10 Journalling Prompts That Changed My Life

Summary

The speaker shares transformative journaling prompts that have significantly impacted their life, including envisioning a future without financial constraints, defining personal and professional legacies, and assessing weekly actions for long-term outcomes. These reflective questions encourage goal clarification, energy auditing, and life alignment, fostering personal growth and meaningful contributions.

Takeaways

• 📔 Journaling is a transformative habit that can significantly impact one's life when coupled with powerful prompts or questions.
• 💡 The 'What if money were no object?' question encourages individuals to envision their lives beyond financial constraints, revealing true desires and aspirations.
• 🌟 Considering how one would like to be remembered at their funeral provides insight into the legacy they wish to leave behind and the impact they want to have on others.
• 🚀 The prompt 'If I had all the time and money in the world, how would I use my talents to serve others?' helps align personal talents with the intention to contribute positively to society.
• 🤔 Reflecting on the ideal week can provide clarity on long-term goals and the compound effects of daily actions, steering one's life in a preferred direction.
• 🌈 An energy audit helps identify activities that either energize or drain one's life, promoting a more balanced and fulfilling schedule.
• 📊 The Wheel of Life is a holistic tool for assessing alignment between current actions and desired outcomes across various life domains, including work, health, and relationships.
• 🛤️ The Odyssey Plan allows for envisioning different life paths, highlighting the power of choice and the potential for change.
• 🎯 Identifying the goal and the bottleneck helps focus on the most critical aspects of achieving personal and professional objectives.
• 🔮 Writing down goals in the present tense and using a magic wand exercise to prioritize can lead to actionable steps and daily progress towards those goals.
• 🏡 Asking whether one's business serves them or if they serve their business can lead to a shift in perspective and a more fulfilling entrepreneurial journey.

Q & A

What is the main habit that has significantly changed the speaker's life?

The main habit that has significantly changed the speaker's life is journaling, which they have been doing consistently since 2014.

Why does the speaker ask themselves the question 'What would you do if money were no object?'定期?

The speaker asks this question regularly, approximately every 3 months, because it helps them assess their actions and desires beyond the constraints of financial concerns, allowing them to consider what they would genuinely do if not limited by money.

What is the follow-up question to 'What would you do if money were no object?' and why is it important?

The follow-up question is 'If I had all the time and money in the world, how would I use my talents to serve others?' This question is important because it shifts the focus from personal desires to using one's abilities for the benefit of others, emphasizing service and meaningful contribution.

How has the practice of journaling influenced the speaker's career decisions?

Journaling has led to many decisions in the speaker's career, including the creation of their YouTube channel and business. It has helped them realize their true desires and passions, ultimately leading to a shift from practicing medicine to teaching and creating content.

What does the speaker hope people would say about them at their funeral?

The speaker hopes that people would say that their content inspired, educated, and changed the way they felt and thought about their life and career. They would like to be remembered as someone who made a significant positive impact on others' lives through their work.

What is the purpose of the journaling prompt 'What would you like people to say at your funeral?'

The purpose of this prompt is to help individuals reflect on the legacy they want to leave behind, focusing on the impact they have on others' lives and aligning their current actions with the future they desire.

How does the speaker use the question 'If I were to repeat the things I've done this week, for the next 10 years, where will I end up?'

The speaker uses this question to audit their recent actions and behaviors, considering whether repeating them for the next 10 years would lead to a desirable outcome. It encourages reflection on the long-term effects of current habits and decisions.

What is the 'Wheel of Life' and how does it help in life assessment?

The 'Wheel of Life' is a tool that divides life into different categories such as work, health, and relationships. It helps individuals assess their satisfaction and alignment in each category and identify areas for improvement to achieve a more balanced and fulfilling life.

What are the three paths explored in the 'Odyssey plan' journaling exercise?

The 'Odyssey plan' explores the current path, the alternative path, and the radical path. The current path is what life would look like continuing the present course, the alternative path is a different direction one could take, and the radical path is a completely new direction without constraints of money or others' opinions.

