You are approaching the end of this book, but it's just the beginning for you. You've already played several cards for each chapter, and you've taken the first steps toward your next—and best—move. What have you accomplished already? Perhaps you've written your short- and long-term goals, identified an event to attend this week, and written a letter to the editor. Perhaps you've organized your clothing, become more observant of others' body language, and created a set of personal policies to safeguard your precious time and energy.
The beauty of this game is that you are in control. Each card has several different action steps from which to choose, and you can select the steps that are right for you at this moment in time. The important thing is to keep choosing. The more you play, the easier your move will be to make. You can't help but win!
Every time you choose a card, your wisdom grows. Wisdom comes from experience, and the cards invite you to expand your insight, practice new skills, and increase your knowledge. Age doesn't matter in this game. Wisdom is within everyone's reach. Choose a card, select an action step, and move toward your goal with increased wisdom.
The mere thought of making a move can be scary. You already have plenty of challenges in your life; why add another one? Making a move is important because you're tired of being stuck or lost or burned out. Don't let fear of the unknown overtake you. It takes courage to take a risk. Keep playing the game and choosing cards. They'll ask you to try new things, think in a new way, and, occasionally, take a step outside your comfort zone. It's okay to be a little scared. Courage is all about being afraid and doing it anyway.
Think back to the last time you played a board game. Did you focus only on your game piece? No, you kept an eye on the entire board and all the other game pieces, too. The same is true in this game. Look past yourself and see the big board beyond you. As you prepare to make your move, consider the other players and study their moves. Plan your strategy, but realize you'll need to be flexible along the way. You could even find you'll be able to jump ahead a few spaces.
Is there ever a perfect time to do anything? Probably not. Many people get trapped thinking they have to wait for just the right moment to ask for a raise, quit their jobs, buy a house, or have a child. And that moment never presents itself. If you stay informed and keep an eye on trends and current events, however, you'll become good at predicting the best moves to make. Sometimes, a move requires a “leap of faith.” You have to believe that you've prepared yourself for this moment—and just jump! The cards in this game will help keep your engine tuned and your skills sharp so that you can make your next move when the time is right for you.
This is a game that can be played over and over again. Each time you play a card, you're going to learn something new about yourself or the world around you. The action steps will keep you energized and actively involved in making smart moves. Each time you need to make a move or want to be prepared to make the right move, play the cards.
Make it your goal to play every card within one year's time. Keep shuffling the deck and mix up the hands, and then choose several cards each week. Select your action steps and make the time to complete them. These steps and the results you achieve will lay the foundation for success. It's Your Move: Play On!
What follows is a complete list of all cards included at the end of each chapter. Place a check in the box next to each action step as you undertake it. Then record the results you achieved in the space following each step.
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
Schedule two hours of uninterrupted time into your calendar this week for some think time. Required: Get out of your office or home.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Spend one evening connecting with immediate and extended family members. Talk with them about the qualities that define your family.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do both of the following:
Spend an evening looking through scrapbooks and photo albums from your youth.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Ask three good friends to identify what, in their opinion, you seem to value. Compare their responses, add your own, and select the top three.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
Write three long-term goals and three short-term goals for yourself.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
List three action items you could accomplish for one of your goals. Do one of them tomorrow.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
Become familiar with your organization's mission statement this week. Discuss it with two other people at work.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Spend time tonight selecting your wardrobe for tomorrow. Make choices based on qualities that tie you to the organization's values.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
Reschedule your after-hours commitments this week so that you have at least one full evening free. Spend that time alone, with friends, or with family.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Write three new goals for yourself that are not career related.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
List everything you have to be thankful for today.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
List all of the angels in your life.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must:
Write three changes in your life that have resulted in positive directions for you.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Write one thing you would do if you were guaranteed success. Tape it on your bathroom mirror.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
Make your own list of ten things you can and can't control.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Pretend someone asks you, Today, what are you working hard at that is worth doing? Answer out loud.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
Sign up to help serve dinner to the homeless in your area.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Sign up to tutor a child in your school or community.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Find a volunteer agency in your community that needs help. Do something.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of these:
Contact someone who is tackling a difficult project and express your support.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Write a new motto for your family or business that represents the risk taker and cheerleader in you.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do both of the following within the month:
Begin a cooking, handiwork, or hobby project that you are fairly sure won't be completed perfectly. When you're finished, tell a friend.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Write the words, “The person who never makes a mistake probably isn't doing anything” on a piece of paper and tape it where you will see it every day.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
Go do one thing you've been putting off.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Look in the newspaper today to select an event to attend this week.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do both of the following:
Locate the next meeting on your calendar and plan a way to arrive fifteen minutes early.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Plan your opening greeting so that it conveys energy and a positive attitude.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do both of the following:
In the next twenty-four hours, make three contacts outside your comfort zone.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
At the next meeting or event you attend, introduce yourself to two new people.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
You must do one of the following in the next seven days:
Ask to attend another department's meeting to research an article you're writing.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Volunteer for a cause you believe in at work or in your personal life.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
You must do two of these three activities:
Send a handwritten note to your oldest client or friend. Don't ask for anything.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Call a long-time client or friend and recommend another long-time client or friend.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Invite a client or co-worker to dinner.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must perform both of the following deeds:
Send a thank you note to someone who was kind or thoughtful this week.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Send a newspaper or journal article to a cherished client.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do both of the following:
Starting today and for the next six days, list every different “role” you play each day.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Ask three good friends to describe their impressions of you when you first met.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do three of the following:
Book a professional color analysis consultation.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Review your organization's dress code. If there is none, begin composing one for yourself.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Divide all of your clothing into each of the four levels of dress. Note the piles that need more and less.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do two of the following:
Look ahead to the next holiday on the calendar. Spend an evening planning an imaginary party based around that holiday.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
List the most treasured gifts you have ever received.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Order a set of personalized stationery.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
Create a name for your particular sense of style.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Make an appointment for your favorite services at a local day spa.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
Write an imaginary article for your favorite magazine.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Write a personal story of something funny that happened to you. Add it to your story file.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Read your local paper and compose a letter to the editor. Send it in.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do both of the following:
List organizations in your area to contact about speaking opportunities.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Use the list of three to five topics you can speak about that you created earlier in this chapter. Choose one and develop an outline for a speech on that topic.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do two of the following:
Purchase a book of famous quotations.
