We’re not talking a 15,000-square-foot mansion and fleet of Bentleys. (Of course now that I say that someone will pop up and say, In fact, Deonne, that is exactly the Life on the High Wire I dream of. Overbuilt real estate and the ability to drain Kuwait of its oil reserves with one trip to the mall. To which I’d very kindly respond, What the f*** is wrong with you?)
In reality, you’re probably already on the path to your LOTHW. Your job isn’t terrible, and maybe it’s teaching you skills you can do something more interesting with later on. Or you love your volunteer gig as a reading tutor, but need to figure out how to translate that into paid work. Maybe you’ve even saved up a little money, but aren’t exactly sure what to do with it.
Good. That’s a start.
I’m a huge believer in the power of the Baby Step. One small move toward your goal. Then another. I’ve got a lot on my plate this year – work, teaching, studying – but here’s what I’m doing right now to get closer to my writing and traveling dream life:
Writing
Decide on a form for my thesis. Memoir, or collection of personal essays? Pick the one that has the most juice, the one I’m most interested in spending the next year with. Then start. For now, just start.Travel
Travel takes money. Since I’m not sure how I’ll earn more (yet), I’ll start with cutting expenses. So, no shopping. No meals out. No more book buying unless it’s for class, and even then, I’m hitting the library first. I live pretty simply as it is, but this will help, and won’t be a big hardship with that travel carrot dangling out front.What about you? What baby step could you take right now to get you closer to your Life on the High Wire? Let us know in the comments, and enjoy the long weekend.
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6 comments:
We're both working long hours this summer, taking as much work as we can get, so that we can head back to Italy this fall. Also, I took my Kawasaki dirt bike to the mechanic last week so I'd save tons of money on gas and whatnot. Going to the movies is out for this summer. We can pop popcorn and visit video casa. Little sacrifices are easy to make when we think about spending a month in Italy again, visiting old friends, eating the best food and drinking the best wine on the planet, playing music in little venues, etc.
I start a to-do list where I keep concepts, in fact a list of lists, you might call it an index. New to today's list is New Concepts for a Blog, today's addition FLOABW. (For Lack of A Better Word. Dying Lexicographies. I recently saw an OreIda advt. about two French Fries, one theres, one from the other brand. The other brand drooped. I'm thinkin maybe the world is ready for Potatoes and Corn delivered to your door in a Brown paper bag. Work a little Branding magic,... People would by an edible PORN from their frozen food section.
Bring back the home deep fryer. If more people deep fried we'd have more reusable veg oil to collect or burn in our very own Hybrids.
Its valuation and prioritizing of these items that plays havoc with judgment calls on a day to day basis, when you can't get to all of everything.
It's the baby step formula that allows you to move forward on the High Wire.
For Life on the Surface, its more 3 by 5 or do I go with 5 by 7.
Although I want to push my external world to the place I want it to be (travel, fun time with the kids, losing that ever-present last few pounds, etc...), I always come back to my inner world as my main focus for the improvements I need to make. I could be eating caviar or digging a ditch, but my goal is to make my response to it matter, and focus on my internal struggle with my ego. I don't know how I will ever get there, but I am trying to take those baby steps every minute, over and over....
I know the idea is that if I live in correct attitude to the world, all I need will be provided. But have I really bought into that yet with my heart? Hell no.
I agree, Cindy! Much of our babystepping must be done in mind. Analyzing the inner landscape, though, can be rather elusive. The Truth we think about our selves and our lives has a lot to do with how it actually unfolds. Where are we thinking, "I can't do that." "That will never happen." "I am not good enough." "I am not a wealthy person." These thoughts cripple our action. So let your first babystep be getting to the Mental Equivalent of your dream. See it, smell it, feel it. Then let those FEELINGS of possibility inspire your action. If you want to win the lottery, first you must know the possibility, feel the Mental Equivalent, but you must also buy a ticket.
I've been doing my own pedicures,clipping coupons and inviting friends over for drinks instead of going out.
These are all such interesting comments! Getting where we want to go takes a combo of approaches - the concrete (e.g. cost-cutting, making lists) and the mental/emotional (attitude adjustment, positive self-talk).
And Max, thanks for the reminder about the work hard, save up, then take time off for travel plan. I may have to talk about that on the blog.
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