How to Write Your Life Plan Story to Create Your Dream Life.
The following is an example of how to write your #LifePlan Story which is part 1 of the homework for step 4 of my Centrella Method, from my book Hustle Believe Receive, the chapter titled WriteIT.
I believe strongly in the power of our words, thoughts and what we write down, to predict our future. The last time I wrote my #LifePlan in 2011, it manifested with such accuracy that it’s almost spooky! So I am putting this new plan out into the Universe to expedite these dreams becoming my reality and sharing my #LifePlan 2.0 with you.
This is my personal Life Plan Story written Aug 17, 2017.
"It’s 2022, summer is drawing to a close as I sit in this comfy leather recliner looking out my window as Venice draws ever closer below, peeking out between the clouds and the blinding rays of a glorious sunrise.
I’m smiling from every corner of my being, how could I not? It’s VENICE! And I’m arriving on a private jet, after sleeping in a bed all night as we crossed the ocean. How could I not be flying high (pun intended) right now?! Life is such a beautiful blessing, and this moment oozes with the kind of joy I experienced six years ago when the kids and I landed in Venice for the first time.
Italy does that to me, fills my entire being with exploding joy, love, and utter happiness
I glance around the plane, Kanen (now 19) is still sleeping, chair reclined. He’s such an amazing human. I can’t help but feel such pride in him for finishing his first year of college with good grades and fulfilling his lifelong dream as a college athlete, on scholarship no less! He’s happier then I’ve ever seen him, growing into the man I always knew he would be; capable, worldly, independent and kind.
The girls, Mira and Izzy (now 15) are taller than me, smarter, and more ready to take on the world then I ever was at their age. They’ve navigated those pre-teen years and we’ve remained close (thank God!) they are doing great in high school, good grades and active in anything they can take part in. It’s such fun to watch them transform into strong, independent and intelligent beautiful young women.
Lisa (my lifelong best friend) is sitting across from me and we’re both staring out the window in utter amazement, our hearts beating with girlish enthusiasm. We’ve waited for this day our entire lives, since we were children, dirt poor and homeless dreaming of a big beautiful life. And now here it is, us finally experiencing Italy together, soul sisters on this incredible journey. We turned 47 this year, how fast time flies! But we’re both in such an amazing place, feeling younger than ever! I’m so grateful to be healthy and finally in truly great shape. I’ve never felt fitter or sexier, it really is possible to get better with age!
I think of the long journey that has brought me to this moment. Of all the struggles I’ve endured to get here, all the setbacks and heartache. In the end it is what makes us who we are, isn’t it? It’s what gives us the drive to not give up on our dreams and not abandon our calling. There were so many times I wanted to give up. So many hardships that seemed impossible to overcome. But losing my job in 2017 turned into the greatest blessing, it pushed me to do what fear had previously prevented, start my company. Become my own boss. Live my dream.
I’m so grateful that I was able to turn that scary transition into the company that has now surpassed my wildest expectations. It started as my personal coaching company and has become so much more, now employing over 100 women, and empowering people around the world to embrace their greatness and live their dreams.
To think I came so close to turning my back on writing sends a chill through me. Thank god that giving up is not in my nature, and that I fought for my second book as hard as I fought for the first. That I stood strong and remained true to my story and the belief in what it could become, because it’s far exceeded those meager dreams. My memoir has remained on the NYT best-seller list for four years straight, reaching that mark in the first three months of its release. The story has been translated into languages around the world and its inspiring people, imagine that! It’s become a movie and now a hit TV show which I co-produce and has opened so many amazing doors. One of the greatest honors of my life was being interviewed by Oprah, a huge dream come true!
I am living my #LiveList life!
All those hard times financially have made me appreciate this financial windfall so much more, I don’t take it for granted. I give back. I share the blessings bestowed to me.
I’ll never forget the day we got the keys to our dream home a few years ago. It was the moment the kids have wanted more than any other, and the one I so desperately wanted to give them while they were still young enough to enjoy it. It makes me proud that I was able to keep my promise to Kanen and get us our own home while he was still in high school, as our house is always the place to be! And to give the girls the room to plant their own garden and have their own horses, such a dream come true!
As we begin our decent into Venice, everyone begins waking up and chatting excitedly. Lisa passes me a glass of champagne and we raise our glasses, push back tears of joy, and toast to our Italian adventure!
We are about to spend two weeks at our villa in Tuscany. It’s situated on a hill with an expansive, breathtaking view of the Tuscan countryside. Olive groves and vineyards surround it on both sides. A beautiful garden fills the terrace out back and a stunning infinity pool welcomes long evenings indulging in spectacular sunsets. The kids and I have come several times over the past two years since we got this place. I’ve done a few renovations and tried to get away from the hectic life back home, as often as I can, but this is the first time Lisa has seen it. It’s also the first time the kids have each brought a friend. The house will be buzzing with voices, laughter, smells of Ragu slow cooking in the kitchen and cannonballs in the pool, I can’t wait!
But first, Venice!
I am secretly most excited about is spending a few quiet days with the love of my life, cruising the Italian Riviera from Portofino to the dazzling Amalfi coastal town of Positano. Just the two of us, after everyone else heads back home. I’ve waited a LONG time for this. Fifteen years to be exact, it’s my time, and it was so worth the wait!
