March 2, 2021
Priya Modi
Guest Writer
Books to Know
David Worthy is a successful keynote speaker, coach, and author of the book, “You Are the Architect of Your Life”. In an interview, hosted by reporter Priya Modi, Worthy shares his insights about his book as well as some of his life experiences that led to the creation of “You Are the Architect of Your Life”. While he emphasizes that planning — similar to the way architects plan designs for buildings — is the key to getting the life you want, he points out that visualizing your end goal is equally important as well. For those who aren’t sure of what they want in life, he suggests getting clarity on the end goals while being as specific as possible. Additionally, he offers transformational coaching where he helps clients reach their goals. Once the life goal is determined, he encourages taking action through his “Be-Do-Have” motto which entails envisioning the end goal and taking the necessary action in order to have the desired outcome. Inspired by principles from the Bible, the book is a practical guide in making those plans a reality.
Priya: How are you dealing with the COVID-19 situation and how has that impacted your writing?
David: Actually, the COVID situation has basically given me the opportunity to go online and do more Zoom-type calls and things of that nature. As far as my business or coaching, it’s fine, because most of my coaching is done telephonically anyway. However, as far as teaching and everything, it’s certainly a situation where I had to go more LIVE through Facebook or Zoom calls and things of that nature. So it’s kind of hindered it in a way. But it’s also opened up more opportunities in a way, being able to reach people who maybe I wouldn’t be able to reach otherwise.
Priya: The title of your book is very catchy. What gave you the inspiration to choose this title?
David: My inspiration for the title of my book came from in a situation where I was literally watching a building [being]built, and it was a pretty significant sized building. I was watching how deep they dug in the ground to lay the foundation before the building ever came out of the ground and so in that, I kind of just looked at it. I studied building buildings and things of the nature for the book, and then I came up with the title: “You are the Architect of Your Life”, simply because I believe we are the architect of our lives. If you study what an architect does, an architect takes a vision they have in their mind and then they put it on paper. Then from there, they have contractors come in and actually build the building. Then in a matter of time, people are living in it. So my title: “You are the Architect of Your Life”, along with the subtitle: “Designing, Building, and Living the Life You Desire”, came from that inspiration, because that’s what architects do. They have a desire for certain buildings and whomever they’re building the building for, they get together and come up with a “vision” of what that building should be. The architect puts it on paper. Then the architect takes it from there. They build it, and eventually people live in it.
Priya: You are a successful book author and coach. How did you use the strategies in this book to get where you are?
David: I got a vision of where I wanted my life to go… Once I got that vision, then I updated my vision board. I update it every so often exactly with what I desire. Then I spend a lot of time getting an image in my mind of what that should look like. Once I got an image of what it should look like, I was able to write it down on paper and describe it with a lot of clarity. From there, I began to work it. I began to do the things that needed to be done — what I call action steps. I began to carry out the action steps in order to have the life that I desire. Now I’m not done by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m certainly seeing those things that I once envisioned as an image on the canvas of my imagination come to pass in my life.
Priya: What advice would you give to those who lost their jobs during COVID-19 on designing the life they want to live, especially those who don’t necessarily work on “white collar” jobs?
David: One of the things that I believe we’re learning during this time is why it’s important to have “your own.” The Bible says, “God bless the child who has his own.” And I take that to mean this right here. When you build something from the inside of you, and you have this vision and you build it, it becomes yours. I think that it gives us insight into having our own thing. If I was advising a person, I would say, ‘Sit down and…start envisioning what you want your life to be and take it from there.’ Currently, you may have a job. I have a job. That’s okay, but what I want to do, I want to continue to grow and build my own business to be a massive business that’s able to support and take care of me and my family. I would advise a person that’s going through a tough time right now to envision what it’s going to be like, and begin to do the things that are necessary. You may have to burn a little bit of the midnight oil. You may have to get up…early and stay up late in order to get it done, but that’s just a process in the situation. Then I would continue to work from there moving forward. In the meantime, though, I’m not going to sit back and cry about the way the situation is right now. I’m going to do whatever I need to do to take care of myself, to take care of my family in the current situation. So no matter what that may mean, I’m going to find employment. I’m going to find work, but in the process of doing all of that and getting back into the workforce. At the same time, I’m now going to begin to develop my own business. I’m going to look within, inside of me, and say, ‘What do I have of value that other people would desire?’ And I would begin to build that.
