Many of us are so stuck in the routines of our day-to-day life that we stop living and just move around on auto pilot all day long. We forget that the most precious commodity that we have is time, and that the time that we have is limited. For some of us, that time is much more limited than others. The thing is that most of us never really know how much time we have in our time "bank." If we knew, perhaps we would spend more time living than just merely existing. Perhaps we wouldn't engage in mind numbing meaningless activities that for many of us become habits that suck away hours, days, and years of our lives. Perhaps we would actually dare to live the life we dream of.

How do we get there?

1) Ask Questions:

• If you died today, would you be at peace knowing that you lived your life to the fullest?
• If you died today would you be able to look back on your life with happiness?
• If you died today would you be able to look back on your life feeling complete?

2) Let go of Fears: Many of us are stuck in the daily grind because we are afraid to make changes. We don't like our job but stay there because of the pay or because there are limited opportunities. We stay in relationships because they are safe, because they are too much trouble to get out of, or because we can't imagine life any other way. We ask ourselves "Is this all there is?" and accept life as it is; as our fate; as our destiny and don't try find or make better opportunities for ourselves. Sure, stepping out of our comfort zones can be a scary thing but it can also be an opportunity to experience great new things; to find the perfect career; to find personal freedom; to find our perfect soul mate.

3) Find Happiness: Inject a dose of happiness in to everyday. Can you look back on each day and find at least one thing that brought you happiness? If not, then it is time to make sure that you do at least one thing every single day that you can look back on with a smile. Maybe it is playing with your child and really enjoying the moment, maybe it is going for a walk and really observing and surrounding yourself with and appreciating the nature around you, maybe it is having a really good cup of coffee and actually taking the time to savor and enjoy the taste. Make a list of the top 10 things that bring you happiness and find a way to build at least one of those 10 into each day.

4) Develop a plan starting with the question: "What do I need to do today to really start living?" Build a course that charts your future. Where do you want to go? How do you want to get there? Who do you want to be a part of it? Put it all in writing. Revise your plan as you go along. Maybe what you had planned didn't work out or really wasn't the right thing for you. You thought you wanted to be a school teacher but found out that you really don't like it. It doesn't mean you have to stay in that job forever. Think about what attracted you to that job in the first place. (Hopefully it was more than just a paycheck.). Where else can you find that similar feeling that initially attracted you to that career path? Use your experience as an opportunity to learn more about yourself.

5) Dream big: Start dreaming again. Many of us have dreams as children and young adults. We put them to rest and never allow them to surface again. Today is the day to waken those dreams up, to revise and update them, to make them bigger and better and to start putting them to motion. If you want to live the life of your dreams, you have to allow yourself to dream!