How is it that the world’s longevity queen Jeanne Calment, the world’s oldest human being on record to EVER live smoked for 95 years, drank port wine every day and ate one kilogram of baker’s chocolate every week?
How does Ruth Frith, a 101-year-old woman exercise six days per week, travel the world winning masters athletics gold medals and get away with not eating vegetables?
Whilst most people say they are “too old” to do this or that, how does Jan Smith, a psychologist from Melbourne scale Everest on her 68th birthday and then decide to climb the 7 Peaks – the 7 highest mountains in the 7 continents of the world?
The cynics will say I’ve only provided a sample size of 3 people out of 7.42 billion. And they’d be right. But I could also reel off hundreds more (and know that there are hundreds of THOUSANDS out there) people who are BREAKING THE RULES as we know them.
I’m a journalist by trade, despite these days spending more time mentoring, speaking and spreading my Exceptional Life Blueprint message. The inner journalist though has NEVER left me and I am constantly curious at what makes human beings tick.
What’s become increasingly clear to me over the years is that there is a pattern, a recipe if you will, that contains eight ingredients to living an exceptional life (as opposed to a mediocre one). What I find is that we are being taught this recipe in the incorrect order.
This recipe which I’m about to share with you is what I call the Exceptional Life Blueprint. After nearly 300 podcasts, studying hundreds of human beings, reading dozens of books, attending conferences and having the opportunity to interview so many living legends (my favourite interviews have been with Tommy Hafey, Ruth Frith, Sister Madonna Buder, Charles Eugster, Dr Wally Bortz, Jan Smith and Heather Lee), here’s a snapshot of what I call the Exceptional Life Bluperint.
Recipe: Exceptional Life Blueprint
Preparation Time: However long it takes you to OWN this philosophy (30 minutes to 30 years to never)
Cooking Time: The rest of your life. Living an exceptional life is NOT a destination. This recipe is NEVER complete. It’s constantly being sauteed.
Ingredients List (in order of application)
For a great QUANTITY of life, add –
Your Life Purpose (why were you put here)
Your Movement
Your Social Life
Then, to add QUALITY to your quantity of life mix –
Your Nutrition
Your Love & Relationships
Your Growth
Your Wealth
Your Spirit / Soul / Faith
Ingredient 1: Life Purpose
The purpose of your life is to do what you love and LOVE what you do. Sounds simple, right? Now don’t get me wrong, any and every life purpose you choose (whether it’s being a parent, an employee, an employer of any kind) brings with it a “shit sandwich” of some kind. Every role in life has it’s struggles.
One could argue labour is the “shit sandwich” women must endure to bring a baby in to the world (others would argue the pregnancy!). In any case, we’ve become obsessed with doing anything to avoid the “shit sandwich”. We’re always on the lookout for INSTANT pleasure in the hope that we never have to experience hardship, hard work or anything else that takes us out of our comfort zone.
An exceptional life is built on the foundation or platform that you commit and dedicate your life to what brings you the MOST fulfilment. That doesn’t mean it will be EASY (anything worthwhile is most definitely NOT easy). What it does mean is that you feel in your HEART and SOUL that THIS is what your life is dedicated to.
Rose Kennedy, mother of the Kennedy clan (there were 9 of them, including the famous US president John F Kennedy) phrased her life purpose as being “dedicated to raising a family of world leaders”. Not a bad life purpose, right? And, wiki Rose and you’ll find she did an almighty job with her life. Yes, she had her ups and downs and challenges, but it was all worth it because she was dedicated to living HER life, and not someone else’s (which, mind you is the biggest regret of humanity).
DO THIS (IF YOU DO NOTHING ELSE)
Get a piece of paper or the Notes app on your phone and write down what you LOVE to do. What brings you joy? Is it drawing, painting, playing video games, watching sport, writing contracts, raising children, crunching numbers, whatever it is. What do you LOVE to do?
Then, write down what you ACTUALLY do with your day (use today as an example), and refer to your “Love to do” list. Did you spend much time DOING what you love to do? Or are you doing what you feel like you HAVE to do or even worse, meeting the agenda and expectations of others (again, this is humanity’s number one regret)?
Think about that. Chances are you’re doing more of what you feel like you HAVE to do, and less of what you feel like you LOVE to do.
If this is you, I implore you, for the sake of living YOUR Exceptional Life, COMMIT right now to spend 15 minutes over the next 24 hours on something YOU love to do. Whether it’s meditating, walking, reading, doing yoga, having a bath, learning a course, whatever it is. It’s possible doing this will feel completely indulgent and even bring up feelings of guilt. Put those feelings aside.
Put it this way – what’s more important to your LIFE? Dusting and vacuuming or nurturing YOUR soul? The cleaning may feel more urgent however YOUR fulfilment is way more important.
I’d LOVE to know what YOU are going to do MORE of that you love to do. Please tell me in the comments below what YOU will do or have already done.
To find out more about the remaining ingredients of living an exceptional life, simply subscribe to the tribe.
Want to learn more about living your Exceptional Life? Consider –
Attending Exceptional Life Blueprint LIVE in Byron Bay, July 30-31. Click here to find out more
Enrolling in the Exceptional Life Blueprint e-course
Subscribing to the 100 Not Out podcast or TV show
