When we started to write our latest book, Changing Your Course, our goal was to help people identify which part of their lives they’d like to change and provide the tools needed to help readers through the process. We saw the book as our response to the many people who have asked us advice about making successful changes. Everyone, at one time or another, wants to change some part of their life. Some simply want to spend more time with their family and others want a complete life makeover. Others still are forced into a new situation because of circumstances beyond their control like divorce, job layoff, or loss of a loved one.

What we didn’t expect was how appropriate the title would turn out to be. After we finished the book and it was ready to go to press, we evaluated what we’d written and realized that we had to revise it completely. It seemed disjointed and not quite right. It was more a story than a roll-up-your-sleeves, do-it-yourself guide. We decided that if we wanted to make this book the best it could be, we had to change our course and start over.

So as ironic as it sounds, we changed our own course while writing Changing Your Course. That’s right. We re-wrote the entire book four times! But the best part about that experience is that we were able to revise and really test our 5-step process. We used the very same D.R.E.A.M. steps – Decide, Research, Evaluate, Act and Maintain – to create the book. First, we decided what parts of the original manuscript needed to change, researched the various approaches we could take, and evaluated which method worked best. Then we acted, working on the book for many months.

Finally, in order to make sure our system works in any life situation, we tested it using changes of all sizes. We applied our 5 steps to all kinds of goals: weight loss, new career, new relationship, and more. Then we launched this Web site to spread the Live What You Love spirit even further. That’s how our dream of helping people will be maintained for years to come.

What change would you like to make? Is it big or small? Have you been able to narrow it down? Are you stumped? Have you hit a wall? How have you started to change your course?