Tom Ferry's new book Life! By Design has a variety of exercises that make you think, that cause you to examine where you are in your life. One of the questions asked you to think of your earliest childhood memories.
When I think of my earliest childhood memories a few themes emerge. The more I thought about them I realized that these were threads that wove throughout my life and have played an important role in my life to this day.
Books were a huge part of my childhood and many of my earliest memories are about reading. I was an avid reader before kindergarten and by 11 had read through the books in the children's library and moved upstairs to the main library. At school I was librarian's pet more than teacher's pet. Books were fantasy, books were my window to the adult world, books were never ending entertainment. The chapters of my life are revealed on my bookshelves.
When I wasn't reading I was collecting - stamps, rocks, bottles- you name it - but most of all, antiques. I simply loved old things and the stories they told. My grandmother passed along family heirlooms that I treasure to this day - the brass bed I sleep in, the gold beads passed down through generations to the oldest "Ann", my middle name. For months my great-grandmother wrote me letters with a series of clues - the answer - and the prize - was a vintage sterling silver thimble nestled in a small rose-covered box. In third grade I cleared out my bank account to make my first major purchase - an antique wool spinning wheel that sits in my hall today.
I'm not sure how I came to be enthralled by old houses but enthralled I was from a very young age. I wanted to collect them too - fantasizing that I would have one of each style - from 1700s Colonial to Victorian to Bungalow with several variations in between. I had my favorite houses all over town and on the drive we regularly took through three towns to my grandmother's I had my favorites all along the route. So many of my childhood memories are about houses and houses are what I remember about where I've been.
I can't forget the pets that played a part in my childhood. My family's only stint with a dog, Heidi, was really too early for me to remember. It was cats that became part of our family - from our first Meowa, who unexpectedly had kittens in my antique commode when I was six, to the generations that followed. We became a cat family and each of us has cats today.
It was a long time coming but I've designed a life that's filled with the things I've always loved.
For years I wanted a house - having given up on the idea of collecting a number of them after dramatic real estate price increases made the goal of having just one seem unattainable. I had taken a winding road career-wise and couldn't find a way to buy a house even though it was all I wanted. Finally I bought my first old house when I was well into my 30s.
The first house was key but the realization of everything I wanted didn't come about until I got into real estate. It was truly a matter of finding my bliss and has been the means to finally affording my own old house in Massachusetts. Just where I want to be.
Now I live in a very old house, filled with books and antiques - and one very fabulous cat. I've truly designed the life I dreamed of from my earliest days.
This post is to help promote Tom Ferry's upcoming book, LIFE! By DESIGN. The contents of my post are the result of some self reflection the preview chapter of the book asks us to do about ourselves.
You can Pre-Order the book now by visiting TomFerryBook.com. You can also participate in the promotion being done by ActiveRain for a chance to win some great prizes and 2500 points by visiting the promotional post here.
Everyone that orders a copy of the book between now and April 23rd, 2010 will also receive one ticket to attend Tom's Success Summit, August 24-26th and the MP3 audio role play program: Objection Handling for Buyers, Sellers and Short Sales.
In exchange for writing this post, I could win an iPad or other cool prizes, and this is to let you know so the FTC doesn't fine me.
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