The Path Ahead - Looking Down The Road

A vision for the future, a goal to work towards. With this blog I want to make a difference. I want to turn it into something to really help others and help others help themselves. Coming up to my thirtieth birthday this summer I have been taking a hard look at my life and evaluating my priorities and plans. I want to leave a lasting legacy here on this earth, just as we all do, but that legacy to me doesn't have to be something huge and extravagant. Even something small and hidden can influence people and things for years to come. If people don't remember who I am that's ok, I would rather them be able to remember the things they learned about joy and carry those things with them wherever they go for the rest of their lives. By putting out there my journey to find joy I can hopefully help others fulfill their own journey to a rewarding and meaningful life. To be able to make that kind of difference is all that I want. 

I have to start somewhere though, and that somewhere is right here - Joyful: The Pursuit of Life. I have a vision to use my writing skills and my own life experience to start a community of encouragement and support. I want to start a movement - so here we go. Come join me and let's make a real difference. It all starts with one person deciding to make a change. Looking ahead there are five things that I think we should be working towards. They are as follows:

1 - Application for iPhone/Android - I would like to develop a real smartphone app that allows people to post their joyful moments and share with each other. I want to have a community of support available at everyone's fingertips. More than Facebook, I want to focus on the positive joyful things in life along with the negative hard things going on to help us learn that those hard times will always be there but we can condition ourselves to look at the joyful side of things instead. 

2 - Journal - I really would like to develop a daily journal, online or in print, to help people record their moments of joy to help them focus on those things and draw strength from them. I want it to be something we can go back to throughout the day and say hey - see there, there are good things happening right now I can focus on. A journal to express not just your joy but also the fear and stress and anxiety that the joy is working to conquer. Those negative feelings are there too, they can't be ignored. We have to get them out and then figure out how to deal with them.

3 - Workbook - along with the journal something that helps us as we work through each day and try to focus on those positive things - something that seems to be a daily struggle for most of us. 

4 - Book - eventually I would like to have all of these ideas and prompts and stories but into book form, something you can really sit down and delve into. 

5 - Bracelets - like those rubber wrist bands - something fun and silly to help remind us every time we see it that there is something in life to be joyful about and no matter how hard things seem to be now it will get better. The power of positive thinking. 

There are many avenues to explore, from fundraising to sponsorship to maybe even a Kickstart campaign. The point is I now know where I want to go and where I want to take Joyful: The Pursuit of Life. Come, join me on this awesome adventure. Be a part of your own journey and connect to the wonderful world all around you.