5 Lessons From One Of The Best Books I've Ever Read

Summary

In this video, the speaker shares insights from Barbara Sher's book 'Wishcraft', focusing on how to identify and achieve personal goals. The discussion covers creating a conducive environment for success, envisioning an ideal day, and setting specific, achievable goals. It also emphasizes the importance of emotional touchstones, long-range planning, and the surprising benefits of embracing negative thinking to overcome fear and move forward. The speaker encourages viewers to take action towards their dreams, using the book's lessons as a guide.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Creating an environment that supports personal growth is crucial for achieving one's goals.
• 🌱 Visualize an ideal environment where you can't help but flourish, free from constraints.
• 📅 Plan your ideal day to clarify what you truly desire and what your perfect life would look like.
• 💡 Identify 20 activities you love to do as a way to fill your ideal day with joy and fulfillment.
• 🎯 Choose one primary goal to pursue with all your energy, as focusing on one thing can lead to broader progress.
• 🔥 Embrace the fear and uncertainty that come with pursuing your dreams; they are signs of growth.
• 🏡 Understand the emotional core of your goal, or 'Touchstone', to stay motivated and energized.
• 📍 Set smaller, achievable goals that are steps towards your larger aspirations and provide immediate satisfaction.
• 📈 Engage in backward planning, starting from the end goal and working towards actionable daily tasks.
• 🌪 Harness the power of negative thinking by acknowledging fears and doubts as part of the creative process.

Q & A

What is the main theme of the book 'Wishcraft' by Barbara Sher?

The main theme of 'Wishcraft' is about identifying what you truly want in life and then creating a systematic action plan to achieve those desires.

What does the author suggest as the first step in creating a life you love?

The first step suggested by the author is to create an environment that fosters success and allows you to bloom, which involves imagining an ideal setting where you naturally thrive.

How does the author recommend visualizing your ideal day?

The author recommends visualizing your ideal day by considering what activities you would engage in if you had no constraints, such as financial limitations or the need to perform mundane tasks.

What is the significance of writing down 20 things you love to do in the context of the book?

Writing down 20 things you love to do is significant because it helps you identify activities that bring you joy and can be incorporated into your ideal day, providing clarity on what you truly want in your life.

Why is it important to choose one goal to pursue first according to the book?

Choosing one goal to pursue first is important because it allows you to focus your energy and efforts, making it more likely that you will achieve that goal, which in turn can help other related goals fall into place.

What does the term 'emotional touchstone' refer to in the context of goal setting?

The 'emotional touchstone' refers to the emotional core of your goal, which is what you love best about it and what you want and need from it. It's the part of the goal that excites and motivates you.

Why is it suggested to set a first target or smaller goal on the path to a larger goal?

Setting a first target or smaller goal is suggested because it provides a more immediate and achievable milestone that can give you a sense of progress and motivation towards the larger, more distant goal.

How does the book address the concept of long-range planning?

The book addresses long-range planning by suggesting that planning should go backwards from the distant future to the present, breaking down the large goal into smaller, manageable steps that can be taken starting from the next day.

What is the significance of having a 'Sunday night planning meeting' as mentioned in the book?

Having a 'Sunday night planning meeting' is significant because it sets the stage for the week by allowing you to plan and prepare for the actions needed to move closer to your goals, ensuring that you have a clear direction and purpose for the upcoming days.

How does the book discuss the power of negative thinking and its role in achieving goals?

The book discusses the power of negative thinking by suggesting that it's natural to feel scared or overwhelmed when pursuing dreams, and instead of fighting these feelings, one can acknowledge them and then proceed with action anyway, using the negative thoughts as a catalyst for action rather than a deterrent.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Wishcraft: Crafting Your Ideal Life

The speaker introduces 'Wishcraft' by Barbara Sher, a book that teaches readers how to identify their true desires and create a life that fulfills them. The book, now in its 30th-anniversary edition, is recommended for those lacking motivation or needing a boost. It emphasizes the importance of creating an environment conducive to personal growth and success, where one naturally 'blooms'. The speaker suggests imagining an ideal environment and planning an ideal day to understand what one truly desires. Exercises like listing 20 things you love to do can help clarify your vision. The book also encourages focusing on one significant goal to pursue, acknowledging that fear accompanies creative action, and that self-confidence comes from mastering tasks.

