When I chatted to some of my friends again , I discovered that none of them had a ‘ plan ’ for the future either .
“ Why bother ? Nobody can predict the future so “ live in the moment , man ”.
Maybe I ’ m just an overly emotional person , but hearing this drove me totally crazy again ! First , I decided I needed some new people in my life ... Then , I wondered why we all seem to have the same basic programming : assuming nothing will go as you want , so that when the shit hits the fan , you won ’ t be disappointed .
I had a similar mindset but it took a big personal life changing event to get my head into the game … Two years ago , my wife and I became Moms to twin girls . Kids ! As soon as I held my girls in my arms , I knew : I want to stick around as long as possible to be a witness to your lives ... None of that , “ what if something happens ” drama – just full on “ what if everything plays out the way I plan ?” ... better start planning !
Yes , I was a pretty successful freelancer , who was making a good living and could have just kept going in the same direction for years ; but ... I began to realise that freelancing ( the inevitable ‘ time trading ’), was a risky business to be in ! If I wanted time off , was sick , or just needed to be able to take care of my kids , it meant I couldn ’ t work . And what did no work mean ? No pay ... In my head I already knew that I didn ’ t want to be a , “ sorry Mommy needs to go to work ” type Mom all the time . I seriously did not want to be stressing over income while balancing my life .
The answer was , as many times before : multiple streams of income . Yep , working on those ideas of mine ( again )…
Oh boy … I was dreading that never ending pile of failures ( again ); but ... I soon noticed that something had changed . There was a picture in the back of my mind ... A picture of my family and I living mortgage-free , living a self-sustainable lifestyle , without having to be dependent on government financial aid ... We ’ d be retiring to our own property , eating our own veggies and charging our electric car via solar panels and stuff .
A pretty big dream … a serious reach from my current situation perhaps ; but , I started to BELIEVE in this future reality . I decided that I wasn ’ t going to worry on the ‘ how ; of getting there , instead focusing on what I wanted .
What I wanted to do more than ANYTHING was to get my ideas into the world ! Creating my own side-hustle of problem-solving tools … MY PASSION !
Being able to see and feel what I wanted to achieve and create MY path of HOW I would ‘ get there ’… And , because I had this pretty epic history of project fails ( ouch ); I decided to create a tool for myself first - helping me getting my shit done !
I needed a tool that would remind me of what I wanted to achieve daily ... A tool that would make it easy for me to recognise if the things I was doing daily were contributing to my dream , or if I was caught up in “ being busy ” ( again ), wasting my time ... I designed a dashboard , which was so grand and abundant that it was just too large of a project for me to get done .
Without falling in despair , my next thought was : how can I make it smaller ? How can I think of something to get done in 1 year ? Then , perhaps a year was too long to keep momentum going ? OK , what about a quarter of a year - 13 weeks ?
I wrote down the date , 13-weeks from that day on a piece of paper as my deadline . Next I started to take apart my HUGE idea . What small version of this could I ‘ get to done ’ and released within 13 weeks ; but would still be of value to me and others ? It became a guided journal .
With a deadline and goal ; the guided journal was to be designed , printed and sold within 13 weeks – it was so easy to plan out my actions in the 13 weeks in between ! When you know where you stand now , and you know where you want to be ; it is simple as fuck to map out the steps you need to take to get you there !
But there ’ s more … by setting a deadline and a goal , you have a clear mental ( and visual ) image of where you are going . Not only is it easy to figure out what steps to take , but the goals and date act as a contract with yourself . This changes the whole dynamic
66
When I chatted to some of my
friends again, I discovered that
none of them had a ‘plan’ for the
future either. my needs to go to work” type
Mom all the time. I seriously
did not want to be stressing over
income while balancing my life.
“Why bother? Nobody can pre-
dict the future so “live in the
moment, man”. The answer was, as many times
before: multiple streams of
income. Yep, working on those
ideas of mine (again)…
Maybe I’m just an overly emo-
tional person, but hearing this
drove me totally crazy again!
First, I decided I needed some
new people in my life... Then,
I wondered why we all seem to
have the same basic program-
ming: assuming nothing will go
as you want, so that when the
shit hits the fan, you won’t be
disappointed.
I had a similar mindset but it
took a big personal life changing
event to get my head into the
game… Two years ago, my wife
and I became Moms to twin girls.
