What Is Intentional Winning In Life?

Because I know we have new friends joining us here in the Dream Machine, I periodically repost the explanation of Intentional Winning in Life. Read on and join us on Facebook, too! I have big plans for IWIL and would love nothing more than for you to have been with me since the beginning!


Intentional Winning In Life - IWIL is the process of bringing your dreams to life right now by thinking about them differently.

So many of us had dreams when we were younger that for this reason or that, we let go of pursuing. Even as adults, things come up that seem exciting or worthwhile, but we believe we aren't qualified, don't have time to learn, don't have the money, or simply don't feel we can reach the goal. Whatever you think, you're right! So if you don't think you can do it, maybe you could think about it in a way that does seem doable to you. Just maybe, there is another way to bring that dream into reality.

Here's an example (reference the photo above): Let's say your dream is to go from San Francisco, CA to New York, NY. Most would agree that the fastest, most direct route would be to travel eastbound on highway 80 in one strait shot - the pink road. You'll see a little piece of green on the pink route which is a planned detour where there's a break in highway 80. As we do this, plug in life goals and normal activities that come along the way such as going away to college, getting married, having kids, changing jobs, etc. If you think about each of the events in your life that stop your progress to your dream destination, it's easy to see how we get stalled and eventually "settle down" in Anytown USA along the way. If you look closely at a United States map, you will see that there are hundreds of other roads to get you to New York from San Francisco - the orange roads. Will it take longer? Yes. Will it cost more? Possibly. Will the journey be full of surprises? Absolutely! When you realize that all those other roads can get you where you want to go, you can see that not only can you make your dream come true, but you may also find other things that make you happy and bring you joy along the way.

I'm going to define IWIL a whole lot more as we continue through this year. I'm also going to show you many things you can do to restart the engine on your dream and start feeling it's joy this very minute! Let's get this show on the road and start discovering what the orange roads have to offer.

Orange Road: Happy Hour!

Go to a local happy hour - make dinner of happy hour appetizers and if you don't drink, have a soda, coffee, iced tea or water. The point is to get out, meet new people and have fun! This is a great way to unwind after work, enjoy a little something to eat (some places provide enough to make a full meal!), and meet new people. Check out a few different places to see where people go and most importantly, find a place where you feel comfortable.

I used to love to go to a local Mexican restaurant with one of my girlfriends after work. In the summer months, the fruity margaritas were the drink specials and the happy hours goodies were delicious. We could easily spend an hour and a half to two hours and not spend more than $8.00!

It doesn't matter if you have a half hour or two hours, get out with some friends and mingle, it's low pressure and fun!

It Starts With You!

Let me start this topic by saying I'm not a expert and I certainly don't have all the answers. I am sharing with you what I know and what I believe are good ways to position yourself to meet a great guy or gal. My only qualifications are that I spent years in my 20s and 30s going on fun, crazy, bad, and hilarious dates and I've been happily (extremely I might add!) married for ten years. With that said, I believe finding a great catch starts with being a great catch.

For you to be a great catch, you've got to be happy with yourself and where you are in your life. This doesn't mean that you have to be exactly where you want to be, but it does mean that you need to be happy with where you are on your journey. When you are happy, you are able to be in the moment wherever you are, being in a place of light and joy. If you can step back from your frustration of being the "single one" and embrace that you are with friends having a good time, you will be more apt to find yourself meeting new people. When I was single, I got to the point that I was happy where I was, really enjoying my time no matter what I was doing, but I still wasn't open to all possibilities, I was sizing guys up based on what they looked like, what they did for a living, and so on - more on this in my next post. For today, find happiness in where you are and if you still have work to do, focus on that, focus on you.

While you're on your way to the relationship of your dreams, find joy in you and your life now. Accept invitations to go out, talk to people in common places, and put yourself in a position to get to know people. I have lots of ideas and can't wait to dig in! It starts with you, to find a great catch, you've got to be a great catch and I know you are!

Wrapping Up Sailing in May!

This was fun and I hope you are thinking with a bigger sail about how you can make your sailing dreams come true! I got an e-mail from a woman who shared with me that as a young woman she loved to sail and as she got married and had kids, she didn't have time to get out as much as she would have liked. She missed it so much, she started to resent some of her responsibilities of daily life. Her husband encouraged her to go out for the day on a charter and guess what happened? She was miserable! She said she must be getting old because as much as she loves the water and sailing, she didn't enjoy it like she used to. She assured me she would go out from time to time as a passenger with her family, but she no longer has any desire to do the work sailing requires. Ultimately, she was glad she went out and realized she loves her life the way it is and doesn't miss the past like she did. I see that as a success story. When our dreams don't come true, we wonder, "What if?" Find out and either way you will feel good knowing you want to keep working to bring that dream to life or put it to bed for good. All good!

What is Intentional Winning in Life?

Intentional Winning In Life - IWIL is the process of bringing your dreams to life right now by thinking about them differently.

So many of us had dreams when we were younger that for this reason or that, we let go of pursuing. Even as adults, things come up that seem exciting or worthwhile, but we believe we aren't qualified, don't have time to learn, don't have the money, or simply don't feel we can reach the goal. Whatever you think, you're right! So if you don't think you can do it, maybe you could think about it in a way that does seem doable to you. Just maybe, there is another way to bring that dream into reality.

Here's an example: Let's say your dream is to go from San Francisco, CA to New York, NY. Most would agree that the fastest, most direct route would be to travel eastbound on highway 80 in one strait shot - the pink road. You'll see a little piece of green on the pink route which is a planned detour where there's a break in highway 80. As we do this, plug in life goals and normal activities that come along the way such as going away to college, getting married, having kids, changing jobs, etc. If you think about each of the events in your life that stop your progress to your dream destination, it's easy to see how we get stalled and eventually "settle down" in Anytown USA along the way. If you look closely at a United States map, you will see that there are hundreds of other roads to get you to New York from San Francisco - the orange roads. Will it take longer? Yes. Will it cost more? Possibly. Will the journey be full of surprises? Absolutely! When you realize that all those other roads can get you where you want to go, you can see that not only can you make your dream come true, but you may also find other things that make you happy and bring you joy along the way.

I'm going to define IWIL more as we continue through this year. I'm also going to show you many things you can do to restart the engine on your dreams and start feeling their joy this very minute!