The best part of my new life is that I am honestly and truly happy, at peace, and daily living a life that at one point merely existed in my imagination. All the things I feared were just excuses to not reach my potential. I’m glad I had the hard-headed-ness to pay them no mind. I’m glad I always followed my heart and my intuition, because its lead me to the life that aligns with everything I believe in and love most in the world.
It is all possible."
TIPS ON WRITING YOUR #LIFEPLAN Story:
1. Set it five years in the future. Be sure to say the year, mention your age, the ages of your kids in five years (if you have, or want them).
2. Write it in the first person as if it is your CURRENT life. Let yourself imagine how it would feel on that perfect day when you are living your dream life. What's it like? You're taking a moment out of that amazing new life to just reflect, to let it all sink in and appreciate all your created.
3. Be sure to touch on ALL five core areas of your life, so that it’s a holistic look at your dreams and ambitions in all areas. Core areas: 1. relationships, 2. career & ambitions, 3. passions & joy, 4. mind & body and 5. wealth & abundance.
4. Be as specific and "visual" as possible. Try to write it as a “story.” Paint the picture and get excited about the potential to have that be your reality one day! Doing this homework should give you butterflies and allow you to see that life as if it’s already your reality (the magic sauce of manifesting).
5. GO BIG! Push yourself to dream of the biggest versions of your dreams. It might not all come to life in the next five years, but I can promise you, much of it will, and you want it to be the ultimate ask of the Universe, not a trimmed down version.
Don’t settle for less than your dreams, because they can and WILL become your reality. You deserve them. I deserve mine. We are worthy of a life that fills us to overflowing.
Anything you can imagine, can become your reality.
UPDATE JAN 27, 2021:
I just read this post and got the chills! Why? Because 3 days ago my son Kanen and I returned from Valparaiso Indiana where he accepted ("committed) to play football for Valparaiso University, a Division 1 college football program, AND he received $96,000 in scholarships to do just that!
I've know this was HIS dream (play D-1 college football) but when I wrote this, it was the summer before his Freshman year in high school and he'd only played kid football! I had totally forgotten however that I had written his dream into this #lifeplan until just now!
And oh yeah, my 2nd book did get written, and published by Simon & Schuster, and picked up by Target stores nationwide. When I wrote this I didn't even had the idea for this book. I am still working on my memoir though, and hoping it will also be sold soon!
UPDATE SEPT 21, 2021:
Once again I re-read this post and am I'm SHOCK! I don't know how it always amazes me how accurate this homework assignment (from my book Hustle Believe Receive) can be, but it still does.
Here's what's manifested to date:
I just returned from 2 weeks in Italy wit my daughters (14), we spent a week at a villa in Tuscany, surrounded by olive groves and vineyards. We spent 4 days on the Amalfi coast, and I spend a magical "me day" in Positano by myself, soaking in the pure joy of it. I did not get there on a private jet, that part is still to come, I have no doubt I'll manifest it in the next #lifeplan
In 2018 the kids and I moved from our apartment to a new home, it's not mine, but it did fulfill everything else I wrote about it. The day we got the keys is one I won't forget and it fulfilled my promise to my son, he had the master bedroom all through high school so he always had plenty of room for his friends.
When I wrote this #lifeplan in 2017 it was just months after being laid off from my corporate job, something that pushed me into starting my coaching company. I have worked for myself ever since. Even though I knew NOTHING about starting or running my own business I grew that to well over six-figures a year in just 4 years. And then this year, in July of 2021 I stared my corporate coaching company Centrella Co. It was a huge leap of faith, but it is the start to manifesting all the things I mention above. It's one that will have employees by 2022, one that has a founding advisory board of 7 women and 1 man, it's a women owned company with the goal of impacting lives world wide.
HUGE UPDATE: And one of the biggest updates, new since my previous update above, is that my son is actually playing football for the #4 team in all of college football! His ULTIMATE dream to play for the Oregon Ducks came about in the 11th hour with a late, preferred walk-on offer! He's since played in his first game, I've seen him on the field, watched him run out the tunnel, all of it! AND he got a full-ride for academics to Oregon!
My daughters just started High School and are LOVING it, after having a really hard time in middle school and with COVID home school.
My 3rd book deal was signed a month ago! It will be out in 2022.
Currently I'm working with my aunt, a veteran TV writer to help me turn my memoir into a TV series.
Lisa has since manifested the love of her life (which was her ultimate dream), has gotten engaged and bought a house.
I'd say that in all categories but the "love" one, we are 80% there! And there is a reason the love one hasn't manifested yet, I've always maintained that I wanted to raise my kids on my own, I don't want the distraction or competition for my time, until they are out of the house. So that one WILL manifest, in about 4-5 years from now!
*Please note: I have never changed a word of my original post. I know it might be hard to believe, but it's important to me that those words never be altered. They are how I wrote them in my journal in August of 2017. The way I teach people how to manifest is SO ACCURATE that it is astounding all by itself, there is no need to manipulate the truth.
Ready to take your life, career, goals and yourself to the next level? Check out my life coaching options or take my online life coaching courses to get the results you DESERVE!
Sarah Centrella is a #1 best-selling author of several self-help books, a motivational keynote speaker, master life coach, Founder of VIVIAMO and podcast host.