Awhile back, I wrote about Designing Your Perfect Day.  Visualizing your perfect day can help clarify goals and dreams and then better position us to make real plans toward living the kind of life we have always wanted. This would serve as our model for the day of days. Everything in its place. Perfect environment. Perfect people. Perfect food. I, however, was having some difficulty imagining my perfect day. Try as I might, I just couldn’t get past breakfast!

Instructions for imagining our perfect day tell us that while doing this exercise we should envision everything.  What we eat. What time we wake up. What we wear. Do we work?  If so at what?  Beauty is in the details.  I include Paul Meyers “Ideal World” document here to get you started thinking about your day.

I think the difficulty for me came in not knowing whether I was to imagine a perfect “fantasy” day or a perfect “real” day.  I was probably being a little anal about the whole thing but just to be safe I kept both days in mind.  Finally last night at about 2am…I envisioned my perfect days.  The first perfect day was a day for espionage.  Don’t laugh, I’m crazy for espionage.  Anyway, imagining that day came the easiest because I knew I was fantasizing and so I was able to really let go and entertain whatever I fancied. My second perfect day was the one were I am just me, but with a few improvements thrown in.  As promised, this post is to share my perfect day(s) with you, what I learned, and maybe what you might take away with you.  Here goes…

Perfect Day #1:

Paris. Early morning. The shop keepers are setting up their store fronts.  The smell of baked bread and flowers fill the streets.  I descend from my small flat wearing casual yet Parisian appropriate attire…fitted slacks, black sweater, Christian Louboutin heels and my favorite Louis Vuitton handbag.  In my other hand, a large black artist portfolio.  Walking several blocks to the appointed cafe, I take a seat and order café au lait and croissant.  The gentleman always arrives at 8:30 and he does so again today, as clockwork.  Seating himself at my table, Monsieur Michel Girard passes to me a splendid sapphire dragonfly brooch. I affix it to my black sweater. Its diamonds and blue facets sparkle in the early morning sunlight.  “Ahhh…you see,” he smiles, “It suits you.” We exchange words in french.  He gestures with his head and reflected in the cafe window I see the image of a known enemy operative.  We continue our conversation in Finnish.  M. Girard, kisses my cheek, leaves an envelop on the table, pays the bill and leaves.  I depart soon after.

Having spent the afternoon getting lost in several museums, I check my progress through the streets of Paris.  Taking cross roads, tracking back through streets and shopping establishments to ensure I am not followed. I make my way to Hotel Le Meurice for a private rendezvous…. I flick the tail of the dragonfly brooch and bury it, still attached to my sweater, under the seat cushion of the couch.  As I leave the hotel, two hours later, it begins to rain.  My driver opens the door of the black Mercedes and sliding inside the cool leather seats, an assortment of electronic gadgetry is available for the duration of my ride to Montparnasse.

In a dark doorway stands my mark.  My sedan comes to a stop on the rain soaked streets.  I once again flick the tail of the dragonfly, turning the device on, and exit the car.  “Bonsoir M. Torres. Have you completed the assignment?” I ask.  He nods his head and hands me the photographs.  After scanning the images, I hand him the portfolio, inside is a wire connected as directed by my agency.   M. Torres provides me with a envelop of several thousand euro, a flash drive and a note with a series of digits upon it.  Quickly now I must head for the airport.  As my car descends the street, there is an explosion from behind me. Flames reflect off the wet Paris street.  My private jet is waiting…  as is the champagne,  caviar, and the tall beautiful Scandinavian man who helps me on board. We are on route to Prague. My dragonfly brooch will look fabulous on my Dior evening dress tonight at the embassy.  (End)

Perfect Day #2:

I have no alarm clock… my body is preprogrammed to start the day at 7:15.  I am alone.  Journeying down the stairs to the kitchen, my coffee has been automatically prepared.  It is percisely the way I like it.  I scoop my laptop, my paper, the coffee and a smoke and head outside to sit in my garden and contemplate starting my day.  There are an abundance of flowers and exotic grasses which line the edges of my patio.  Little white rocks litter the ground. I have a hammock!!  It is the perfect oasis.

The next few hours find me reading the days events, emails and pondering the plan for the day.  At 10am, my personal assistance arrives.  She has with her the prepared paperwork… a few of the forms I need to sign.  My finances are in perfect order.  My clients are happy.  My PA departs to take care of business and to pick up my airline tickets for my upcoming trip to Norway.  I want to see the fjords.  I work doing exactly what I love for the next 4 hours…Graphic design and lots of writing.  I receive good news via email of 2 exciting incoming jobs.  I can be selective but decide to take both projects.  I learned I will write for Graphis and the new Design Observer.

Ok… I don’t know what you think, but I think both days sound pretty good.  Having now completed this exercise… what have I learned?

1. Clearly I have a predilection for fashion.  Ok, designers design many things… including themselves.
2. Travel is important.  I’m planning a trip for 2010.
3. I should learn a language
4. I should have a personal assistant.  So I hired one.
5. I’m digging the whole writing aspect of my career.  I should continue.
6. I love flowers and outdoor beauty.  I should garden…and get a hammock.

I hope you enjoyed my little self indulgence here but more importantly by showing you this example you hopefully learned something about me and take with you the fun of doing this exercise on your own.  I’d love to hear about your perfect day and your success in bringing your dreams into better focus for  real life goals.

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