Priya: What advice would you give to those who work a 9-5 job and want to pursue a career in acting or in the entertainment industry with an aim of making their ‘big break?’
David: Number one: Know with all clarity what you really want and what that should look like. If you can’t sit down and very clearly put it on paper, then you know to go and do some more work on it. I use this example all the time: People say, ‘I want more money.’ If I gave you a dollar more, I’d say: ‘Okay, you should be happy now, because you have more money than when we started the conversation.’ But that’s not what truly people mean. People have an idea of the type of income they would like to earn, where they would like to be, the things they would like to have. People have an idea of what [they want]their family to be like, their relationships to be like. I believe we have to sit down and design that. The best way to have the life that you want is to create it. [With] the steps that I use in the book and what I present to people in the book, I teach you how to do that. How to create the life you want through designing, building it in order, so you could live it.
Priya: I’m going to play devil’s advocate. You talk a lot about having a vision and putting that down on paper and go through the planning, but life is ambiguous and sometimes people don’t know exactly what they want until they actually do it. What would you say to that? Do you think that it’s still important to have everything planned out when someone hasn’t really experienced enough to know how to plan?
David: Sure. I still think it’s important to have a vision of where you want to go. Here’s a principle that I learned: Without a vision, people perish. That’s also a scripture from the Bible. Now I don’t back away from this. My book is based on Bible principles as well. This means that if you don’t have an idea of where you want to go, you’re cut off from going anywhere. So even in working through this process, you’re 100% right. I may get into the middle of this and say, ‘This is not what I really wanted to do.’ And that’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with that. At least you’re putting forth the effort and you’re making progress in going into something instead of sitting back and doing nothing. I believe some people make life happen, and there’s other people who just let life happen to them. I’m about making life happen, because I believe that God has given us that power to create the life we want. So for instance, I decide to be a hairdresser, and I get in the midst of that, and I start learning. I start going for my certification. Then I figured out all of a sudden, this is not what I thought it was, and this is not what I want to do. What have I lost by doing that? People say, “Well you lost time, you lost money.” No. I look at that differently. I gained some things from that. I gained an understanding. Even if I just gained the understanding that this is not what I want to do. Many years ago, I thought I wanted to be a barber, a beautician, so I went to school, and I started learning it and everything. And as I got into school, the professor who was certifying me began to talk about all the different chemicals you deal with. And then I was like, ‘Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. I don’t want do that.’ So I immediately, I recognized from the experience [that]this is not something that I want to do. So I had the opportunity to change that. But had I never ever taken the time to go through that, I would’ve never experienced that. So therefore, I may still be sitting around somewhere right now saying, ‘I still want to be a beautician and I still want to be a barber.’ So there’s nothing wrong with giving it shot. There’s nothing wrong with going out there…Go out there and get your feet wet and find out, because you’ll learn some things about yourself as well. Now I also believe that there’s two kinds of work going on. One is the work you’re doing to achieve that, but it’s also the work it’s doing within you. So work goes both ways. I’m developing. I’m learning. I’m growing. That’s the work it’s doing on me. The other work I’m doing is to achieve what I’m hoping for, and there’s nothing wrong with figuring out this is not really what I wanted to do. That’s great.
Priya: There are many self-help books out there. How does your book differ from other books in the same category?
