Sometimes, when I tell people, “You always have a choice,” they look at me kind of funny. There’s this kind of gulp! Then their eyes get a little wider. And finally, they choke out the words, “Yeah … I guess that’s right, isn’t it?” Not like they like it. They realize it puts the burden on them. There’s no more blaming other people. No more saying it’s not their fault that things didn’t turn out differently. No victims. No bad guys. There’s just the ability to make your own choices. And that gives you the power to change.
Once you really understand how amazing it is to have this power, you’ll never be the same. You’ll be sort of like Spiderman, when he realizes that he has the ability to fly through the air with his webs. At first, he’s freaked out by it. Then he swallows hard and takes a running jump off a building. He’s scared it’s not going to work. But it does. And he gets it. “I can do this! It’s amazing. It really blows my mind. But this is in my power!” Then nothing can stop him. He soars through the city, from building to building, fighting the bad guys and saving the day. He comes into his own. And you can too.
Living a life that’s dull, unhappy and without meaning is like being Spiderman but never even giving your new powers a try!
Whether you’ve ever used it or not, you have the power of change. That means you can change your job, improve your relationships, have more fun, make more money or do just about anything you can think of.
But I’ve got news for you: It’s even better than that.
You can choose to make all of that stuff more meaningful. Real quality of life isn’t about having more cool stuff. It isn’t about living in a bigger house or better neighborhood. It’s not even about finding the perfect job or perfect mate. The quality of life is about your experience of those things.
Let me give you an example. Have you ever gone on vacation that you didn’t enjoy? Have you ever spent a fortune on car or boat and found that, after the initial rush wore off, it didn’t make you any happier?
That’s because the quality of your life doesn’t come from those things. It comes from inside of you. Cars, boats and houses don’t have any meaning on their own. They only have the meaning we give to them. Even the perfect job and the perfect mate are only wonderful to us because of the way we experience them, because of the meaning they have for our lives.
How much meaning do you have in your life? The skills you’ll learn from the Harley Attitude will give you a remarkable ability to achieve things, to change your life in incredibly powerful ways. But don’t forget the importance of living a meaningful life as well.
A meaningful life will make you excited to get out of bed in the morning. It will make you feel satisfied with your day, when your head hits the pillow at night. It will bring you happiness and contentment that goes beyond the things you have and things you do every day.
Begin by asking yourself this: What do you value most? What do you want to be sure to accomplish before you die? Why are you here?
These are actually deep, philosophical questions. They cross most people’s minds at some point, but it takes a lot of thought to answer them. It’s easier to brush them aside. So that’s what most people do. But take a look around. Most people aren’t living fulfilling lives.
What would you do to guarantee you had more meaning in your life? Would you be willing to spend some time thinking things over, asking yourself hard questions, like: What really matters most to me?
If so, let me give you a hand. There are three key things to consider: your purpose, your vision and your values. Once you know what your purpose, your vision and your values are, you will know how to live a meaningful life. The only thing left will be setting your goals to achieve it.