A dream becomes a plan when it has actions with dates.

The 23rd February 2016 was the day I made a list. It was a list of actions with dates, the final item being “Leave for SL mid July”

The 23rd February 2016 was the day when I finally realised that my idle dream of totally changing my life and moving to Sri Lanka was completely possible rather than the unachievable fantasy I had thus far thought it to be.

The 23rd February 2016 was the day I started seriously believing I could make it happen.

The 23rd February 2016 was the day that when the friend who had been asking me the same question every day for six months said “so when are you moving to Sri Lanka then?“, instead of answering the usual “ha, ha, ha, I wish…” I said “mid-July“. The stunned silence on the other end of the phone went on for eons and the memory of it still makes me smile.

One hundred and thirty nine days later, July 11th 2016, I am sitting in a departure lounge at Heathrow waiting to board a flight to Colombo, well Doha actually but Colombo is the final destination so let us not nitpick.  I have been busy during those 139 days – making final sanity check solo trip to Sri Lanka for a couple of weeks in April, disposing of all my furniture and possessions, moving out of my rented house in Windsor, selling my UK house and car, lining up consultancy work  in the UK which I can deliver remotely and making baby steps towards building up a sustainable income from business opportunities in-country. This really is the first day of the rest and best of my life.

I had a crazy dream and I have made it come true. So can you. Write that list today.