Kids! As soon as H[^H�\�[�^H\�\�Hۙ]ΈH�[��X��\��[�\�ۙ�\����X�B���HH�]�\���[�\�]�\ˋ����ۙHو]8�'�]Y���Y][�\[���'H�[XH8�$��\��[ۂ��'�]Y�]�\�][��^\��]�H�^HH[���'H����]\��\��[��[��B�Y\�H�\�H�]H�X��\�ٝ[���Y[[��\����\�XZ�[��B����]�[��[���[]�H�\���\��[��[�H�[YH\�X�[ۂ��܈YX\����]���H�Y�[���X[\�B�]��Y[[��[��
H[�]�]X�B��&[YH�Y[���&JK�\�H�\��H�\�KB��\����H[�HY�H�[�Y[YB�ٙ��\��X��܈�\��YYY��B�X�H�Z�H�\�Hو^H�Y�]�YX[�H��[��&]�ܚˈ[��]�Y���ܚ�YX[����^K���[��^HXYH[�XYHۙ]�]B�Y��&]�[���HK8�'�ܜ�H[�KB����x�)��H�\��XY[��]�]�\�[�[�[Hو�Z[\�\�
Y�Z[�N��]���B���ۈ��X�Y]��Y][��Y��[��Y�\�H�\�HX�\�H[��H�X��و^HZ[����HX�B�\�Hو^H�[Z[H[�H]�[�[ܝ�Y�KY��YK]�[��H�[�\�\�B�Z[�X�HY�\�[K�]�]]�[���H\[�[�ۈ�ݙ\��Y[���[�[��X[ZY����x�&Y�H�]\�[���\��ۈ��\�KX][���\��ۂ��Y��Y\�[��\��[���\�[X��X�\��XH��\�[�[�[��Y����H�]H�Y��X[x�)�H�\�[�\�XX����H^H�\��[��]XKB�[ۈ\�\���]H�\�Y�SQU�H[�\��]\�H�X[]K��HX�YY]H�\۸�&]��[���ܜ�HۈH8�&���و�][�\�K[��XY���\�[��ۈ�]B��[�Y���]H�[�Y��[ܙH[��S�US���\���]^HYX\[��H�ܛHܙX][��^H�ۂ��YKZ\�Hو�؛[K\���[�����)�VHT��SӈB��Z[��X�H��YH[��Y[�]�H�[�Y�X�Y]�H[�ܙX]B�VH]و��H��[8�&�]�\�x�&x�)�[��X�]\�HHY\�]H\X�\�ܞHو�ڙX���Z[�
�X�
N�HX�YY�ܙX]HB����܈^\�[��\��H[[��YB��][��^H�]ۙHB�H�YYYH��]��[�KB�Z[�YHو�]H�[�YX�Y]�HZ[K���H��]��[�XZ�H]X\�H�܈YH��X��ۚ\�B�Y�H[���H�\��[��Z[B��\�H��X�][���^H�X[K�܈Y�H�\��]Y�\[�8�'�Z[��\�x�'H
Y�Z[�K�\�[��^H[YK����H\�YۙYH\���\��X���\���ܘ[�[�X�[�[�]�]�\��\���\��HوH�ڙX���܈YH��]ۙK���]�]�[[��[�\�Z\�^B��^�Y��\Έ���[�B�XZ�H]�X[\�����[�B�[��و��Y][����]ۙB�[�HYX\��[�\�\�HYX\���\���ۙ���Y\[�Y[�[B���[������]X��]H]X\�\��وHYX\�HL��YZ��Hܛ�H�ۈH]KL�]�YZ����H]^HۈHYX�Hو\\��\�^HXY[�K��^H�\�YZ�H\\�^HQ�HYXK��]��X[�\��[ۈو\���[H8�&�]��ۙx�&H[��[X\�Y�][�L�YZ����]��[�[�Hو�[YB��YH[��\���]�X�[YHB��ZYY��\��[���]HXY[�H[���[�B��ZYY��\��[�\���HKB��YۙY�[�Y[����][��L��YZ��8�$�]�\���X\�H�[���]^HX�[ۜ�[�HL��YZ��[���]�Y[�H�[�[�Hۛ���\�B�[�H�[����[�[�Hۛ��\�H[�H�[���N�]\��[\B�\��X���X\�]H�\�[�B��YY�Z�H��][�H\�HB��]\�x�&\�[ܙx�)��H�][��B�XY[�H[�H��[[�H]�HB��X\�Y[�[
[��\�X[
H[XY�Hق��\�H[�H\�H��[�ˈ��ۛH\]X\�H��Y�\�H�]�]�\�Z�K�]H��[�[�]HX��\�H��X��][�\��[��\�[��\�H��H[�[ZX