You Are Invited to the Party of the Decade, Ten Years From Now
For there is much to celebrate đž
I am so excited to announce that you are invited to my celebration. I really hope you can come!
Where will it be held? My beachside home in Portugal, of course.
The date? 21st December 2031.
Dress code? Anything that you are comfortable in. Bring swimwear for the hot tub!
Mark it in your calendar, for there is much to be celebrated.
Guys, I know this is being announced a good, long time in advance, but itâs really important that you know now, so that you donât schedule anything else in the meantime. You see, I want to set the scene for you, of life ten years from nowâŚ
The 10-year plan
My littlest child has now finished school and is a strapping nineteen-year-old, raring to explore the world on his own terms. My girls are making their mark in the world; my eldest owns her own live music agency and is recording her own self-written songs and compositions, and my younger girl has gone into business with her besties, designing a wildly quirky range of eco clothing.
All I wanted to do was to show them that you can follow your passion, do what you love, and share your journey and lessons with others along the way, and the recognition will follow. And everything that has happened has shown me that I succeeded.
My message to my children was:
Let your heart lead you, give abundantly of your own gifts, and trust that you will be rewarded. Rewards will always come first from the joy and satisfaction in each moment of creativity. Relish it, because it is the basis of peace and happiness.
Eventually, the material rewards will show up in your life. You canât necessarily plan for them, but you can put ideas and actions into place to invite them.
Thatâs all I have done.
I have continued to write and share my way into an existence in which I am supported by family, community, and money. So much so that I am able to pay it forward; supporting communities in other parts of the world to make sure that every man, woman, and child has access to clean water, planting more trees around the world, and preserving natural habitats of endangered species.
With my writing and other media channels, I have managed to raise awareness of much of the wrong-doing in the world and show people that they can empower themselves to build their own resilient communities and systems, to support a greener and kinder world. It has been wonderful to be a part of a growing network of warriors for change.
And, seeing my children now grown into young adults, it is reassuring to know that they have the prospects of a joyful and healthy future for themselves and their future offspring.
And so, this Christmas of 2031, we have much to celebrate as my youngest spreads his wings and flies out into a world of possibility. This is why I am inviting you to my newly-purchased home in this idyllic location.
Stay for all of Christmas and New Year. We shall feast on the fruits of our beautiful garden and orchard â nature has given to us in abundance and we shall share it all.
See you there!
But waitâŚif that is what we are celebrating ten years from now, what is the plan 5 years from now? Let us set the sceneâŚ
The 5-year plan
The year is 2026.
Since 2021, when I began my writing journey on Medium, I have built a thriving membership of inspired creatives who were ready to change their lives and follow their creative passions.
At that time, the world was a very uncertain place. Jobs were being threatened and careers that once promised a lifetime of security were crumbling.
Many, for the first time, were considering an alternative way of making a living. Not only any alternative but an alternative that brought them a real sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. One that enabled them to feel inspired daily while being present as parents, partners, daughters, and sons.
People were suddenly ready to stop trying to plan something big, and just start doing it.
Start small and trust the process.
That was my catchline. Since the first coining of that phrase, I have watched many start small, trust the process, and grow into something that they never quite imagined could be possible.
The initial success of my low-key membership enabled me to build a team and scale my business so that today it is a thriving community that keeps me smiling and excited for each new day. I have plenty of time for my beloved family and the business is supporting us financially to live well while gifting to great causes.
These five years have been a journey, and I am so grateful. But it wouldnât have been possible without the steep learning curve of the first year or so.
Let me explainâŚ
The 3-month plan
It is March 2022 and the signs of spring are all around us.
The winter, as ever, has been challenging; ice and snow made driving impossible at times, and winter bugs knocked everyone out of synch at others. But cosying up at home is always possible in the winter, and so cosy we did.
During each of those days of shutting the winter world outside our doors, I spent several hours on my laptop â writing, reading, networking, and planning. I made a decision and did something radical.
I launched a small and intimate membership to support creatives ready to make their mark in the world with their writing. The three things that they had in common were:
- They wanted to do something that they could start immediately from scratch, without some big launch, expensive training, or initial investment.
- They had reached a moment in life where they were ready to believe in their own creative power and to do something and see it through, no matter how slow the process.
- They had a vision bigger than themselves.
These people were already surrounding me when I made the decision to create this membership. And they were hungry for guidance, support, and action.
Now, on 21st March 2022, we have been going for a few weeks and the energy is high. It is beautiful to see people, who felt hopeless in the last year, finally know that they can make a massive and positive difference in their lives. All from their own gifts and hard (but truly enjoyable) work.
I am very grateful for the small but significant developments in the last three months. Cheers to the future.
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