“After reading your new book, I asked my ten-year-old what her Perfect Day would be. She thought about it, and then made a list: beach, time with Mom, and ice cream.
The next night, after a day on the beach, she told me it was her “Perfect Day” because she did everything on her list. But here’s the thing: we had done the same things the day before I asked her the question. She just appreciated it more after doing the exercise!”
If you don’t write down your Perfect Day, you’ll never have a perfect day.
We start every entrepreneur we mentor with the Perfect Day exercise, because I want them to have a clear vision of success. Asking them, “How many clients do you want?” or “How much money do you want to make?” are bad questions, because the answer is always “More.” And “more” is an unreachable goal.
We can define “wealth” in a broad sense. But we can’t say “you’re successful” to each individual entrepreneur until we know their Perfect Day.
In our mentorship practice, our mission is to make 1,000,000 entrepreneurs successful. But success is impossible to reach until it’s defined. Writing down your “perfect day” makes success a real object: you can picture it, you can stub your toe on it. You’ll know it when you have it.
The real secret to the Perfect Day exercise isn’t simply having a clear goal. It’s knowing when you’ve achieved it.
Everyone actually has Perfect Days. But if you’re not watching for them, you’ll miss them. You’ll focus on the tiny little disappointments; the setbacks; the distractions. And that’s what you’ll remember. But when you record your personal Perfect Day, you’ll look at each day differently. You’ll think of your list and ask, “What can I do to make this day perfect?” instead of waiting for perfection to spontaneously occur.
If your perfect day includes “Time with my dog / a workout / breakfast with my husband / reading a book / swimming”, then you’ll set up your day to include those things. But only if you’ve written them down first. And at the end of the day, if you realize you’ve had an almost-Perfect Day, you can spend a few minutes making it perfect. Or you can set yourself up for a Perfect Day tomorrow.
There are really two keys to happiness:
- Knowing what makes you happy
- Recognizing it when it happens.
Happiness is a practice. You cultivate happiness through service and through mindfulness. I want entrepreneurs to find happiness. The Perfect Day exercise is the first step.
