First steps

I've been thinking a lot about next steps - next steps for this blog and for my life. Since I started the blog to "write out loud" about my life, it makes sense that they should parallel each other.

I wouldn't go so far as to say I want to follow my bliss because happiness in life and in work is more complicated than that. But I do think some introspective planning is an important step in refining and articulating what I do want to do.

You may have heard that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Sometimes that first step is just lacing up your walking shoes.

I'm going to lace up my walking shoes by drafting a sort of strategic life plan, something like a strategic business plan. In the business world a strategic business plan usually has several components. For the purposes of my life plan, I'll include only a few of the standard components.

The primary objective at this point is to address three major questions:

• Where am I now?
• Where do I want to be?
• What do I need to do to get from where I am now to where I want to be?

These are probably the most important questions that most people never ask, at least not all together like that. Maybe I haven't been asking the questions because I was afraid I didn't know the "correct" answers. It's time to accept the fact that there really are no correct answers and stop using that as an excuse not to ask the questions.

It's time to lace up those walking shoes to begin the next journey.