Your Road Map For Life

Part One: What is your personal manifesto?

Hello, Hello Friends!

Today is a very big day for me as I announce that A Life Considered has grown up a bit, with its very first paid subscribers. Thank you, dearly, for those who previously pledged to financially support my work and are now in fact doing so.

As many of you know, since I published my first piece 14 months ago, this space has shifted as I tinkered with finding the intersection of what felt true to what you want and value, coupled with the unique and authentic gift I have to share. My entrepreneurial professional past always favored a clear strategy with ample room to pivot organically. How I approached Author Entrepreneurship at A Life Considered over the past year has been no different — a clear and steadfast intention to share wisdom on how to make the most out of our life while adjusting levers such as frequency of publishing, length of pieces, and types of subject matter to find the sweet spot.

Due to the shape shifting nature, and freedom to explore, in order to level up the experience, content and value, I did not feel comfortable initiating the paid subscription model.

Until now.

After putting in my dues of publishing 61 pieces over 60 weeks, I believe, hope, and trust that what I have to offer is in fact worthy to be paid for.

“A Life Considered redirects you from Autopilot to Architect of your life, helping you to clarify

• what are your values, goals and unique gifts, and

• how to align your daily actions with what matters most to you

resulting in you purposefully building a life of deep meaning and genuine — not fleeting — happiness.”

So this week marks the ability to upgrade from a free subscriber who will continue to receive complimentary essays, however much fewer, to a paid subscriber with additional benefits.

Below is a snapshot of the subscription plans available to you today.

If you are interested in upgrading from a free subscriber to a paid subscriber, you can go here to do so.

A paid annual subscription, investing in creating a life for yourself and your children that is rich with purpose, connection, and authenticity, thereby fewer regrets, costs $4.17 per month. Go ahead. You are worth it!

Anyone, however, who would like to upgrade but cannot swing it at the moment, please email me and I will happily upgrade you. Your support over the past year means the world to me and it is my pleasure to reciprocate.

I will continue to tweak this space with the goal being to have it always improving. Added benefits for paid subscribers will come online over the coming months, including voice notes of each essay and a Mentor Group which I am excited about exploring. I have been incredibly lucky, and changed for the better, thanks to great mentorship I have received along the way. I’d like to pay forward the benefit of mentorship to others, including our children.

More than anything, it is my intention to build a warm and engaging community of people who support each other in their personal growth and the growth of their loved ones, making sure to soak up the beauty and opportunity we have in our life. This space is born from my heart and dedicated to you and yours. I adore and cherish you all.

Thank you for being here!

With love and gratitude, xoxo, WRW

Dear Circle,

Each week I will give you a peak into my Little Black Book. New entries that I am loving and think you might find interesting too.

Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg — I am kind of obsessed with this book that came out a few weeks ago. I know how important good communication is to fostering thriving relationships. This book goes even further to address the link between the connection possible with those in our life when we learn the skills of being a great communicator. I highly recommend! It’s a great read. Not a bore.

The Colony by deGournay — Hand painted ‘haute couture’ wallpaper composed from traditional and mostly natural materials, with each paper design made by a team of artists. This is The Colony design I am leaning towards for my office. The specific colorway for my space is still to be determined, but it will be strikingly strong and fierce for certain. I thought it might be fun to share bits and bobs of the interior design development of our new home, which I spoke about here, as it gets readied for us to move in sometime later this year.

The Coddling of the American Mind Movie — A just released documentary based on the bestselling book of the same title by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff, named one of the best books of 2018. A look at three “Great Untruths: What doesn’t kill you makes you weaker; always trust your feelings; and life is a battle between good people and evil people,” and how these untruths are interfering with young people’s social, emotional, and intellectual development.

Lastly, I am excited to share with you my 13 year old son’s latest song that he wrote and produced on his own for a Climate Conference. Anyone who can rap to save the tundra wins my vote. Enjoy!

Dear Friends,

A part of raising children and ourselves is knowing what we stand for. What are our principles. What values determine our choices, behaviors and ultimately the person who we are.

As a child, I grew up with the notion of “right” versus “wrong” and the expectation by my parents that I would choose “right” in my actions. However, there was not much discussion of what that looked like and constituted. Rather a vague assimilation via osmosis of the societal Christian model based upon the Ten Commandments and the childhood Golden Rule.

As a parent I have found it not only important, but critically necessary, to have explicit and ongoing conversations around the constructs of what it means to be the best version of ourself, a committed citizen of our greater community and democracy, a good neighbor, and a great friend and family member.

We literally have our family values posted in our kitchen and part of our daily morning ritual, when running on all cylinders, is for one of the children to read it out loud with the intention for us all to recommit to the values we hold dear before we head out into the world.

I also believe that being explicitly clear on what matters most to us personally is incredibly useful especially when faced with difficult decisions, peer pressure, and confusion. A personal mission statement or manifesto, if you will, that we can rely upon when times get tough and we may even feel as though we have lost our way a bit.

I read a lot of books ranging from the ancient stoics to modern day philosophers. Their teachings resonate deeply with me. My manifesto references some of these classic ideals of who I wish to be when at my best.

Here is mine.

“Today is a great day.
I can. I will.
Chop wood, carry water,
Remember the game I am playing,
Slaying dragons, not side-stepping lizards,
Living heroically by acting virtuously.

At my best I am radiantly alive.
A dynamic creator, deeply connected
to my children, husband, and dear circle.

When triggered, I take nothing personally.
I commit to Closing The Gap,
Between who I am being and who I am capable of being,
By stepping between stimulus and response,
Choosing arete, forgoing regret.

Recognizing our behavior on the outside,
Reflects how we feel on the inside.
When I do good, I feel good.
When I do bad, I feel bad.
Everything, including the ugly,
A bid for love, compassion, and connection,
One I meet with calm, steady, encouragement.
Attunement.

We always find what we set our compass to.
So expect great things.
The Universe is always working out for my best.
Every person is a golden link in the chain of my good.
Remember, I can do hard things and this too shall pass.
Be true to myself.
Choose faith, not fear.
I am love and I am loved.

Love is always the answer,"
So choose love.
Always.”

What is your North Star? Your personal mission statement? Your manifesto?

How can you achieve what is most important to you if you are not crazy clear on who you want to be, what you want, and by what virtues will you achieve it? How will you side-step vice and heroically slay dragons without a road map for your life?

A vague notion is not enough.

Let me say that again. A vague notion is not enough. So write it out beginning with jotting a few virtues you value in the comments below. Let’s start supporting one another towards achieving the life we want.

With love and light, xoxo, WRW

P.S. If a sweet friend, or your cheeky search engine, shared this article with you, please join our circle of amazing people below by subscribing for free. We would love to have you be a part of our village.