How much is free will worth?

While I was in law school, I was afforded time to think; more than I had while working, and really more than now, as I work again. During this time I became enamored with the idea of trying to conform life around you as much as possible to one's imagined ideal.
I never believed it was completely possible, but I believed as an exercise it had two great benefits. First, it required that you figure out what it is that you really wanted out of life. For the exercise to work, the life imagined couldn't be a static if-I-won-the-lottery life, it had to be ongoing, a habitual way of living. Second, by deciding what you wanted out of live, your were forced to confront what sacrifices that you were willing to endure to achieve such a life, i.e. what costs could be placed upon the benefits.
I became convinced that if someone really thought about it, they could create a semblance of a 'perfect' life around them. I also came to see that some people I knew had done this unconciously, while others, even high-achievers, had followed a life defined by what was expected or normal, often ignoring some peripheral aspects that are imporant to life.
What I really liked about it was that in a way it all came down to deciding for yourself, "what do you really think is fun v. what do you do for fun because you've always done it?"

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Now, I have been out of law school for several years. I have persued one particular goal at the expense of others, I have stopped doing my mental exercise. I have also learned that in a relationship, your vision of life must be melded with that of your mate, though probably leaving room for each's own particular tastes.

So, now with this simple little log, I want to try and recapture some of that feeling of control and wonder. The ultimate navel gazing! I don't care, because this is for me.