Change Your Life Free Online Course Syllabus

Begin Here

Practice: Prepare for each session ahead of time with these simple steps:

  1. Click the links below and read the lessons.
  2. Perform the practices in each lesson.
  3. Submit questions to [email protected] at least 48 hours before the session. I might even reply to you before we meet!
  4. Submit questions at the session.
  5. Be prepared and participate in each session.

Part 1:
Set Your Direction

Module 1: Bedrock

  • Summary: In this Module, we define key goals, review your history, see what’s been holding you back, see if there’s a fit
  • Lesson: Things you need to know and apply
  • Practices
    • Part 1: Agreement — Online Course Terms and Conditions
    • Part 2: Go back and complete these practices if you haven’t done them yet
    • Part 3: Define the problem you want to solve or the opportunity you want to realize. Be specific. Be explicit. Be descriptive. Be complete. What is it like? How big is it? How often is it present? What color is it (and if it doesn’t have a color, what color would it be if it did?)? What is its name (and if it doesn’t have a name, what would it’s name be if it did? Name it!)? Where does it exist? Where do you experience it? When does it appear? When is it absent? Where did it come from? Why is it important to you? Who else does it impact? If it were a fictional character, which one would it be?
    • Part 4: Write Vision Statement(s) for those areas you want to impact in this course
    • Part 5: Create a 3-Word Product Name
      • Create an inspiring, personally meaningful, 3 word (or fewer) product name for your intended result of this course.
      • Example might be: “Finally Thin Forever”, “Crazy In Love”, “Love My Job”, “Ultimate Driving Machine”, “International Business Machines”, “Strategic Defense Initiative”, “Breathtaking”, or “Warrior for Compassion”.
      • Don’t worry… this is just a first draft: it doesn’t have to be perfect.
      • If you’re uncertain, pick something for now, with the understanding you can change it later if a better name comes along.

Module 2: Power

  • Lesson
    • Part 1: How to Have Confidence
      • You will have confidence to do something (or to accept your current situation), by seeing the impact of the current situation on your future self. See what your life will be like if you do nothing.
    • Part 2: How to Claim Your Power
  • Practice:
    • Part 1: Increase Your Resolve
      • Write a paragraph or two about the area you want to impact in this course. Describe it in a year, and 2 years, and 5 years, if you take no action in that area. What will it be like if you do nothing?
        • How will it be different?
        • How will it be the same?
        • How will it be better?
        • How will it be worse?
        • How will you be talking about it, and with whom?
        • What other areas in your life will it be impacting?
        • Who else in your life will be impacted?
    • Part 2: Be Powerful
    • Part 3: Look and see:
      • where in your life you use phrases like:
        • “I’m afraid…”, or
        • “I can’t…”, or
        • “I would never…”, or
        • “I could never…”, or
      • where discomfort with a topic or an activity has prevented you taking action that would forward your intentions, then
  • Look and see where in your life you use phrases like: “I hope…” or “We’ll just have to hope…”, then overcome those feelings of hopelessness.
  • Revise any element of your work to date that can be improved. Update it in your PowerBoard.

Stage 2
Create a Solid Foundation

Module 3: Purpose

Module 4: Product

  • Lessons
    • Lesson 1: Document a Path to Your Perfect Product
    • Lesson 2: Perfect Your Product: 3 Ways to Document Your Desired Results
  • Practices
    • Practice 1: Remember your future
    • Practice 2: Create at least 3 of each type of goal named in the lesson.
  • Examples
    • Lesson 1: general product goals
    • Lesson 2: specific product and process goals/key results

Phase 2
Create Your Structure

Module 5: Create a Plan

Part 1: Places

Part 2: People

Part 3: Create Your Personal Plan

Part 3
Continue to Perform and Produce

Module 6: Perform

Module 7: Practice

This is so important, I’m repeating it!

  • Lesson
  • Practice
    • Take action every day!
    • Continue to carry out your Plans.
      • Revise Policies, Agreements, and other PowerBoard documents as necessary.
      • Revise Plans as necessary.
    • Reach out for help immediately when you need it.
      • Support
      • Coach
      • Mastermind group/members
      • Facebook group/members
      • Friends
      • Family
      • Committed Listener

Module 8: Produce

  • Lesson
  • Practices
    • Notice and acknowledge the results you’re producing. Pay attention. Look for them.
    • Measure them.
    • Provide feedback in conversations and recognition, to your individual team members and teams.
    • Adjust your plans.
    • Make new plans if necessary.
    • Keep going! The only limit to your results is your willingness to see new options and take new actions consistent with those options.
  • Example

Module 9: Retrospective and Celebrations.

  • Lesson: What is a Retrospective
  • Practices
    • Assessment: See how far you’ve come. See what you’ve done and what you haven’t done.
      • Perform a Retrospective
        • What’s working?
        • What’s not working?
        • What would you do completely differently if you started all over again?
      • Assess your OKRs 
        • Count results
        • Express results as a % of original goals
    • Acknowledge your results and those who contributed.
      • Be grateful
      • Provide feedback in conversations and recognition
      • Celebrate!
    • Rest and recover.
    • Consider what you’ll do, where you’ll go, and who’ll you be with next.
      • Set new goals
      • Revise your plans
        • Product
        • People
        • Places
    • Practice
      • This is a virtuous cycle. As long as you continue, you get new results.
      • When you choose to stop, so do your results.
      • Remember to plan rest and recovery.
    • Keep going!

“We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”

–T. S. Eliot, Little Gidding 
Thomas Stearns Eliot, by Lady Ottoline Morrell, 1934
Thomas Stearns Eliot, “one of the twentieth century’s major poets”, was also a British (US-born) playwright and publisher.

Keep Going

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