Dreams and intentions for 2014 (and beyond)

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands.

Ha! Here we go! Another brand new year! I wish you a beautiful, prosperous, fortunate, healthy and love-filled 2014. May all your dreams come true.

It is funny how a fresh start can inspire. It is just January, not that a spectacular month. But the idea of a new year has something promising.

Every year I start with a self-made exercise that kind of resembles a bucket list. I sit down, take a deep breath and write down all the dreams, wishes and intentions that come to the surface of my awareness. I don’t give it much thought, I just write down what comes up during 5 minutes, without holding back and without editing. At the end of the year I remember and look back what I wrote in January. It is quite surprising to see how much became true (and what didn’t).

Let’s get started:

I want to empower

I want to inspire

I want to build

I want to succeed

I want focus

I want discipline

I want joy

I want to love

I want to be loved

I want to fall in love

I want a profoundly heart-warming and foot-sweeping intimate relationship with a lovely girl (warm, feminine, smart, wise, inspiring, sexy, sassy, todos)

I want to stop acting like a shy and/or clumsy tool every fucking time I meet a specimen of aforementioned category (but really, it needs to stop)

I want an awesome love life

I want to travel to exotic/cool places and make a meaningful contribution to those places.

I want my vision to crystallize into a sustainable and successful business model.

I want to make a difference.

I want my friendships to develop and mature and I want my friends inspire me

I want to contribute to the happiness of others (as much people as possible)

I want to stay healthy

I want to attain a whole new level of physical fitness

I want my right shoulder to heal

I want to make an appearance in mainstream media (with a coherent message)

I want to become a skilled public speaker

I want to experience flow while working

I want to find a publisher (and help with writing a book)

I want 2014 to be a really productive year for me!

I want financial freedom

I want to become good at marketing and sales.

I need focus

I need courage

I need luck

I need a nice place to live (on a more permanent contract please)

I need spiritual growth

I need clarity

I shall devote myself to the growth of others

I shall inspire others, or at least give my best

I shall come up with something cool to contribute to the transformation of people

I shall persevere

I shall be open

I shall be honest

I shall be generous and available

Well, that would be about it. What I feel is that my biggest wish is to build something, both in my professional as my private life. The past years I have pushed myself outside my comfort zone in many ways. I have lived through all that; it didn’t kill me (which is the main subconscious fear that keeps us from following our hearts). Now I want to materialize something. I want to create something that can be beneficial to others, which can change their lives and empower them to change the lives of others. That is the plan.

I just looked back at the posts from previous years. This is what I wrote in 2011 (Bali, Indonesia), this is what I wrote in 2012 (Tel Aviv, Israel) and this is what I wrote in 2013 (Cali, Colombia). The search for love and stability is ongoing but many dreams and intentions have manifested along the way and I had more adventures than I ever could imagine. Next step will be facilitating life-altering adventures while keep growing as a human being.

I recommend trying this exercise yourself. Jot down what feels real for you, without thinking, without holding back and without letting yourself be limited by concerns about money, time and responsibilities. If you are brave enough, post your results in the comments.

EDIT: As so often, the pic that accompanies this post is not the most charming (my couch surfer and backpacker visitor Chrystal made sure that the selected pic was in her favor). But I had only one other option which I will show below. This one also doesn’t entirely cover the spirit of this post. 😉 Don’t worry, I didn’t start my year with a fist fight. I just ended up on the after party of talented young photographer and Photoshop wizard Joe Finch Meijer and rearranging my face must have brought him joy..

Perhaps the message is here that we should not forget that we all have a dark side that we might as well acknowledge. Trying to suppress it will lead to artificial goodness. Better accept that you already are a badass and try to do good regardless.