Key distinctions which make a perfect life more easily possible

contentment vs. complacency:
Complacency is when you stop paying attention and become satisfied with the status quo.  You've become a bit lazy in your thinking or behavior. Contentment is when you actively enjoy what you have, but aren't asleep to something more or what's possible. Example of contentment:  I content with my home on the lake in New Jersey, but I'd sure be open to a summer home in the Rockies! Example of complacency: I've lost interest in evolving my business and have become complacent. There is a fine, yet very rich, line between contentment and complacency.

desire vs. addiction:
The nature of life is to desire.  You can ignore this or tone it down or deny it or take classes to get rid of this desire, but this desire is there and it's genetic.  It's probably not going anywhere.  A lot of people confuse desire with addiction.  They are afraid of their desires because they are afraid they will lose control of themselves if they 'give in.'  But humans are just now learning how to live with an enjoy desires instead of practicing self-denial or self-control.  And the paradox is that once one develops through this maturation step, they can have/enjoy desire and it doesn't distract or consume them.  If it does, then it's probably an addiction which usually occurs when needs aren't properly met or when one's life isn't fully satisfying or there is a genetic tendency or disease.  One's learned ability to engage with and enjoy desires contributes to overall health, and probably reduces the need for addictive substances or compulsive behaviors. It's hard to imagine a perfect life without desire and with addiction or compulsion.

reserve vs. reserves:
Reserves are what you acquire more than enough of: time, money, space, love, opportunity, energy.  When you have enough reserves (plural) in ALL areas that are important to you, then you experience a FEELING of reserve (singular).  Once you have this feeling, you'll likely never go back.  But most people don't go far enough in the areas of reserves in order to break through to the feeling of reserve.  Selfishness is key.  Building reserves is just about the most effective way to quiet the fear-based beast inside.  Other option:  Self-management, which is a lot of work. 
It's hard to imagine a perfect life without adequate reserves.

management vs. control:
Management is what you do of yourself; control is what you do to others.  A perfect life needs to be somewhat managed in order to be sustainable, given two key dynamics of life:  entropy and evolution. 

perfect vs. perfectionism:
When people hear the word perfect, they often immediately think of the word perfectionism.  Such is our cultural programming.  Perfectionism is when a person focuses on minute details seeking the feeling of perfection.  There is little freedom or joy in perfectionism.  If your parents were demanding and good enough wasn't nearly good enough, then your ability of enjoy the simple and pure word 'perfect' has probably been damaged.  But it's recoverable.  And the Perfect Life course will help because you'll be with others who are comfortable with the word perfect and don't react to it.  There is a place beyond perfectionism and that place is perfect.

success vs. achievement:
Most people let their culture, company or zip code define what success means. In A Perfect Life, YOU define what success means to you.  For example, the 3 ways that I define and measure success are:
1.  How much I am enjoying my creativity
2.  How much my relationship with God is nourishing me.
3.  How much of a nicer person I am becoming.
So, I'm saying that I would feel more successful if I enjoy my creativity that if I pained myself writing a New York Times best seller.  That I feel successful on the inside when I am coming closer to God.  And that it's not really success if I'm not a nice person along the way.  Everyone has their own way of defining success, but it often takes a coach to ask them the question.

personal evolution vs. personal development:
Creating and having A Perfect Life calls for work in both the personal evolution area and the personal development area.  Personal evolution occurs when you design environments that stimulate you in unexpected ways.  The focus is not on you, really, but rather on your environments.  Personal development occurs when you invest in yourself.  The focus is on mostly on you.  Personal evolution is the ultimately stronger of the two terms, especially as humans become more interconnected with each other and via technology, and the environments become more virtual and empowering.  In the Perfect Life Program, learning how to design environments that evolve you is key to having a sustainably perfect life.

strength vs. power:
A Perfect Life relies on a strong person.  Not a forceful or powerful person, but a strong-from-within-person.  Thus the distinction.  One of the most important trends in civilization over the past 10-20 years is the shift from power-based living, thinking, working to a strength-based model of living, thinking and working.  In English, from the typical man's way of doing/relating to the typical women's way of doing/relating.  (oversimplified and stereotyped, I know, but fairly accurate.)  Order, rules, control and force are fading in our culture.  Chaos, mass customization, self-investment and collaboration are becoming the way things occur and get done.  Power implies external force or influence over people and events.  Strength comes from within an emanates outward.  As you develop your strengths, you'll attract what you need instead of having to force or acquire it.  Strength is sustainable; power is expensive to maintain.  Just ask Russia.

material vs. important:

Upcoming weather is important to a city dweller wanting to go on a picnic.

Upcoming weather is material to a farmer needing rain.

Most of us spend too much time with important matters, but not enough time on material matters.

What is material?  That which matters most to your survival, livelihood, professional development and high quality of life. Everything else is important.

inklings vs. intuition
We recommend that we all come to trust our inklings, not just our intuition.  When you inkle, you respond to something you are sensing that may not be evident, provable, relevant or useful.  Yet it's unmistakably there, albeit even quieter than intuition.  The trick is to respect these sensations and get to know them by selecting acting on them.  Another way to talk about inklings is by calling them whims -- urges to do something that makes no sense at all.  This type of constant experimenting is a key part of the process of personal evolution and fits very well in the designing of A Perfect Life, because sometimes it's those tiny details or whims or inklings that provide the greatest joy in A Perfect Life.