How does the speaker use the 'What is the goal and what is the bottleneck?' question?

The speaker uses this question to identify the ultimate objective and the main obstacle preventing its achievement. This helps in focusing on the most impactful actions and finding solutions to overcome the bottlenecks for progress towards the goal.

What does the speaker mean by 'Do you work for your business or does your business work for you?'

The speaker is asking whether one is enslaved by their business, working for it, or if the business operates in a way that supports and benefits them. The goal is to structure the business to work efficiently so that it serves the owner's needs and desires, rather than the owner constantly working for the business.

What would the speaker do if they knew they were going to die in 2 years, and how does this question impact their current actions?

If the speaker knew they were going to die in 2 years, they would focus on enjoying their work, playing more video games, spending time with their grandmother, and hosting dinners with friends. This question prompts them to consider what truly matters and encourages them to incorporate these values into their current life.

Outlines

00:00

📔 The Power of Journaling

This paragraph discusses the transformative impact of journaling on the speaker's life since 2014. It highlights the importance of having the right prompts or questions to guide one's journaling practice. The speaker shares 10 powerful journaling prompts that have brought significant value to their life, hoping the audience will find them equally valuable. These prompts are designed to help individuals reflect on their actions, aspirations, and the legacy they wish to leave behind.

05:01

💡 Reflecting on Life's Purpose

The speaker delves into the first journaling prompt, which asks what one would do if money were no object. This question is meant to challenge the notion of scarcity and encourage individuals to consider their true desires beyond financial constraints. The speaker also introduces a follow-up question about using one's talents to serve others, emphasizing the meaningfulness of work and service. The speaker shares personal experiences and decisions influenced by these prompts, including career changes and the desire to teach and inspire others.

10:02

🌟 Defining Personal Success

In this section, the speaker explores the second journaling prompt, which focuses on the legacy one wants to leave behind, specifically what they would like people to say at their funeral. This reflection encourages individuals to consider the impact of their work on others and to align their actions with their desired legacy. The speaker shares their personal hopes for the legacy they are building through their content, aiming to inspire and change the lives of their audience.

15:03

🔄 Evaluating Life Choices

The speaker introduces a third journaling prompt that involves evaluating one's weekly actions and considering whether they would want to repeat these actions for the next 10 years. This exercise is meant to help individuals identify patterns that may lead to positive or negative outcomes in the long term. The speaker emphasizes the importance of making adjustments to one's lifestyle to ensure that actions align with long-term goals and desires.

20:04

🌱 Cultivating Energy and Joy

The speaker discusses the importance of conducting an energy audit through journaling, which involves identifying activities that either energize or drain one's life force. By recognizing these activities, individuals can make conscious efforts to increase the前者 and decrease the latter. The speaker also mentions a book by Professor Grace Len and shares practical tips on how to implement this journaling technique.

🛣️ Mapping Out Life's Journey

The speaker presents the concept of the 'Odyssey plan,' which involves envisioning three different future paths: continuing on the current path, taking an alternative path, and pursuing a radical path without concern for money or others' opinions. This exercise is designed to help individuals gain clarity on their life's direction and to encourage them to consider a range of possibilities for their future.

🎯 Identifying Goals and Obstacles

The speaker emphasizes the importance of identifying one's goals and the obstacles preventing their achievement. This approach helps individuals focus on what truly matters and find solutions to the challenges that stand in their way. The speaker shares personal experiences of applying this method to both their own life and in coaching others, highlighting its effectiveness in bringing clarity and driving progress.

📈 Setting and Prioritizing Goals

The speaker shares a technique for setting and prioritizing goals, as suggested by Brian Tracy. This involves writing down goals in the present tense and then identifying which goal would have the greatest positive impact if achieved immediately. The speaker outlines a seven-step process for working towards this priority goal, emphasizing the importance of daily action and commitment.