05:01

🗓️ Setting Goals and Harnessing Negative Thinking

The second paragraph delves into the process of setting and achieving goals. It discusses the importance of identifying the emotional core of a goal, or the 'Touchstone', which is the emotional reason behind pursuing it. The speaker advises setting a first target, a smaller, achievable goal that serves as a stepping stone towards a larger objective. The concept of backward planning is introduced, where one plans from the future to the present, breaking down the goal into manageable steps. The speaker also shares the power of negative thinking, suggesting that it's normal to feel scared or overwhelmed when pursuing dreams. The advice is to embrace these negative feelings, use them as motivation, and continue taking action towards your goals.

Keywords

💡Wishcraft

Wishcraft, as mentioned in the video, refers to the process of identifying one's desires and crafting a life to achieve them. It's a concept from Barbara Sher's book 'Wishcraft: How to Get What You Really Want'. The video discusses how to use wishcraft to create an environment that fosters personal growth and success, as exemplified by the idea of imagining a life where one naturally 'unfolds' like a seed in good soil.

💡Clarity and Vision

Clarity and vision are central to the theme of the video, emphasizing the importance of knowing what one truly wants in life. The video suggests that having a clear vision is the first step towards crafting a life that aligns with one's deepest desires, as illustrated by the exercise of imagining an ideal day and identifying what would make one feel in 'full bloom'.

💡Systematic Action Plan

A systematic action plan is a structured approach to achieving one's goals, as discussed in the video. It involves breaking down larger objectives into smaller, manageable steps that can be taken daily or weekly. The video uses the concept to encourage viewers to create a roadmap for their dreams, starting with identifying the 'one thing' they want to pursue first.

💡Environment

The environment, in the context of the video, refers to the external circumstances and conditions that can either support or hinder personal growth. The video suggests creating an environment that 'creates winners' by imagining a scenario where one's needs are met without effort, which can help in identifying what is truly important for personal fulfillment.

💡Ideal Day

An 'ideal day' is a concept used in the video to help individuals envision their perfect day, which includes all the activities and conditions that would make them feel fulfilled and happy. This exercise is meant to guide people towards identifying what aspects of life they value most and how to incorporate them into their reality.

💡Constraints

Constraints are limitations or restrictions that can impede progress towards one's goals. The video encourages viewers to temporarily remove constraints when envisioning their ideal life to think bigger and more creatively. It also discusses how to work within real-world constraints to make progress towards one's dreams.

💡One Thing

The 'one thing' concept in the video refers to the idea of focusing on a single, most important goal to pursue first. It suggests that by concentrating energy on one major objective, other related goals and improvements in life will naturally follow, as exemplified by the speaker's personal experience of moving to San Francisco.

💡Emotional Touchstone

An emotional touchstone is the core emotional reason behind a goal, representing what one truly wants and needs from it. The video explains that understanding the emotional touchstone of a goal can provide motivation and a sense of purpose, making it easier to stay committed to the pursuit of that goal.

💡Long-Range Planning

Long-range planning, as discussed in the video, involves setting goals and creating a detailed plan to achieve them over a long period. It emphasizes the importance of working backward from a distant future goal to the present, breaking down the vision into smaller, actionable steps that can be taken immediately.

💡Negative Thinking

Negative thinking, in the context of the video, is presented as a natural response to the challenges of pursuing one's dreams. The video suggests embracing and harnessing negative thoughts as a way to confront fears and move forward with action, rather than trying to suppress them or maintain constant positivity.

💡Self-Confidence

Self-confidence is described in the video as the feeling of certainty and ease that comes from doing something one is very familiar with, like tying one's shoes. It's used to contrast the nervousness and uncertainty that can accompany new, creative actions, suggesting that embracing these feelings can be a sign of growth and progress.

Highlights

Introduction to the book 'Wishcraft' by Barbara Sher and its focus on identifying and achieving life goals.

The importance of creating an environment that fosters personal growth and success.

The concept of envisioning an ideal life where one naturally thrives without constraints.

The exercise of planning an ideal day to clarify personal desires and aspirations.

The suggestion to list 20 activities that one loves to do as a means to understand personal passions.

The advice to choose one significant goal to pursue initially to avoid spreading oneself too thin.

