There’s a huuuge difference between being content and happy.
“Content” is satisfaction. It’s being okay with what you have and what you do. It’s the status quo. It’s the reason when people ask how you are, you say, “Oh, I’m fine.”
Being content for too long leads to regrets. You don’t want to be on your death bed, wishing you had done everything differently.
For those who know there’s more to life, happiness is being able to do what you want when you want where you want how you want. Happiness is freedom.
A happy life starts with understanding what you want out of it. Because without a desire for more, you’re stuck in this weird purgatory of being “content.”
The good news is – It’s easy to get yourself out of that funk and live the free life you’ve always imagined you would.
How? Goals.
Copy the framework below that allowed me to …
- quit my job,
- start my own business,
- begin my travels around the world
- and make more money than I thought possible
… all within the span of 6 months. Check it out 👇
But first, how 2 authors changed how I look at life
Everyone’s situation is different. I’m not a recommendation engine for this very reason. What works for you may not necessarily work for me.
But there are two resources that I relentlessly hawk. Two tools that have forever changed my life and can change yours if you leverage them right.
Those two resources?
Donald Miller’s Hero on a Mission and Nathan Barry’s Ladders of Wealth Creation.
Personal goals: Work backwards from your death
Donald Miller grew up poor in the suburbs of Houston.
But he’s turned into to an extremely well-respected author and businessman (ever heard of StoryBrand?) and even advised the White House.
“Rags to riches” stories will continue to amaze me. If he can do it, so can you – no matter your current circumstances.
So how did Don turn his life around?
Well, he designed it from the ground up.
“I used to think life was something that happened to me. Now I think that life is something I get to create.”
— Donald Miller
In his book Hero on a Mission, he recommends you start from your death bed. Imagine being a fly on the wall at your own funeral.
Yeah, a bit weird to visualize, but it’s incredibly helpful.
I can tell you this: How much money you made, what businesses you created, or how much taxes you paid will not matter.
What will matter is how you made people feel and how they’ll remember you after you’re gone.
- What do you want people to say about you? How did you impact them?
- What did you accomplish that created your legacy?
- Who is present and why do they matter?
Write your own obituary. Then work backwards to do the things that are truly meaningful to you.
Below is the obituary I wrote for myself when I took Don’s course in 2021.
4 months later, I quit my job and started my own company. 6 months later, I left the United States to travel the world.
This exercise works.
Envision the life you want to live and the person you want to become. Then it’s a hell of a lot easier to set realistic goals.
Don’s Hero on a Mission book, course or daily planner will set you right. I highly highly highly recommend them.
Business goals: Prioritize time over money
Financial freedom. Everyone talks about it, but very few tell you how to acquire it.
Nathan Barry created this graphic. And it completely changed the way I look at wealth and time.
Nathan is the founder of ConvertKit, the software I use to send emails like this one. He came up with the Ladders of Wealth Creation in 2019.
I read his article that same year and instantly learned that no, my true goal wasn’t to have a certain amount of money in the bank or number of income streams.
My goal actually wasn’t about money at all.
The real way to build wealth is by leveraging your time, not growing your income.
Time is freedom. The more you have of it, the more you get to spend it however you’d like.
Trading your time for a salary (the lowest rung in the ladders of wealth creation) gives you zero leverage.
Think of a 9-5 job. You trade your time – a precious resource you’ll never get it back – for money, a seemingly abundant resource. So no matter how much value you provide to your company, you get paid the same amount.
Is that fair?
Compare that with a productized service (where I currently am in the ladder). You build a single product that you then sell repeatedly for a recurring price. Build once, sell twice.
Financial freedom isn’t about more money. It’s about more time.
Once I learned this revolutionary principle, my business changed. I immediately shifted from thinking…
“I need to make as much money as possible no matter how much I work”
… to …
“I need to protect my time no matter how much money I make.”
And trust me, that same realization will change your perspective on life.
How I set BIG goals & actually achieve them
You’re reading this article, so I know you want to be as free as possible.
But what freedom is to me isn’t freedom to you. And I’ll never pretend that it is.
This is how I define it:
- Time — Your most precious resource. Quitting your 9-5 job and taking back control of your schedule. Time freedom is all about making the most of your days and spending them the way you want to spend them.
- Money — Here, we’re talking about building a business that serves your goals and becoming financially free. Imagine not having to worry about money anymore. Sounds pretty sweet, right?
- Mobility — Travel allows you to reduce your taxes and see what other places have to offer. Don’t think just because you’re born in the United States for example, you have to stay there for the rest of your life. Your brain, body – and wallet – will thank you.
Determine your goals in each of these categories and then set up your daily, weekly and monthly habits to get there.
Here’s a quick glimpse into my 2023 goals and the smaller tasks needed to get there:
Time
This year, I want to stop working on Fridays, so I have more time to spend with friends and family.
- Hire an employee and outsource stuff that doesn’t need my expertise (”low-leverage tasks”)
- Turn my productized writing service into an actual software product
- Create a daily and weekly schedule to prioritize important tasks
Money
I want to take myself out of my writing business and focus more on my own creatorship – helping people live freely all around the world.
As I grow my brand, I assume I’ll make less in my agency. But I’m okay with that if it means the next year, I have a shot at more income in my creatorship business.
- Make $150k in income with my writing business
- Make my first creatorship dollar online
- Reduce my taxes
Mobility
I’m a fan of slow travel, where I spend enough time in a place to get to know its people and its culture. In 2023, I’m visiting five more countries and starting my path to residency in one of them.
- Branch out to Europe to explore life there
- Start residency plans in Colombia
- Buy my first international home
As you can see, these are some big goals. But if you boil them down into smaller habits and/or tasks, it makes even the most outlandish dreams seem much more attainable.
Look back on my obituary. I’ve accomplished so much of what I’ve set out to do – in just two years since I wrote that little summary of my life.
It’s time for a rewrite 😈
So here’s my advice:
- Write your own obituary
- Start prioritizing your time
- Set big life and business goals
- Determine the tasks needed to accomplish those goals
- Chip away at those goals by setting daily, weekly and monthly habits
Like I always say, I want to create a space where you have the support, accountability and resources you need to live the life you’ve always imagined.
DM me. Email me. Let me know your goals and how I can help on your journey to freedom.
It all starts with goals.