🚀 Creating a Business That Works for You

The speaker discusses the transformative question of whether one works for their business or their business works for them. This realization led the speaker to reevaluate their relationship with their business, aiming to create a more fulfilling and less stressful work-life dynamic. The speaker shares the positive changes that resulted from this shift in perspective, including greater enjoyment and purpose in their work.

💥 Confronting Mortality for Clarity

In the final journaling prompt, the speaker asks how one would spend their time if they knew they were going to die in two years. This thought experiment is designed to help individuals prioritize what truly matters to them and encourages reflection on whether they are living in alignment with their deepest values and desires. The speaker shares their own reflections and considerations, highlighting the importance of taking action now to live a meaningful life.

Keywords

💡Journaling

Journaling is the practice of regularly writing down thoughts, experiences, and reflections. In the video, it is presented as a transformative habit that has significantly impacted the speaker's life since 2014. The speaker emphasizes the power of journaling to help individuals clarify their goals, values, and desires, leading to meaningful life changes.

💡Prompts

Prompts are guiding questions or statements designed to inspire thought and encourage self-reflection. In the context of the video, the speaker shares 10 powerful journaling prompts that have helped them gain insights into their life's direction and make meaningful decisions. These prompts serve as catalysts for personal growth and introspection.

💡Scarcity

Scarcity refers to the perceived or actual lack of sufficient resources, leading to feelings of insufficiency and the need to chase more. In the video, the speaker discusses how the mindset of scarcity, especially regarding finances, can limit one's actions and choices, and journaling can help overcome this by reevaluating priorities and desires.

💡Talents

Talents are natural abilities or skills that an individual possesses. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of recognizing and utilizing one's talents to serve others. This concept is linked to finding fulfillment and meaning in life by contributing positively to others' lives using one's unique strengths.

💡Life Coaching

Life coaching involves guiding individuals to achieve their personal or professional goals through supportive dialogue and guidance. In the video, the speaker, though not a professional life coach, adopts a similar role by sharing questions that can help others reflect on their life paths and make impactful decisions.

💡Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance refers to the equilibrium between time spent on professional responsibilities and personal life. The video discusses the importance of maintaining this balance and ensuring that work does not overshadow relationships and personal well-being. The speaker shares personal experiences of reassessing their priorities to achieve a healthier balance.

💡Compounding

In the context of the video, compounding refers to the accumulation of effects over time, where small actions or decisions can lead to significant long-term outcomes, either positive or negative. The speaker uses the concept of compounding to emphasize the importance of daily choices and habits on one's future self.

💡Wheel of Life

The Wheel of Life is a metaphorical tool used for assessing different aspects of one's life and their alignment with desired outcomes. In the video, it is split into categories such as work, health, and relationships, and the speaker uses it to evaluate their life periodically, identifying areas of satisfaction and areas needing improvement.

💡Odyssey Plan

The Odyssey Plan is a comprehensive journaling exercise that involves envisioning one's life along three different paths: the current path, an alternative path, and a radical path without constraints. It aims to help individuals gain clarity on their desired future and identify potential changes to their current trajectory.

💡Goal Setting

Goal setting is the process of identifying and prioritizing specific, achievable objectives. In the video, the speaker advocates for the practice of setting clear goals and identifying the bottlenecks, or obstacles, that prevent the achievement of these goals. This approach helps in focusing efforts and resources towards meaningful progress.

💡Time Horizon

A time horizon refers to the length of time over which an action or decision will have an impact or be relevant. In the video, the speaker uses the concept to encourage viewers to consider how they would act if they knew their time was limited, and to apply those insights to their current lives.

Highlights

Journaling is a transformative habit that has significantly impacted the speaker's life since 2014.

Effective journaling is enhanced by using the right prompts or questions.

The powerful question 'What would you do if money were no object?' prompts reflection on actions driven by financial scarcity.

The follow-up question 'How would I use my talents to serve others?' encourages thinking about meaningful contribution beyond financial constraints.