The idea that fear is a natural part of the creative process and should not deter one from pursuing goals.

The explanation of self-confidence as the feeling of certainty in tasks one is well-practiced in.

The strategy of selecting a primary goal that excites and motivates to initiate action towards other aspirations.

The concept of identifying the emotional touchstone of a goal to understand its core significance.

The recommendation to set a first target or smaller goal that is both a step towards the ultimate goal and a victory in itself.

The method of long-range planning by working backward from the future to the present to break down goals into manageable tasks.

The importance of regular planning meetings with oneself to maintain progress towards goals.

The exploration of the power of negative thinking as a tool to overcome initial resistance and fear.

The advice to embrace negative thoughts as a natural part of the process and then proceed with the task at hand.

The summary of the book's impact and its alignment with personal development and goal achievement.

Transcripts

today I want to give you five lessons

from one of the best books that I have

read in years it is wishcraft how to get

what you really want by Barbara share so

it's basically how to know what you want

what your wishes even are and then craft

a life to get that thing so it's all

about identifying what do you actually

want what's your Clarity and vision for

your life and then how to actually make

a systematic action plan to get it so if

you are feeling in a slump or if you're

not motivated or you need like an extra

you know boost of motivation I really

recommend you read this book it came out

in the' 70s this is the 30th anniversary

Edition I want to share Five Lessons

From what I learned so the first lesson

that she talks about is creating an

environment that creates winners you're

a winner when you have a life you love

so that you wake up every morning

excited about the day ahead and

delighted to be doing what you're doing

even if you're sometimes a little

nervous and scared and as of right now I

want you to start taking it very very

seriously if a seed is given good soil

and plenty of water in Sun it doesn't

have to try to unfold it just unfolds as

a matter of fact it can't help unfolding

we wouldn't order a seed to sprout on a

bare desktop and yet that is exactly

what we have been demanding of ourselves

imagine yourself in full bloom so she

asked you go through this activity and

what kind of environment could you just

not help but Bloom so she even goes on

further to say like if if there's

laundry to be done you have magic elves

and they're coming and they're doing it

for you so don't say any of these things

as like a problem that you need to fix

see it as a design problem in this

imaginary world where other things can

fix it and what would that imaginary

environment be and that's important

because this exercise is all about

removing constraints so that you can

think bigger get your head up in the

clouds and the next exercise she has you

do is planning then your ideal day so

you still have constraints like there

aren't magic elves who could come be

doing things for you but what would your

ideal day be you have all the money in

the world you could live wherever you

want to live so it's still it's on Earth

there's no elves but it's still what is

your ideal it's a Tuesday a random day

what is your ideal day and this is an

exercise that's so important to map out

and one thing that you can use to jog

your memory she has this exercise in

here of writing 20 things that you love

to do I would even challenge you maybe

to write it longer to make a Divergent

brainstorming list what do you really

love to do 20 things love to do and

filling like filling your IDE ideal day

with that like for me it was paddle

boarding and reading and starting my day

off in that way and just crafting what

your ideal day would look like and this

is the very important first step in

figuring out what is this imaginary

environment where you would be in full

bloom because in the next exercise that

she has you do you go about trying to be

a little more specific about getting it

the second lesson and exercise from this

book is figuring out what is the one

thing to go after it's easy to dream

with just a little encouragement you can

close your eyes and conjure up a whole

new life for yourself but if you want to

make that life come true you will have

to start by choosing one piece of it and

deciding that that's the one you're

going to go for first choose the goal

that sounds the most exciting to you

even if it's the most impossible fear is

the natural companion of creative action

there's only one way to live free of

fear and that is to live without hope

change or growth do you want to know

what self-confidence really is just

think about how you feel when you're

doing something you've done so many

times you could do it in your sleep like

tying your shoes that is self-confidence

and that's all it is is know how verging

on boredom you want to feel nervous

excited and unsure so this is an idea

that you look at kind of that ideal life

and what is the one thing that is

missing from your life right now and

pick the biggest thing and a lot of

times people you know they like okay I

want to do this I want to do this and I

want to do this but you need to pick one

and pick all your energy to go after it

because there's that phrase a rising

tide lifts all boats and so whenever you

pick one once you get that thing it

actually lifts these other things like I

