Life Plan: Step 3 – The Wheel of Life

This is the 3rd installment of my Life Plan series. To start at the 1st installment, Click Here

Step 3 in creating your Life Plan is to understand that you are doing a complete LIFE plan, not just a career, personal, or family plan. Using Zig Ziglar’s “Wheel of Life” as a model, we will look at 7 areas of life and define our purpose statement and our ideal target for each area.

Life Plan: Step 3 – The Wheel of Life

Most people spend more time planning their weddings and vacations than they do planning their lives!

It is very easy to get focused on one aspect of our lives—the job, family, a hobby—only to discover that the rest of our life is starving for attention. We are, after all creating a LIFE plan, not a career plan, family plan, or physical fitness plan. We need to have a plan for all areas of life!

wheeloflifeI have adapted Zig Ziglar’s “Wheel of Life” for this step of our Life Plan. Our lives can be represented by wheel supported by seven spokes. These spokes are Spiritual, Physical, Mental, Family, Personal, Career, and Financial.

If any of these life areas, “spokes,” is weaker than the others, our wheel will be out of balance. Therefore we need to create a plan for each area.

Each Spoke Has a Purpose. Your task in this step is to write out a Purpose Statement for each spoke in the Wheel of Life.

The purpose statement should simply be a statement why this spoke is important to you.

Write your purpose for investing thought, time, energy, and resources to developing each area.

For example, my purpose statement for Physical reads: “My body is the host to my mind and spirit; it is the tool I use to execute my dreams. My purpose is to care for it as my most precious possession.”

For Career: “My purpose is to use the energy and abilities I have been given to do work that is meaningful and fulfilling to me while serving and adding value to the lives of others.”

Next, imagine The Perfect Spoke!

This is where you get to dream again. This is your life—make it what you want it to be!

Write out what would be an ideal condition for each area of life. Remember, the Genie from Step 1? He’s back and ready to grant your wishes. Be sure to write in the present tense, as if it is already true!

For example: my ideal condition for Physical: “I am able to run the qualifying time for the Boston Marathon; I weigh between 150-160 lbs; my cholesterol is under 200; I continue to be cancer-free.”

This is Step 3 in creating your Life Plan. Our goal is not to create the perfect career, or physical fitness, or relationships, at the expense of any of the other areas of life. We want a full, amazing, balanced wheel so we can roll smoothly through an amazing life!

When you are ready, go on to Step 4.

If you’d like to listen to me talk about this step, it’s on the Life Is A Marathon podcast


Have you ever thought about working with me as your Life Coach? Consider joining my Life Is A Marathon (LIAM) Team Life Coaching Community. You’ll get direct access to me as we work together to help you take your life to the next level, but you’ll also be surrounded by a community of other people just like you with the same goals. Get all the details and join at team.lifeisamarathon.com Do it today!

5 thoughts on “Life Plan: Step 3 – The Wheel of Life

  1. Jill

    Hi Bruce,

    I enjoyed steps 1, 2, and 3 very much. I was asked about a week ago where I wanted to be in five years. When I tried to explain, I was told that I was talking in circles. I need to be more focused with my plans for the future. At this point in time, I feel like I have hit a brick wall. I will give your words a lot of thought. I will think of talking to Genie from Aladdin as I work on my five year plan.

    Many thanks,
    Jill
    @sparkle4meplz 🙂

  2. Xenobia Chen

    I appreciate your tools & knowledge that one’s understanding this wheel, is an important aspect of humanity’s ability to productivity exercise the “Total Quality” in a Life experience.

  3. Atul

    Thanks for lovely Life Pla.

    Will work on it and Join you in future for personal coaching Hand holding.

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