The speaker's personal experience with journaling led to a career shift from medicine to teaching and content creation.

The question 'What would you like people to say at your funeral?' helps to clarify personal values and desired legacy.

Journaling prompts can lead to significant life decisions, such as career changes and business growth strategies.

The speaker's use of journaling prompts has resulted in business success and personal fulfillment.

The 'If I were to repeat the things I've done this week for the next 10 years' prompt encourages long-term thinking and life auditing.

An energy audit through journaling helps to identify activities that drain or energize an individual.

The Wheel of Life is a holistic life assessment tool that evaluates alignment between current actions and desired future across various life domains.

The Odyssey plan is a three-tiered journaling exercise that explores current, alternative, and radical life paths over a 5-year horizon.

Identifying the goal and bottleneck in any endeavor can lead to focused action and problem-solving.

Setting goals and prioritizing them with a magic wand scenario can clarify what has the most significant positive impact on one's life.

Entrepreneurs should strive for a business model where the business works for them, not the other way around.

The hypothetical scenario of knowing one's death timeline can illuminate priorities and inspire immediate action towards meaningful activities.

Transcripts

so if there is one single habit that has

most changed my life that habit is

journaling I've been journaling pretty

consistently since like 2014 and so many

of the good things that have happened in

my life have happened directly as a

result of journaling consistently but

one thing that is really really helpful

when it comes to journaling is having

the right prompts or questions and so in

this video I want to share 10 of my

favorite questions 10 powerful

journaling prompts that I found enormous

value in that I hope you will find Value

in as well all right question number one

is what would you do if money were no

object now this question is so

incredibly powerful and I ask myself it

at like like every every 3 months

because it's one of those things that

like there's so much stuff that we do

for the sake of money there is so much

stuff that we do chasing like oh I need

more money I need more Financial

Security I need more financial safety

all this scarcity all all of this stuff

and it's really useful to ask the

question what would I do what would I

genuinely do if money were No Object now

if you're a noob at this you will your

answer will be oh I would just like sip

cocktails on a beach in Thailand and

just chill uh but if you've tried to do

that I've tried to do that uh and I've

realized it's not particularly enjoyable

and everyone I've ever spoken to who has

made load and load of money who has then

just retired has been absolutely

miserable because actually work is

profoundly meaningful if you're doing

something that you enjoy so there's a

sort of followup to this question which

is sort of question 1B which is if I had

all the time and money in the world how

would I use my talents to serve other

people and this is also a really really

really good good follow-up question

because it takes care of the money thing

it takes care of I don't have time thing

and it specifically asks about talents

and about service and a big part of what

makes life feel meaningful is when we

are doing things that we are good at

when we're using our strengths and when

we are doing something to serve other

people so if you had all the time and

money in the world how would you use

your talents to serve others these days

I I have a lot of like lunches and

dinners and stuff with entrepreneurs and

creators and sometimes students as well

people seem to look at me as some sort

of life coach or something it's like hey

Olie what should I do with my life and

often this is the first question I'd be

like hm what would you do if money were

no object and if they need a little bit

of prompting I will ask

if you had all the time and money in the

world how would you use your talents to

serve others for me personally asking

the question what would I do if money

were no object has led to a lot of

decisions that I've made for my YouTube

channel and for my business if money

were No Object I would still continue to

write books by the way you should check

out my book if you haven't yet link down

below and if you have I would really

love an Amazon review feel good

productivity it's about how to do more

of what matters to you in a way that

actually feels good but if I had all the

money in the world honestly I would

write more books cuz writing books is

cool I would continue making YouTube

videos I wouldn't do it on a schedule I

would I wouldn't have sponsored videos

but I would do it on my own terms I

would still do YouTu videos I would love

to be able to do workshops and seminars

and stuff where I teach other people

about productivity and like aligning

your actions with the life you want and

how to reach Financial Freedom and so

really for me I realized after doing a

lot of the these journaling prompts the

