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Over on Steve Pavlina’s forums someone raised the question, “What would you do if Bill Gates gave you a billion dollars?” I’m not sure what type of answers the original poster of this message was trying to elicit, but the answers ranged from passing out to paying off all the third world debt.

Most folks that are into personal development have a monetary goal for income in the financial category. Mine is to generate $1,000,000 or more annually in passive income. It’s a lofty, lifetime goal to be sure. I have a smaller achievable goal for the next 3 years ($10,000/month passive income) and an even smaller one for next month ($500 extra income from my purpose). Not to mention I have a lot of financial clean up work to do. However, why would I set such an outrageous goal for myself?

I made the goal $1,000,000 passive income so that I could have the time and money to work on philanthropic endeavours. In particular, I want to start a school that honors the divinity in children and offers them a holistic education. Beyond learning facts, figures, and formulas, the school will expose kids to different spiritual practices. It would show them how to make choices to have a healthy body. It would teach financial literacy from an early age. It would give equal time to the arts so that the kids can nurture their creativity, and express themselves through the arts. Instead of just reading about different cultures, it would offer opportunities to live abroad.

I want the school to be open to children from any background. I also want their parents to be heavily involved in the children’s education and I want them to be able to learn alongside their children. I want them to share the experiences with their kids so that learning moves beyond the classroom to life.

I’m not a teacher. I’m a person with a vision. I intend to summon the best teachers (formal and informal) in the world to gather their ideas for the creation of this school. In addition to the material covered, I want the environment to facilitate this experience, so I plan to commission architects and artists to make a truly pedagogical institute.

You know the saying, “God does not give you more than you can handle.” Well, it applies to the good stuff too. Can you envision yourself achieving your financial goal? What would you do with a billion dollars free and clear?

In Spirit,
Nneka

3 Months after my initial post about finding my voice, 5 months into blogging, over 100 posts, and over 200 comments, I feel like I’m creating my groove. I could not have done it without you.

Putting together posts twice a day for the Season of Gratitude helped me to stay focused. Building that project gave me a focal point for the site. It really helped me to figure out what I want to say.

I also realized that I need to take a break. I’ve made Sunday my rest day. On Sunday, and any day that I take as a vacation day from my job, I will refrain from the blogosphere: no stats, no feeds, no posts. I tried this out during Thanksgiving and, lo and behold, the earth did not stop. I was really afraid of breaking the habit of consistently writing, but I realized that the break gave me a fresh perspective and renewed energy. Turns out if I’m doing something I really enjoy, then it’s not a chore unless I make it one.

On the flip side, good old consistency, practice, and discipline, are also critical players in helping me to find my voice. The more I write, the more natural it feels. I also get tons of ideas from Copyblogger. After the holidays, I’ll be dedicating serious time to reading about good writing and reading good writing. I’m eyeing a few on Darren’s list.

I am beginning to feel at home in the personal development and coaching circle of bloggers. When I speak to audiences, I make eye contact with the people I know in the audience and it helps me to stay connected with everyone. When I blog, I feel like I am connecting to more people because I am making “eye contact” with the bloggers with whom I’ve become acquainted.

Through the other practices that I have established as part of the Life Transformation Program, I am becoming more at home in my own skin. I am learning more about myself and deepening my awareness with Spirit. As I go through this, more and more of “me” is pouring out in this blog. I feel joyous, happy, inspired, and safe all at once. When I sit down to write, that translates into a less awkward post. At least from where I’m sitting.

I am still struggling to keep the conversation open. I really want Balanced Life Center to be a discussion of ideas. I want you to take ideas from this site and implement them in your lives. I also want to hear what you are doing in your lives that’s working for you. And, I want you to interact with each other. I want the site to be a true community and exchange of ideas, like a pot luck for spirituality and personal development. I am working on this in the real world as well. I’m sure that once I figure it out virtually or “real”, things will just flow.

All in all, I am really enjoying my groove. I am honored that you all continue to read and provide your feedback openly and willingly. I look forward to the next 5 months.

I welcome any words of wisdom in all its forms from you.

In Spirit,
Nneka