with some quality friend time as well
Ordering groceries online can free up a few hours that you can spend with the kids. I know a number of ladies that add items to the shopping list on the app on their phone as they need it throughout the week and then choose the most convenient time to either have them delivered or use the direct–to–boot service to collect from the supermarket.
If cooking and meal planning are chores that you can never seem to keep on top of, have a look at some of the meal delivery services. Often though, I find these to be quite expensive but many of them will have recipe cards available online.
Choose the meals you would like to have if you were getting them delivered, print out the recipe cards add the ingredients to your shopping list and make up your own meal kits.
Most of these recipes are quick and simple and will be on the table within 30 minutes, often quicker than the time it takes to organize who wants what takeaway and get it delivered.
Looking again at the lower scoring sections of the life balance quiz, is there a way you can combine tasks together for example, is quality time with your partner scoring low and also your health ambitions? Ask for help in trying to find some time together to go for a walk or doing an online yoga or fitness class.
Sometimes you may find that tasks responsibility is yours and yours alone and you truly do not have any capacity to complete it in these cases paid help might be the only option but in my experience, I have found most families can find ways to get no cost or very low-cost help within their current networks.
Strangely, this question has popped up a few times on my Facebook feed in the past few days.
I admit when I first saw it a week or so ago, my first thought was Italy. I so enjoyed my time there on tour in 2014. Everything about it, the countryside, the language, the people and of course the FOOD and WINE!!!
But then, after contemplation, I know that I am probably looking at Italy through “holiday tinted glasses” I actually have no idea if it would be a great place to live. I have never looked into jobs, taxation or the level of social care we enjoy here in Australia. I love living in Australia, we are a pretty laid back nation of mostly awesome people and (like Italy) great countryside from the reef to the outback, and some amazing food and wine. What is not to love?
My mother lives about 3 hours north of us in a smallish regional town with a population of around 120000 and I have often said I could easily live there if not for the weather. It is far too hot and humid for me and I do not like living 9-10 months of the year NEEDING air conditioning.
We love living where we do. It is an easy drive to visit most of our family members and a short flight to see the others. However, our selfish dream is to move south to Tasmania. We have purchased our block of land and will build on it next year. The house will be tenanted until we retire and move.
Given that Tasmania is a one-hour drive to the airport and then a 3.5hr flight, we will not have the opportunity to visit often 🙁
In the meantime, I am happy with various webcam footage from the area. This one from the top of Mt Wellington/kunanyi is a firm favourite. Today, for instance, it is a fine and sunny winter’s day here in Qld with a temperature of around 20C. Looking at the webcam I can see SNOW!! Our land looks toward the mountain, and I cannot wait to be sitting on our front deck with a hot cuppa, dressed warmly and looking at the snow in person 🙂
So my final answer as to where in the world I most want to live.. It is Hobart, Tasmania.
Day View across the Derwent RiverNight Time view to Hobart
For some people the mere thought of this time of year brings on a level of stress. The busy holiday season, extra expenses and the prospect of deciding on what the New Year might bring.
For me, December is a planning month (along with June). For the most part, I have gift shopping sorted well before Christmas. I will only need to buy some fresh fruit, chocolates and “scratchy” tickets to go with cards.
What I do in December is to reflect on the past year.
How have my plans worked out?
What have I achieved
What has brought me the most joy?
Have I created any new (good) habits?
Do I have more to do to reach my goals?
What could I have done differently?
I also start to do some preliminary planning for the next year. These early plans can be refined through the month. This means that I start the New Year with a solid framework rather than a hasty, unconsidered “resolution” that stands little chance of being implemented or achieved.
December is a time to have a look over my RISE Plan and see where my current life balance is and what I feel needs to improve. Often this makes any resolutions easy to make and prepare for.
Here are the steps I take to create my plan for the New Year.
GOALS: Starting with the lowest scoring items from my RISE Plan, I will create a plan to bring them up to a level that will create a better balance in my life. I will do a Be-Do-Have exercise to visualise what I want this area to look like in its 10/10 ideal state and plan toward that. This plan becomes a high priority so that area does not stay languishing in a less than perfect score
I will always try to work out how I can improve while keeping the monetary outlay as minimal as possible. If I find that an upgrade does require actual money spent, then I need to work out how to incorporate it into the budget so the expense has as little an impact as possible.
These goals may change slightly over the year. (I am not so rigid that my January plans MUST be adhered to all year), but it creates a good launching pad for the New Year to come.
