06/07/2023, 10:47 How To Live And Lead With Intention

FORBES LEADERSHIP

How To Live And Lead With

Intention

Chelese Perry Forbes Councils Member

Forbes Coaches Council
COUNCIL POST | Membership (Fee-Based)

Jun 27, 2023, 09:45am EDT

Chelese Perry, Founder and CEO of Chelese Perry LLC is an ICF

Certified Executive Coach, Life Coach and Leadership
Consultant.

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Living with intention is one of the biggest things that has

changed how I show up in my life; it is a critical practice that
helps me live in alignment with my deepest values. Living with
intention means we take action and make decisions with

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intention and mindfulness rather than letting our environment

and impulses determine them.

Living with intention isn't easy; it takes impeccable practice from

moment to moment. How much of our lives are we spending just
winging it, numbed out and on autopilot? If you are curious and
ready to end the perpetual Netflix-binge approach to life, buckle
up.

Let me set the stage by making this very clear: I am not sharing
this from a theoretical place; I am sharing how I approach living
with intention and how I have guided my coaching clients. Let me
share a three-step inquiry that will help you begin your journey of
living with intention.

What is your why?

Truly understanding who you are and what you value, and why
that is important, is the first step. Here are a few questions that I
ask my clients to begin this journey of inquiry:

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1. What is most important to you, and why?

2. What does an ideal day look like? What values are represented
by this choice?

3. How do you want people to experience you as a leader?

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4. What do you enjoy doing in your free time? Why do you enjoy
this? How do you feel when you do this?

5. If there were no limitations, what would you do?

What is possible?
Every day is your chance to create a brand-new life. I invite you
to reflect on the following questions:

1. Where do you want to be in the next three to five years?

2. What would you need to change in your current perspective to

accomplish this?

3. Many of our lives have elements that can be potential barriers

to intentional living, like a full-time job or having kids (barriers
that can also add value) or being in a toxic work culture or having
an unsupportive partner. If these elements weren't there to keep
you busy, what would you want to do with your most vital,
engaged and creative energy?

4. What do you need to believe about yourself that will support

you?

5. If you can't answer the above questions, just suppose you did
know the answer; how would you know when you found the
answer? What would be different?

What's your plan?

If you want to live with intention, you must plan. You need to
engage with your life in a new and awakened way that requires
planning, curiosity and impeccable energy management. Think of
it like this: Intention comes first, then the plan comes from there.
The plan is what ensures things are carried out. The plan is
intention's accountability partner. But here's the deal; intentions

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are great and a plan is fantastic, but without action, nothing

happens. Here are a few planning questions:

1. What does success look like along your journey?

2. What is one small step you can take today to begin this
journey?

3. When obstacles arise, how will you choose to show up?

4. What support do you need to set yourself up for success?

5. When you reach significant milestones, how will you feel and
how will you celebrate?

It's okay for you not to know the complete path; you just need to
take the next most aligned few steps on the course. My clients
often say they hear my voice at this stage, saying, "What is your
next best yes?" As a matter of fact, often what keeps people stuck
is trying to figure out steps eight through ten when steps one
through three are the most realistic focus in the beginning.
Remember, you can’t boil the ocean. Once you identify one to
three next steps, lean into curiosity and take action. Then rinse
and repeat!

Plan to do something with intention tomorrow. Start listening to

that podcast that interests you, schedule a call or lunch with a
colleague with skills you admire, or dust off the elliptical in your
office and work out for 30 minutes. Whatever you do, choose it
wholeheartedly.

You can't change your life overnight, but you can begin to create
the conditions for a new life with moments of intention each day,
then an hour, and then a day. Think about intentional living like
compound interest. Remember the power of interest that we
learned about in school. The same is true for intentional living.
Intentional choices each day, over time, lead to exponential

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growth. Start with one hour daily, and you will be surprised how
much your life will change in a month.

There’s a meme circulating on social media that goes like this:

First, it's an intention, then a behavior, then a habit, then a
practice, then second nature. Then it is simply who you are.

Who do you want to be this time next year?

Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for

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Follow me on LinkedIn. Check out my website. 

Chelese Perry

Chelese Perry, Founder and CEO of Chelese Perry LLC is an ICF Certified
Executive Coach, Life Coach and... Read More

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