Life is

Society tells me that I am a white 33-year-old Catholic male from a working class family in Northern Ireland. What society does not know about me is that I live the life of my dreams. The nice people that I meet on a daily basis often wonder how I came to live this life. They often ask me “Did you win the lottery?” “Do you have rich parents?” “Did a rich uncle leave you a big inheritance?” and many other questions to that affect. To be able to answer “Yes” to any of these questions would be nice, but the fact is I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth and no one handed me this life on a plate. Quite the contrary. In fact, I am a child of “The Troubles,” a period from 1969 to 1998 when Northern Ireland became embroiled in the worst ethno-political violence in Europe. During this time, bullets and bombs killed a total of 3,524 people in my community. These were pretty grim times but it was all I knew, it was how my world was and I look back on my childhood fondly. So, how did a boy from the wrong side of the tracks come to design and live the life of his dreams? In this book, I plan to show you the very simple method that I used. To prove that this method works, I will then provide you with an insight into some of the great experiences that I have lived through and what I plan for the future. However, it must be stressed that this book does not provide a one-size-fits-all short cut to living the life of your dreams. I admit up front that I had to work hard to get into the position were I had the confidence to confront and overcome life’s challenges. What I will promise you is that a little bit of focused thought, followed by the determination to achieve your first goal, can lead to the first step on the Ladder to a better life. My desire is that, by following the simple process that I outline and gaining an insight into the resulting life experiences I have been able to live, you will be inspired to take similar steps that will allow you too to escape the rat race and go on to live the life of your dreams. My outlook is that life is not about finding oneself, but about creating our best self through striving for advancement. I have always held the belief that the people that achieved success did so simply because they chose to be successful, believed they could be and then worked towards it. Therefore, based on this I made the same choice. To achieve my dream life I decided, at sixteen years of age, that I needed to become more proactive if my dreams were to become a reality. I needed a plan – one that was simple and concise – so I went to my bedroom to consider the best approach. As this was my path in life that I was considering it was no small matter. Nevertheless, no matter the size of the task, once divided into small pieces any task becomes infinitely more manageable. Thus, I thought long and hard before jotting down a three-pronged approach that would later become known as The Carrot, The Ladder and The Pencil.