main thing I wanted to do with my life

was to be a teacher and that is what

ultimately led to me deciding to quit

medicine cuz I realized the thing that I

would do to serve others is not practice

medicine it's to teach and so that one

question has single-handedly changed the

trajectory of my life question number

two is what would you like people to say

at your funeral and here you can think

of family you can think of friends you

can think of co-workers and you can

think of people whose life has been

impacted by your work now generally

family and friends and co-workers even

are going to comment on like the

personality traits and like how much of

a nice person you were and all that kind

of stuff uh but someone whose life has

been impacted by your work is going to

comment on the unsurprisingly the impact

that your work had on their life so if I

think about it for myself I'd want my

family friends and co-workers to say I

was Broly a nice guy very you know I was

humble I was always there for them I was

present I didn't let success and stuff

get to my head all that kind of personal

stuff but I would want someone let's say

you're watching this and you might be

one of the people who's followed my

YouTube channel for a while or read my

book or listen to my podcast and if you

were to come to my funeral and my and

your life has genuinely been impacted by

my work what I'd love for you to say is

something like Ali's content really

inspired me and educated me and changed

the way that I feel and that I think

about what to do with my life and my

career because of Ali's content I

realized I was following a path that had

been chosen for me not a path that I

chosen myself and his content gave me

the courage confidence and motivation

and inspiration and stuff that I needed

to change the trajectory of my life to

me that is that would be absolutely

freaking sick if that's what people said

at my funeral people whose work people

whose lives have been impacted by my

work and so doing that journaling prompt

and knowing that that's what I'm going

for gives me a very clear North Star it

gives me a sense of like okay this is

the point this is the point of sitting

down here and setting up the cameras and

the lights and and like talking to

a camera when you can have that level of

clarity about the reason why you're

doing your work it makes everything feel

much more fun it makes everything feel

much more meaningful and purposeful and

it helps sustain you through the moments

of kind of where you don't feel like it

or where you're like tired and you know

you want to do the thing connecting to

that Spirit of service really helps the

personal side is also quite important

I've sort of brushed over that but like

it's it's really like the personal side

is really important what sort of spouse

do you want to be what sort of parent do

you want to be what sort of child do you

want to be what sort of colleague do you

want to be the things that these people

who who love us and who work with us

will comment on is is not like hey he

drove 8% returns for our hedge fund like

no one cares no one cares about your

performance they care about how you made

them feel they care they care about how

you showed up and so often I'll think

like what would I want my family to say

at my funeral what would I want my

friends to say at my funeral and then I

will ask myself the follow-up question

to what extent am I actually living in

alignment with that and usually when I

ask that question I realize ooh actually

I have been overemphasizing work at the

expense of relationships uh-oh let me

arrange a holiday or a hangout or a

dinner or whatever with some friends let

me arrange to see my family a little bit

more like usually for me the inertia is

kind of in work because it's fun and

it's meaningful it's like all that all

that stuff and I know that like okay I

actually haven't been showing up as the

sort of family member or as the friend

that I would like to be showing up as

therefore I can make a change and really

the whole point of journaling prompts is

not that it's like sort of Naval gazing

that you just do for the sake of it the

whole point of like these sort of

questions and these sort of prompts is

that they encourage you to take action

and to tweak your course in some way or

another another maybe you do the what

what would I do if money were an object

and you realize crap I'm in the wrong

career let me make a change that's very

useful maybe you do the what would I

want people to say at my funeral and

you're like crap I haven't been a great

friend recently let me make a change and

nudge myself in that direction okay so

one of the biggest tangible benefits

that all of this journaling has had in

my life is that it has allowed me to

make lots and lots of money running this

business and a lot of the decisions that

I've made to grow my business have

directly come as a result of journaling

but let's say you were to decide to

start or grow a business based on your

journaling practices now you have all

the spare money that has to go somewhere

well that's why the sponsor of this

video comes in and that is trading 212

trading 212 is a fantastic app that I