think about I picked for a while my

number one thing was I want to move to

San Francisco and I didn't really focus

on anything else but in moving to San

Francisco it's then helped like fitness

goals and being more active CU I'm just

able to do it more often as you pick

what is most exciting to you and what

really lights you up when you go after

that one thing other things will fall

into place if you just go after that but

you'll have more progress when you pick

one thing the third thing she has you

look at is the emotional Touchstone of

your goal your Touchstone is the

emotional core of your goal what you

want and need from it what you love best

about it it's the sweet Center of that

goal for you the sooner you start

getting some of what you really want the

more energy you'll have to go for the

rest of it when you have a long range

Target you can and should set a date to

it that will help make it real but it

isn't a goal you can plot your path to

reach out and grab at least not soon

enough to give you Joy and hope so you

will need to set yourself a first Target

a smaller goal that's both a step on the

road to your ultimate destination and a

little Triumph in its own right so when

I'm thinking about this goal of like

wanting to buy a house for example

trying to get beneath that is what do I

really want is it that I'm wanting grow

growth and progress in a certain

direction most of all is it I want space

most of all is it that I want stability

most of all you know when you buying a

home there's a lot of different you know

what's underneath that thing so if maybe

you have a goal and it's like okay I

don't know if I'm going to be able to

buy a house for years this feels like

it's really a ways from now what is

something on the way to that thing that

would help you reach that thing maybe a

little reward for making progress if you

just want space or you just want

expansiveness is you rent an Airbnb for

a weekend that has that space and

expansiveness it's a little reward also

you want something that is kind of a

step in its own right so you kind of

Chunk backwards and maybe if space is

what is important then something on the

way to that thing is okay well I can't

get a house right now maybe I could get

a bigger apartment or something that has

space and it's a smaller Target that

still keeps you motivated the fourth

takeaway is all about long range

planning basic mistake is thinking that

just because action goes forward from

present to the Future planning has to go

forward too but it can't planning has to

go backwards from the distant future to

tomorrow from the intimidatingly large

to the reassuringly small from the whole

vision of your goal to its component

parts little things you can do one by

one so you're going to have a Sunday

night planning meeting it may take as

much of an hour or even more but it's

vitally important no sensible business

would proceed without planning meetings

and you've got to learn to treat getting

what you want as top priority business

so she has a very similar process to my

goal setting process if you've seen my

segmentation basically you take the

whole thing and you segment it down to

smaller and smaller steps until you have

something you can do tomorrow but it's

so important to not not just move

forward kind of like randomly like you

don't want to just make this plan and

never look at it again you need to have

a weekly planning meeting with yourself

where you say what do I need to get done

and then also a daily time with yourself

where you say what am I doing tomorrow

and is there anything I need to do

tonight to prepare for it and the final

lessons she has are on the power of

negative thinking there is nothing in

this world that's worth doing that isn't

going to scare you the moment you make

the commitment to going for your dreams

you've begun to venture into the unknown

Comfort is one of the things you can

forget about right now you're not going

to have it anymore excitement company

help and support yes Comfort no so what

do you do you do what every actress with

her salt does before she goes out on

stage on opening night you have a fit

you kick Stomp and cry the lights are

ghastly the lines are awful the

playwright should be shot the director's

an idiot I'm not ready I cannot go on I

will not go on I'm leaving and then you

walk on stage under those lights and

you're fine so on this the power of

negative thinking what I really like

that she emphasizes is when you're

starting to do something like you just

have all these feelings like I just

don't want to do this I don't want to do

this when I sit down to film like I I

there's hardly a time ever when I

actually want to sit down to film but I

like how she says okay just throw a fit

say how everything sucks it's terrible

it's terrible everything's terrible but

then sit down to do it anyways and

likewise set goals for yourself like I'm

just going to write one bad page and

it's so much more Liberty when I tell

myself I'm just going to make four bad

videos I'm going to write four bad

outlines and I just do this and that's

like how I convince myself to get

through it you can actually harness the

power of negative thinking as opposed to

trying to make yourself positive all the

time so this book is one of the best

books that I've read in a long time it's

really like right up my alley if you're

interested in more books that I like I

just came out with a video about the

three books that Chang my life some my

three favorite books so if you're

interested in that video check it out

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