What If ???

“What If” is something that most Rock Stars never think about. Scratch that; it’s one of those subjects that most people never think about. There was a life insurance commercial a number of years ago featuring Snoop asking the question…”What if?”

You have more than likely been approached by a life insurance sales person and asked the question: “What if you die tomorrow?” “What if your business doesn’t work out?” “What if your plan fails?” “What if your car breaks down?” “What if your clients don’t pay?” There are a lot of “what ifs” in life and we usually don’t think of them until it’s too late.

As many times as I have started over (maybe I should be called the Start Over Rock Star), one thing I have had to develop over time was a way to protect myself. As we get older, it becomes harder to just pick up and start over with nothing. Yet I’m sure I’ve done it more than others, and most of those “start overs” could have been avoided if I put a what if thinking into play beforehand.

In working with people to create a dream, or dream life, I tell them it’s great to shoot for the stars, but take a reasonable way of getting there. I work with my clients to make a step-by-step process to reach the desired dream. One of the many blogs I read is Steve Scott, who talks about lifestyle design. Another is Tim Ferris’ “4-Hour Work Week.” These writings are about the idea of designing your future to live it on your terms. Most people like the concept, but forget that it’s a process to get there. Many times I’ve taken off starting a business, or expansion plan, only to have it cut short because I’d failed to plan for “what if.” If only I had planned to set the money aside, many times I would not have ended up starting over at ground zero again.

When I started this blog idea, my thoughts were all about money. I’ve been through times when there wasn’t enough money to put new tires on the car or bike in my case. While I’m a coach, and not a money coach, I had to rethink what I wanted to say in this blog.

As I said above I work with clients helping them change their lives to reach for their dreams. But most of my clients are in a “start over mode” in one way or another.  My favorite topic last year was the Ideal Life. A year later, my mom now tells people about me living the dream.

Well today I wanted to write about how to take some of the stress of your life away by starting  “what if” planning; something to help you not to have to worry too much about  things in your life.

When planning an ideal life, set up your life you step-by- step to make it ideal. It takes time to build up to that dream or ideal that you want. While on the path to getting there, you should not short-change things just to get by. When I struggled with money, I would make a back up of everything. So in case when I ran out of say soap, I had a back up one to get out to use and didn’t have to run to the store as often.

Well the reason I started on this today was encourage you to start thinking ahead to the “what if.” I like to travel on my motorcycle, but I use the “what if” now to help me be safe on my trips. In the city of Dallas, I watch as cars pull up to an intersection and try to be prepared if they pull out.  What if they pull out and cross my lane of traffic? How far behind is that car following me? Is the lane beside me clear to shift over if I need to? These are all “what if” questions that I ask to help prepare myself to stay safe on a bike.

In your life, what are “what ifs” that could be something to think about when going for a dream bike trip. Keep in mind each choice you make while going through a change process. “What if I get an unexpected large electric bill?” “What if my bonus does not come on the date promised and have to wait?” “What if my book does not sell enough copies to break even? Start to plan on these things ahead of time and put a plan together to cover the “what ifs” of life. You will save yourself a lot of stress, maybe save a business from falling apart.

Start to change your thinking. It’s the thinking two and three steps ahead that the chess player uses to win. Well in life thinking ahead two and three steps is what keeps you on your key game. When you develop a mind set of always thinking ahead, it takes even more of the what if stress from your life.

I’m Tim Gillette, the Rocker Life Coach. It’s time to live your dream, to love what you do and those you share life with. Get ready to be a RockStar in your world.