JOURNAL: Spending some time of journalling what I see in my “new normal” life for this year helps in a number of ways. It helps imprint your visualitions into your mind. It has been proven that magic happens when you put pen to paper. Also knowing what little things I have planned as upgrades helps when people invariably ask me “What do you want for ( Birthday, Mother’s Day, Christmas)”. I will have a ready made list in my head of what I am desiring 🙂 This same list might also become saved searches in eBay, Gumtree or Facebook. It is surprising how often the “perfect thing” comes up at a great price.
SPECIFY: I will get specific with my goals. Vague goals such as “I am going to make self-care a priority” does not cut it.. It needs to be a SMART Goal. So my goal may be broken down to specific goals like 1: Book hairdresser every 6 weeks ongoing 2: Spend 30 minutes each morning on “me time” 3: Find a massage coupon (3-4 times for the year)
SCHEDULE: The first thing I do in my new year diary is to book out family birthdays and occasions. I know we get together as a family for many of these, so pencilling out those weekends as busy shows me how much spare time I have for “US”
I will then dedicate each month to a specific area from my RISE Plan. By concentrating on the areas that need the biggest upgrades first. It is these areas that might need to have new habits over a longer time period or a separate budget to consider. For example, I have a renovation of our Kitchen and Bathroom on the plan for 2021. I would like this to happen mid-year, but I will schedule it early in the year, so I have plenty of time to plan, get quotes and even start purchasing items for it as I might see sale items pop up.
REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS: While is great to have “Stretch Goals” if you make your goals too hard to achieve, it serves only to make you disillusioned and with feelings of failure. Many of my goals will be two pronged – “Can certainly achieve if I stick to the plan” and “Would be nice if I really push it”
ALLOW DETOURS: As in any journey, there is no “right way” to get from A-B, and allowing for detours to the plan is Ok as long as the direction is ultimately toward the end goal. Sometimes it is these detours or “scenic routes” than can the most surprising results.
Your RISE Plan will help you pick up where you left off or reset some ideals of your ideal life.
Keep in mind that you are creating YOUR ideal life, and every bit of progress is a win.
The whole concept of “Sunshine Cash” is the total opposite of “Saving for a Rainy Day”
It is, of course, important to save an emergency fund for unforeseen events, but (in my opinion) to have money in the bank for money’s sake is just not necessary.
In no way would I EVER advocate spending more than you have, but cash is there to be spent. ALWAYS pay your bills first, then allow funds for savings and general “adulting” then allow some “Sunshine Cash” for just having fun.
My Story..
I have been on this planet for 50-something years now and have learnt a lot in that time ( as we have all) Some of the lessons I have taken to heart and have created a happy content life that is MY version of pretty damn good 😊 All while NOT “keeping up with the Jones’ (or the Kardashians)
I vividly remember as a child, the excitement of the big Saturday paper. Mum would read the lifestyle, cooking and fashion liftouts, Dad would have the news and sport, my brother would race for the comics and I just LOVED the ad catalogues.
The JOY of browsing each page and tenderly touching images of items that seemed only for the “rich”. With my hands on an image, I could close my eyes and imagine exactly what it would be like to have that thing. The way I felt, the touch, the sounds, the smell. Ahhh bliss!!
Little did I know that I was manifesting my ideal life even as a youngster. I always knew what my ideal life looked like.
My life is not “frugal” in the traditional sense of some ( I do not scrimp on every penny) Instead, I know what my ideal life looks and feels like and actively work toward that goal every day.
Over the years I have been told MANY times how “Lucky” I am and my answer has always been “I worked bloody hard to be this lucky” The truth is though… I am LAZY 😊 I actually don’t like to work too hard, but I do work hard for my money and I expect my money to work hard for me.
Many of us have been raised with the idea of "saving for a rainy day", so we diligently squirrel away savings for a disastrous event.
While it is important to have a safety net backup, "Sunshine Cash" is the complete opposite :) It is the money to have FUN with, money to burn, money to enjoy, and money to LIVE.
It is the formula that has seen me "Rise to Rich" and I can help you do the same.
Where to now? Join me on the Sunshine Cash journey. Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for tips and hacks to create YOUR best life.
Oh! Please do comment on my posts. I love to know if something resonates with you, or how you do things differently. I love to hear your stories.
In today’s busy world, we seem to be constantly pulled from pillar to post with barely the time to stop and take a moment for ourselves this can often lead to feelings of overwhelm and frustration.
