Personal Foundations Program
What is a Personal Foundation?
A personal foundation is the underpinnings of one’s life. There are 10 such underpinnings in the Personal Foundation Program. All 10 elements are necessary for an individual to have a strong and resilient personal foundation.
Why have a Personal Foundation?
The stronger your foundation, the more you can afford to reach for in life, given the strong operating base a personal foundation offers. The stronger your foundation, the fewer problems, diversions, crises, and hassles you will have—thus freeing up most of your day and life to the pursuits that provide you with enjoyment and fulfillment.
Ten Steps to Strengthening Your Personal Foundation
#1 HONOR YOUR BOUNDARIES
- A boundary is a line over which people, problems and life may not cross because you’ve said so—you’re in charge.
- Simply said, a boundary is a “no.”
- A boundary is self-protective but it is not a wall.
- As you extend your boundaries, you have fewer problems, less stress and more space.
#2 RAISE YOUR STANDARDS
- Standards are behaviors you hold yourself to because you’ve chosen them and they fit you.
- A standard is you at your best.
- The higher your standards, the higher the quality of people and opportunities you will attract.
#3 CLARIFY YOUR REQUIREMENTS
- What do you require of others? Of vendors? Of equipment? It’s important that you know and that they fully understand the minimum requirements beforehand.
- If your requirements are not clear to you or others, the resulting confusion can cause problems.
- Requirements are distinct from boundaries and standards.
#4 FINISH YOUR UNFINISHED BUSINESS
- We all have projects, relationships or situations that are unfinished or that have unfinished elements to them.
- Unfinished business consumes personal RAM, even if you aren’t consciously thinking about it. It is very expensive in terms of energy.
- The clean sweep checklist is a great place to begin the process of finishing unfinished business.
#5 GET YOUR PERSONAL NEEDS MET
- Most people spend 20-90% of their time trying to get unknown or unmet personal needs met.
- Work with a coach to help identify unmet needs and install a system to meet those needs. Developing delicious daily habits is a great start.
- Once you have your needs met, you will be at choice and have much more free time to express your values.
#6 ORIENT AROUND YOUR VALUES
- Values are those aspects of life that matter most to you
- When you design your life around your values and express those values fully, you experience fulfillment.
- Unmet needs compete with and restrict access to values, so you may need to get your needs met first, before values can be fully known and expressed.
#7 BUILD RESERVES IN ALL AREAS
- In a world of chaos, reserves are increasingly important so you have the flexibility of moving quickly and affording risk.
- It is important to build reserves in all areas, not just financial.
- Your life permanently evolves when you have not just a sense of reserve, but actual reserves.
#8 IDENTIFY AND REDUCE TOLERATIONS
- Tolerations are what you are putting up with.
- Most of us are tolerating between 100-500 things, situations, people, and behaviors.
- Tolerations drain energy and divert you.
- You can become toleration free, start with your physical environment and work from there.
#9 HANDLE THE MONEY, COMPLETELY
- If you have money or spending issues, you can resolve them.
- You can develop and control your income levels and revenue streams.
- Simplify your life so you are saving and investing at a very, very high rate.
- Focus on having a meaningful life, not just a terrific lifestyle. Adjust accordingly.
#10 DEFINE SUCCESS ON YOUR OWN TERMS
- Knowing what makes you feel successful provides you with a compelling reason to develop a strong personal foundation.
- Only you can define success for you. Make it up even if unconventional or radically different from what you’ve been raised to think or want.
- Let go of everything else. The plans. The trappings. The distractions. The “shoulds.”
Psalm 11:3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
REBUILD THEM