Are you living the life you always dreamed of?

My favorite childhood memory is of long summers with my brother, sister, and mum spent on the beach in a quaint seaside resort, Weston-super-Mare, in England. My mum had a job that allowed her to take summers off, and she spent them with my sister, my brother, and me on the beach. That memory is what I wanted to create for my three daughters—a life that would allow me to mold my time throughout the year and still have impact with businesses and executives. I knew I wasn’t going to get that in corporate life, and so I had to make some changes.

I was at a restaurant in Seattle, with two of my friends, and I said, “By the time I am 40, I am going to have my own business and have written my own book,." Then I said. “That’s the first time I’ve ever said that aloud. I’m now really scared. Please get me a glass of wine!." This was more than wishful thinking; it was intentional wishful thinking. To make it happen, I had to make a plan. I thought of it as my crawl-walk-run plan, which included a job change after nine years at Microsoft to obtain different experience in Amazon’s Fashion business, before the big leap to my own consulting business. I had to follow through—I had told my friends, who were holding me accountable!

On my journey to creating my own intentional wishful thinking, the most common reaction I received, and still receive, from others started with two words—“I wish. . ..":

. . .I wish I could do what you have done.
. . .I wish I had your energy.
. . .I wish I could quit my job.

It’s not enough to wish. You’ve got to intentionally wish, then you’ve got to plan, and then you’ve got to do.

What is your intentional wishful thinking? What is the life that you want to create? I frequently ask business leaders to time travel ahead five years: What do you want life to look like? What do you want your business to look like? Set aside some time over the next week to think about these questions. After that, it may be time to create your own intentional wishful thinking plan. I’d love to hear what you come up with. 

Dedicated to growing your business,

Val