The Five Planks
This article is a continuation from a prior article, “Your Bridge Across the Chasm.“ The focus of this series is to give you a different perspective on a means by which you can cross the chasms of life in your journey to the life you desire.
In the prior article, three preparatory steps were described, summarized as follows;
Step 1: Come to the realization that where you’re at in this moment of life is not where you want to be.
Step 2: Identify what you want in life, why, and who you need to become to create and live that life.
Step 3: Make a decision to create the life you desire. Decide that you will cross the chasm separating you from where you are and where you desire to be.
Building a bridge without the intention or conviction to cross it is building a bridge to nowhere.
The Five Planks Across the Chasm
The “chasm” that separates you from the life you desire is generally not a physical limitation. Rather, it is a mental or psychological construct that creates resistance to change. The prospect of change is evaluated by your subconscious mind in the context of: 1. Will this harm me?, and 2. Does this fit a pattern or behavior already in the database of the mind?
You are going to build a portable bridge that will take you across every chasm on your journey. In building this bridge you will create a repeatable process that satisfies the subconscious mind’s mandate to protect you, while at the same time creating new patterns and behaviors that turn desire into reality.
The bridge is a metaphor, but also a tool: a tool for you and for all who you bring with you on your journey.
Building your bridge across the chasm is not a serial endeavor. Rather, it is a parallel process. One objective is to get in motion on your journey, to begin. The bridge goes with you. It evolves and adapts at your command. The center plank is the beginning. The other planks are added as you go.
It is important to understand that building this bridge is not your life’s purpose. Building a bridge without the intention or conviction to cross it is building a bridge to nowhere. It is a means of moving you toward and to your greater purpose, vision, and identity. For that reason, getting you across the first chasm is the objective of the first plank. From there, you build as you go.
An authentic identity exists when there is congruence between who you believe you are, who others believe you to be, your belief in the value you bring to the world, and the value the world desires and needs from you.
Step 4: Plank 1
Plank 1: The Center Plank – Your Code of Life and Living
Your bridge across the chasm begins with the “center plank.” This is the structure onto which the other four planks are attached. It is this center plank that provides the strength, flexibility, and certainty to cross each chasm of life. It is called Your Code of Life and Living, or “your code” as it will be referred to hereafter.
Your Code is your life operating system, and is comprised of seven (7) core elements: purpose, vision, identity, enthusiasm, energy, focus, and plan.
Purpose: Purpose is the external manifestation of who you are and will become. It is a measure of the impact you make on the world, such as you define your world. It is the legacy you leave in the changed and elevated lives of others. It is the contribution, no matter the magnitude, to the momentum of generations of the future.
Vision: Vision is the picture you hold in your mind that pulls you to who you will and must become such that you are capable, worthy, and deserving of delivering your purpose to the world. This is an internal journey that manifests externally in your purpose.
Identity: Identity is who you believe you are, and who others believe you to be. The key element of identity is belief. Your identity is visible to the world, and is the connector between and a composite of your purpose and vision. An authentic identity exists when there is congruence between who you believe you are, who others believe you to be, your belief in the value you bring to the world, and the value the world desires and needs from you.
If there is no action, then it’s not a plan – it’s a hope.
Note that you can begin with vision and therefrom create purpose, or you can begin with purpose and derive the vision of who you need to be to make that purpose a reality to the world. Where you begin depends on where your imagination, dreams, and desires point you.
Enthusiasm, Energy and Focus: When you believe in your purpose, vision, and identity, then enthusiasm, energy, and focus follow naturally. Where your focus goes, so goes you enthusiasm and energy. Purpose and vision are your focus. Enthusiasm and energy are the forces that concentrate your focus into unstoppable momentum.
All of the above elements can be thought of as “potential.” In other words, they are potential or stored energy available to you to propel you forward. What turns this potential energy into a propelling life force and unstoppable momentum is execution of your plan of action.
Plan: The plan is your action roadmap to fulfill your purpose and vision, regardless of whether you start with purpose or vision. The plan is all about the actions you take and the results you get. If there is no action, then it’s not a plan – it’s a hope.
Your plan is necessarily and naturally adaptive. As you move forward in life, your purpose will change and grow, as will your vision. Your identity will evolve. As such, your plan must be adaptive and flexible so as to direct and execute the necessary actions. It is formulated around your purpose and vision, such as they are and become. Expect and accept change as a path to growth and clarity.
Next, The Platform
In the next article in this series, the first of the four remaining planks will be described. That plank is “platform.”
