How to figure out what you want to do with your life
Everything, Everywhere, All At Once
Below is a 3-step process for how I determined what I wanted to with my life:
Step 1: Bring your north star heroes to life
List out at least 5 people (up to 10) that you would consider as someone that you admire
For each person, share why you admire these individuals
Discover how did each of these individuals get to their goal (be honest)
Step 2: Create your vision archetypes (i.e. your deathbed visions of your path)
Group each of these role models into archetypes that make sense for you.
Tip: use “fun” names that you can remember and maybe even…inspire you (e.g., “Holding Company Compounder” or “E Squared: Entertainer Turned Entrepreneur”)
For each archetype, answer:
Who are the role models that you admire in this category (from previous exercise)?
Why am I thinking of this?
Why would I NOT do this?
What does a realistic version of yourself look like if you pursued this option in…
2024 (1-year)
2028 (5-year)
2034 (10-year)
Take some time away - go on a walk, run, swim, surf
Come back to this and have an honest assessment: which of these are you most interested in modeling yourself after?
Let me guess…“all of them” 😁
This is where it’s hard and that’s okay!
Best result is to just commit to 1
If you really can’t choose just 1, pick a “major” and a “minor”
If you do this, redo the 2024, 2028, and 2038 visioning exercises.
Step 3: Bridging the gap to your goals
Reflect on the archetype that you picked:
Does the 2024, 2028, and 2034 version of yourself look like someone you want to be?
Are you okay with giving up the “other versions” of yourself?
Tip: This is the hardest step! But here’s another way to look at it: with every passing day, you choose a path: either consciously or unconsciously. With this decision, it’s a conscious, active choice
Determine what is the easiest and highest impact thing to do now to make progress towards this goal:
Write down a list of activities that you can do
Then, t-shirt size each one on either
Ease of implementation:
Need some time
Can eventually do
Can do quickly
Potential progress towards vision:
Will provide insights (personal reflection OR external validation)
Will provide direct experience
Will bring me closer to the future version of myself
Then in order of priority, pursue the following priorities:
3 Implementation x 3 Progress
3 Implementation X 2 Progress (build momentum)
2 Implementation X 3 Progress (progress toward goal)
2 x 2
2 x 1
1 x 2
1 x 1
Have you created your list? Now you’re done!
JK, now the work begins. Good luck!
