Live in truth.

The key to opening the door to your most-desired, future life is to acknowledge where you are presently -- right at this very moment.

Some of us don't want to face the truth. We're afraid of what might happen if we really know where we are personally, professionally, financially and spiritually. But, to move forward, toward the life we really want, we have to know where we stand. We have to take inventory of our lives.
Some people are even more afraid of what others might think if they really knew the truth about us. But forget about them right now. The most important person to be truthful with is yourself, because, when it comes down to it, you are the most important person in your life. If you're not honest with YOU, you won't be able to be honest with anyone else.

For example: Maybe your plan was to own your own home, be the president of your own company and have a million plus in the bank by the time you were 30 years old. You take a look around and realize that 30 has come and gone, you're renting a house and are living paycheck to paycheck, working at a job you don't enjoy.

Sure, you want more. You wish your old plan had materialized. But it didn't. You can't keep looking back, wallowing in what could have been. What you can do is create a new plan, then take one goal at a time and make it happen.

Maybe your new first goal is to change jobs or start your own business. You have unique skills no one else has -- use them to create a career you love. Then, after you take that first step, you can move forward to create your dream life, goal by goal. If you've been lying to yourself, avoiding the truth of your life, it's time to come clean.

Action Step:
In closing this week, I'd like to offer an exercise to complete in the week ahead:
Get honest with yourself.
Forget about your goals for a minute, and concentrate on getting really honest with your present situation.
The truth about any situation is not what you want it to be.
It isn't what it should be. It isn't what it would have been.
The truth is what it is. No amount of sugar coating will make it anything different.
Take inventory of your present truth in these categories:
A. Your physical self
B. Your spiritual self
C. Your financial self
D. Your professional self
E. Your personal self

Ask yourself these three questions for each category:
1. How do I perceive this area of my life?
2. How would I describe this area of my life if I were being completely honest to myself?
3. Are numbers 1 and 2 identical?

(If they are, you are being honest with yourself. If they aren't, it's time to begin making them the same.)