"Creating Your Own Destiny" by Patrick Snow

Getting What You Want Out of Life
An interview with Patrick Snow, author of Creating Your Own Destiny

Do you know what you want out of life but aren’t sure how to get it? If you’ve thought you have no control over your destiny, author Patrick Snow has a message for you: Put aside your fears. In this week’s interview, Mr. Snow shares his message on the importance of recognizing our inner passions and how to use them to build our own destiny.

In your book you advise people to create a “game plan.” What would that entail?

Life is like high stakes poker strategy -- there are certain things you want to accomplish and as such, you have to create a game plan to win the game (that is, to win at life). You can have a part in creating everything in your future, whatever that is. I firmly believe we all have the ability to create our own destiny if we will set up a game plan. Part of that game plan entails setting goals and then taking daily action. And as we execute that game plan on a daily basis, we’re able to mold our future.

It seems you don’t look at wealth in a typical way. How do you define “wealth”?

To me, wealth is “financial and emotional peace of mind.” Those two things are tied together, hand in hand. For instance, multimillionaires may be miserable because their personal lives are falling apart. And conversely, people may have a tremendously successful family life but not have enough money to provide for the basic needs of their children. There needs to be a healthy balance between the financial and emotional side of things. And at the same time you need to have a lifestyle that’s also balanced in family and faith. So having great wealth in life entails being balanced in four areas: family, faith, monetary wealth and health.

What are some of your suggestions for building that kind of wealth?

Set goals and create visions in different areas of your life. When I give seminars I suggest to people that they set goals in all areas, not just monetary goals. What about keeping your health intact, for example? It’s also important to set family goals, such as the goal to have a 50-year wedding anniversary. Having that as a primary goal puts emphasis on your marriage. Losing weight and exercising are good goals for your health. Your life becomes balanced when you set goals and create visions in multiple areas.

What is the most important advice for creating our own destiny?

The bottom line is that it’s important to do what you love. When you do what you love, the money will follow. The challenge is to soul search for your innermost passions. Ask yourself, “If I won the lottery today what would I do?” And as you follow those passions, you gain more self-confidence and create an unstoppable persona. Follow your passions and do what you love, and you’ll get more out of life.

Buy this book from Amazon.com: Creating Your Own Destiny