David: I believe that my book is different, because my book can change your life forever…I make it real simple. And like I say in the book, you have a choice. You can continue with the same life that you currently have, hoping it’s going to get better or you can stop and say ‘Look, here’s some simple steps that I need to employ, that I need to use in order to ensure that my life is better.’ And through my book I believe that these are the practical steps, the examples I use. I believe that people can relate, because I’m pretty transparent in my book. I tell you my mistakes, my failures. I tell you my successes. I tell you where I’ve gotten off on, and how I fixed it, and how I got it right. I also know that if you employ those [principles in the book], you will get results. The results begin to happen the minute you start employing the principles. You’ll start seeing a difference in your life.
Priya: We understand that the book is still new, but do you have a real life example of someone you know who has applied your principles in their life and what outcome did they have?
David: Sure. I had a young lady and she went through high school and college and played basketball. Within her heart she wanted to play at the next level, which would either be semi-pro or pro. However, because of what other people said about her, and how her basketball was, she let them, through their words, determine what her basketball career was going to be like. Instead of going out and getting an image for herself and designing the type of career that she wanted to have, she allowed what other people said — which was not where she wanted to be — and accepted that [as her fate]. So she got a copy of my book and began reading it, and she reached out to me and said, “Listen. Your book is stirring up old things in me that I didn’t complete.” She was still a little afraid of it and…so I said, ‘What are you afraid of?’ She says, “Failure.” I said, ‘Well, you’ve already failed if you don’t go into it.’ She said, “What do you mean?” I said, ‘I redefine failure as not even making the attempt.’ By making the attempt and going out there, I believe…that you get more on your way than when you first start, or if you don’t start. So let’s get started…So she’s gone out there and began to do that. She’s gotten that opportunity to move to the next level in her basketball career, just by applying the principles and not taking all the outside stuff that comes in and moving forward.
I have another example…of a young lady who works within a contracting business, and so her desire was to be number two or number three in the business. But she was just a normal worker, and she saw…all the problems and everything that could be solved. So she…read the book, and then we began to apply the principles in the book. And she has now become the second in charge within that business, bringing in the ideas that she had. But she had to start with an image of seeing herself that way. And then when she saw herself that way, she began to act that way. She began to dress the part. I call it the ‘Be-Do-Have.’ She was already being the person that she saw in her vision, and then she began to do those things that that person would do, and now she has the title of being the second in command. It all came through working principles that are in the book.
Priya: Why is it important to forget your past, if you want to change your life and future?
David: So I’m going to answer this…with an example. If I sit in my car right now and say I’m going from point A to point B, but the entire time I’m looking in the rearview mirror with everything that I just passed. Then I don’t think I’m going to be very successful in getting to my destination…And so anytime you continue to look at things that have gone on in the past, you can’t move forward and you’ll crash…So you don’t really need to be looking in the past. You need to be looking in the future, because that’s where you’re going: Your destination. When somebody passes away, they’re dead and gone…Your past is what happened in the past. It’s dead and gone; you can’t get it back. So why focus on what you can’t get back? Focus on your future. Focus on where you’re going, because that’s the determining factor of what’s going to show up in your life. And whatever you focus on, that’s where you put your energy in. If you focus on your past, you’re putting your energy there, and you’re creating more of the past. But if you focus on your future, your energy goes there. Now you begin to build the life that you want in this design that you have.
Priya: What do you mean in chapter 11 when you say you are a magnet?
David: Just like a magnet, if it’s put in the right environment, it attracts things to it…Our life is the exact same way, because we are creators. We attract certain things to us by…how you focus on things and also by what you do. So I believe in the Be-Do-Have. Once I start getting these thoughts, these ideas, my thoughts bring about certain feelings, my feelings bring about certain behavior and my behavior will bring things into my life. So I have to be focused and…consciously aware of what I’m thinking about. So if I’m aware of my thoughts and how I think, I’ll also be able to determine my feelings. It’s going to cause certain actions and those actions that I take concerning me is what draw things into my life.
