Starting around age forty, and getting stronger every year after that, we start yearning for something different.

We feel restless, wondering if this is all there is.

We want to feel excited about life again, but we have lots of reasons why we can’t start something new.

What it comes down to is we don’t want to fail.

We’re less willing to learn by trial and error. We don’t want to look foolish.

The alternative is to embrace what Zen calls a “beginners mind.”

Babies are the ultimate beginners. They can’t walk at first, but they don’t quit trying and beat themselves up after the 50th fall. And we don’t give up on them if it doesn’t work in the beginning.

In fact, it’s the act of pushing themselves back up again that builds the muscles babies need to succeed in the act of walking.

If you try something new and it doesn’t work, don’t make it mean anything. Remind yourself that trying again will build the muscles you need.

This is your LIFE. Create your future on purpose.

Decide to believe in yourself.

Your past doesn’t define you; your beliefs do.

You can create any belief you want because a belief is just a thought you have accepted as true – and that is completely within your control.

You create the future by the thoughts you think and the actions you take in the present moment.

The present is all that exists; the future will be the present when it arrives. This means the thoughts, feelings and actions you embrace now are what create your future.

Visualize and make “movies in your mind” of the future you want, whether it’s a new business, a hobby, or a new place to live.

See, hear, and feel yourself in your ideal scenario.

There’s no difference between imagining the future and remembering the past. They both only exist in your mind.

Choose to imagine vivid and positive futures and delete painful memories of past mistakes.

We think we have to hold onto mistakes so that we don’t repeat them, but rehashing painful memories just reinforces negative neural pathways.

That’s the last thing you want to do.

The future you choose to create is not limited by what you have created in the past. It’s limited only by your mind.

Creating reality is an inside job. Your outer world reflects your inner world.