My results: ______________________________________________________________________________
Using your list of three to five possible speech topics, choose one and create a title that incorporates an acronym.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Subscribe to a business or news magazine. Buy a copy today and read it cover to cover within the next five days.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
Select a short story or section from a novel. Audiotape yourself as you read it aloud. Evaluate your inflection, rate of speech, enunciation, and volume level.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Select a short story or section from a novel. Videotape yourself as you read it aloud. Evaluate your facial expressions, gestures, and eye contact.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do all of the following within the next seven days:
List three ideas you'd like to be able to persuade others to do.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
From that list, choose one and list every possible benefit that could come as a result.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Use that one topic and create an outline for a presentation that incorporates the four steps of persuasion.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
Using the list of three to five topics, choose one and conduct an Internet search for the latest information.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Subscribe to a newspaper other than your local paper.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Create a filing system for collecting data on the three to five topics from your list.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
Choose two listening behaviors you're going to change on a daily basis.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Take “a trip to Cleveland” with someone you care about this week.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must select two of the following:
Ask probing questions today when someone you care about talks.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
List on paper any jargon you use in your work or life.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Ask for an explanation of any jargon you hear this week.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
This week, make a mental note of a phrase you hear someone you care about use repeatedly.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Write four observations that describe the style of someone you see on a daily basis.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
Make an effort to watch body language all day today.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Establish direct eye contact with everyone you meet today.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following this week:
Ask five people for advice on an issue with which you're struggling.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Ask someone you respect to lunch or coffee.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do both this week:
Ask a colleague for advice on one thing you should change. Try it.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Select someone you'd like to accept more readily. Do it.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do all these the next time you make a mistake:
Say you're sorry.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Say out loud, “ _____ was a mistake, and I'm sorry I did it.” Then, say out loud what you'll do to move on.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
Tomorrow, make a point to observe what's going on around you by reading the paper, listening to the radio news, and to what the key people in your life are saying.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Write an email letter to an old friend expressing how you feel about your work and life right now. Be honest. Send it and save it to reread it the next day. What attitude comes across?
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
Ask someone for help about anything you're working on this week.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Interview two professional coaches to discover how they help others.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do both of the following:
Sign up for a class in any area you want to develop.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Write one thing that's bothering you and do something about it.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
Read the entire Sunday edition of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, or The Washington Post.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Attend a book club as a guest if you can.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Read an e-book.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do both of the following:
Ask a member of Generations X and Y to tell you about their favorite music.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Ask a Baby Boomer to share lessons learned in life. Ask a senior citizen the same thing.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do both of the following:
Pick one cultural group whom you live or work with and research it on the Web or at the library.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Invite a member of another culture to lunch but ask him or her to select a favorite restaurant of his or her culture.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do two of the following:
Go to bed tonight one hour earlier than usual.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Set aside thirty minutes tomorrow morning for reading, writing, or exercising.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
On paper, design your perfect work schedule: total number of hours spent working and work location.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following within the next seven days:
List the clutter areas at work or at home and the amount of time you estimate each area will require to get organized. Schedule time to deal with clutter area #1.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Select one “prime real estate” area and reorganize it.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
For the next seven days, take every new piece of paper you receive and immediately place into to be filed, to be read, to be done, to be paid groups, or throw it away.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do two of the following:
From the list of breathing exercises, choose either #4 or #5 and practice three times every day for one week.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
List your favorite forms of exercise and the ways you can incorporate more of them into your life.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Begin reading a classic piece of literature you've always wanted to read.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do two of the following:
Keep a tally of each time you speak tentatively this week.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Try surrounding a no response with two positive phrases.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Create a set of personal policies for how much you'll volunteer, donate, or take on for the next twelve months.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
Contact two members of your extended family and ask if they would be willing to create a journal of their life stories.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Begin planning a family reunion. If your family already has regular reunions, plan a new type of reunion for the group.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you are a parent, schedule a family meeting to occur within the next seven days.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
Say yes to something this week that will bring you joy.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Pay attention to your intuition this week.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do two of the following:
Write your mental mantra and practice it.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Today, the first time you leave your home, look around, and appreciate the small things you love in your surroundings.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
List three changes in your life that had positive outcomes.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following within the next seven days:
Phone someone and apologize or clear up a misunderstanding.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
In your bath or shower, let go of your worries.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Look through an old scrapbook to let go of any sadness you feel.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do two of the following:
Go through your address book and contact a friend you haven't called in more than six months.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Plan a meeting or phone conversation with your boss.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Send an email to a group of friends or colleagues asking for their advice.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
List three of your habits that you love and engage in them more often.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Select a habit you've tried to change in the past but failed, and try again, starting today.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do one of the following:
Take a time out even though your to-do list is full.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Do one thing you've never done before.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Do something that makes you feel a little bit naughty.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
If you draw this card, you must do all of the following:
Go online and read about the future.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Take action on an idea you've been tossing around for months.
My results: _________________________________________________________________
Get advice from someone to propel yourself forward.
My results: _________________________________________________________________