Living Forward 

Daniel Harkavy & Michael Hyatt 

 

Book Overview from the Publisher 

Each  of  us  has  but  one  life to live on this earth. What we do with it is our choice. Are we drifting through 
it  as  spectators,  reacting  to  our  circumstances  when  necessary  and  wondering  just  how  we  got  to  this 
point  anyway?  Or  are we directing it, maximizing the joy and potential of every day, living with a purpose 
or mission in mind? 
 
Too  many  of  us  are  doing  the  former--and  our  lives  are  slipping  away  one day at a time. But what if we 
treated  life  like  the  gift  that  it  is?  What  if  we  lived  each  day  as  though  it were part of a bigger picture, a 
plan​?  That's  what  ​New  York  Times ​bestselling author Michael Hyatt and executive coach Daniel Harkavy 
show  us how to do: to design a life with the end in mind, determining in advance the outcomes we desire 
and  path  to  get  there.  In  this  step-by-step  guide,  they  share proven principles that help readers create a 
simple  but  effective  life  plan  so  that  they  can  get  from  where  they  are now to where they really want to 
be--in every area of life. 
 

KEY POINTS COVERED IN THIS SUMMARY: 

1. A life plan ​- 3 questions we must answer in creating a plan for our 
life 
2. Chart the course for each area of your life -​ How to chart progress 
in each of the areas of your life 
3. “Balanced life” -​ A balanced life is a myth; what you should do 

1) Create a Life Plan 

Something  we  know  instinctively  is  that  in  order  to  do  something  great,  we  must  have  a  plan 
for that thing. Similarly, if we want to live a great life, we must have a plan for that great life. 

3 questions to answer in creating a life plan 

  
1. How do you want to be remembered?  
● Your legacy 
● What  would  it  be  like  if  you  were  at  your  deathbed  or  maybe  at  a  ceremony 
where they were making a eulogy for you 
● How everyone else would remember you 

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This is the first thing you must answer in order to be able to create a plan for life.  
 
In  the  book  ​The  7  Habits  of  Highly  Effective People​, Stephen Covey also talks about this idea. 
He says that we must b ​ egin with the end in mind i​ n order to live a great life.  
 
2. W
​ hat are your specific personal priorities?  
● Things that you are after 
● Things that would make you happy 
● Things that would align with your values 
● Things that will make you feel like you lived a good life 
 
Identify  the  ​top  3  things  that  you  must  absolutely  accomplish  in  order  to  feel  like  you  lived  a 
great life.  
 
3.  ​What  are  the specific actions you need to take in order to become the person you want to 
become?  
 
Figure  out  how  you  will  get  there.  If  you  don't  know  what  things  you  will  need  to  do,  it would 
be very hard to get to where you want to go.  
 
So  identify  the  specific  kinds  of  things  you  will need to do on a daily basis in order to become a 
greater version of yourself. 

Keep a living written document 

 
Once  you  have  these  3  questions  answered,  keep  a  living written document that contains your 
answers to all these questions.  
● The document can be as short as 5 pages and up to 15 pages long.  
● Some sort of a journal will be a great place to keep this living document. 
● Keep  this  plan  with  you  at  all  times  in  order  to  know  if  you're  guiding  your  life  in  the 
right  direction  or  if  you  are  losing  track,  losing  momentum,  or  moving  in  the  wrong 
direction. 

2)  Chart  the  course  for  each  of  the  different  areas  of 
your life 
1. Create a very clear purpose statement in each the different areas of your life.  
Have  a  statement  for  your  health,  another  one  for  your  business,  another  one  for  your 
family, and so on and so forth.  
 

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 2. Envision yourself in the future.  
○ Stand  in  the  future  and  see  your  future  self  enjoying  the  fruits  of  your  labor, 
having accomplished all the goals.  
○ Involve  all  your  senses.  Write  down  whatever  you  can  touch,  smell,  taste,  see, 
and hear as you envision your future. 
○ Write down exactly what you see your future self doing. 
○ Write  down  your  envisioned  future  in  the  different  areas  of  your  life:  health, 
business, family, and so on. 
 
3. Now compare your envisioned future to your current reality.  
Maybe  your  current  reality  isn't  that  good  in  a  certain area of your life but you expect to 
make the future of that area really good and bright.  
 
First, you need to be honest with where you are.  
○ What is the current reality?  
○ What is your challenge?  
○ Where  are  you  in  that  area?  With  your  health?  With  your  business?  With  your 
finances?  
 
If  you  don't  know  where  you  are, you cannot move forward. You cannot make progress. 
So you have to start making a real assessment of your current reality of the situation.  
 
4. Make  specific  commitments  ​in order to take yourself from your current reality to your 
envisioned future.  
○ What are the specific actions you will need to take in order to get there?  
■ Identify  your  specific  commitments  for  each  of the different areas of your 
life. (Health / Business / Family / Finances / etc.)  
○ What are the things you commit to doing...  
■ On a daily basis 
■ On a weekly basis 
■ On a monthly basis 
■ On a yearly basis  
 
These are the 4 keys to charting your course and getting to your envisioned future. 
 
Related Books: 
●  
 

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3) Busting the myth of a “balanced life” 
We  have  to  bust  the  myth  that  we  need  to  pay  equal  attention  to  every  area  of  our  life  at  all 
times if we want to live a good life.  
 
A  simple  wheel  of  life  will have the following basic components: health, wealth, spirituality, fun, 
family, contribution, business, hobbies. You can add other components as you deem fit.  
 
You  might  be  in  a  situation  where, for example, your family is doing well, but your wealth is not 
doing well...or vice versa. Or it could be a combination of ups and downs in various areas.  
 
The  different  areas  of  our  lives  are  usually  moving  at  different  paces.  Some areas are probably 
doing  well  while other areas are doing not so well. But we don't have to provide equal attention 
to each of the areas of our lives.  
 
Every area of life demands a different level of engagement depending on where it stands.  
 
For  example,  if  your  business  or  your  family  life  is  struggling, that's where you want to pay the 
most  attention.  You're  not  going  to  have  to  pay  as  much  attention  to your health if that area of 
your life is working well and is in maintenance mode. 
 
Attend to the areas of your life according to where you are right now.  
 
If  you  are  in  a  place  where  certain  things  can  wait  for  a  while,  let  them  wait.  Then  move on to 
doing those things at a later time when you have time/resources available for those areas.  
 
In  the  wheel  of  life, you might have certain frustrations. Apply your energy into the areas where 
you're  struggling  right  now.  Don't  spend  as  much  time  and  energy  on  areas  where  you're  not 
struggling.  
 
That  is  the  key:  Engagement  and  time  investment  appropriate  to  what  your  current  level  is  (in 
any given area).  
 
Every  area  will  need  different  amounts  of  time,  energy,  and  attention  in  order  to  move  it 
forward  to  a  place  where  you  feel  like  you're  making  progress,  where you feel like you're living 
a great life.  
 
Related Books: 
●  

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