personally use that lets you invest in

stocks and shares in a commission free

fashion they've got a new feature that

gives you 1% cash back which will be

allocated to your investment account for

each deposit that you make in your Isa

if you are in the UK for example so for

any money you do deposit into your Isa

you will get 1% back on that money

completely for free they also have a new

debit card that helps you save and

invest your money automatically it's

designed to seamlessly integrate with

your trading 212 invest account and lets

you earn interest on your invested cash

in 13 different currencies the card is

also free and there are no sneaky fees

or subscription plans to worry about if

any of that signs up your street then

hit the link in the video description

and that will take you to this page

where you'll be guided on how to set up

an account and if you use that link you

will also get a completely free share up

to the value of £100 it's free money you

might as well so thank you so much

trading 212 for sponsoring this video

okay the next question it comes from my

friend Dicky Bush and the question is

something to the effect of if I were to

repeat the things I've done this week

for the next 10 years where will I end

up and is this where I want to end up

and I think this is incredibly powerful

you can do this at the level of day you

can do that if I were to repeat my

actions today for the next 10 years

where would to end up I personally like

to do it in a week because like today

kind of varies depending on if I happen

to have zoom meetings all day today it's

like that might not be representative of

a week but I think a one week long

period is like a pretty good sense of

like that is like the formula that

you're following for your life so last

week what did I do well I went to the

gym four times yeah that's pretty good

um I probably spent too much time in

meetings last week okay that would

result in me spending loads and loads of

times a meeting 10 years from now that

would compound in a negative way and

that's not what I want with my life

maybe I spent a little bit too long

playing Bower's gate all all of last

Saturday okay I probably don't want to

repeat that every single week for the

next 10 years you know I did two date

nights yep that's a good amount I saw my

friends twice saw my family once yeah

that seems pretty reasonable and it's

like you can really take an audit of

your life if you were to imagine the

last 7 Days repeated every single week

for the next 10 years because everything

in life comes as a result of compounding

you're either compounding positively or

you're compounding negatively I've

decided that it's actually be helpful

for me if I go to the gym at 8:00 every

single morning great that's going to

compound in a positive direction in

terms of my health whereas in the past

when I went to the gym maybe like once a

week or like never and asking this

question of like will these actions

compound me positively or negatively

again help me realize oh crap health is

not on track let's make a change again

this is all about deciding what changes

you want to make to your life and if you

can figure out this sort of Ideal week

for yourself what does the week look

like a 7-Day period where if you were to

just repeat that every day for the next

10 years you would end up in a pretty

good place again it's not to say you

going to be wedded to that it's not to

say that it's completely set in stone

but it's a helpful way of thinking

because it helps us realize that we're

playing long-term games here and it's so

easy to make short-term decisions at the

expense of the long-term game it's so

easy to say h you know what just for

this week work is super busy and

therefore I'm going to skip all these

workouts or work is super busy therefore

I'm going to skip my date nights or or

I'm not going to see my friends or I'm

not going to sleep enough but all of

these decisions compound over the long

term so I really love this idea of copy

and paste this week extend it out for

the next 10 years see what happens is it

good is it bad whatever you decide

whatever you learn from this you can

decide what changes you want to make all

right question number four I also have a

list of like hundreds and hundreds of

Jour prompts which are linked down below

completely for free I've got a

journaling Hub where it's like a oce

page that I keep updated with my

favorite journaling prompts but what

have I done in the last 2 weeks that has

energized me and what have I done in the

last 2 weeks that has drained my energy

this is the energy audit and you don't

even need to write it out what you can

do is you can look on your calendar cuz

hopefully you're living life by your

calendar so you can flick for the last

two weeks and you can see you can kind

of color code your calendar events or

you can even rename your calendar events

with a plus or a plus plus if it gave

you energy or a minus and a minus minus

if it drained you energy and sort of a

plus minus if it was kind of neutral

this is something I got from uh

Professor Grace Len's book uh think big

take small steps really good book and

we've also got an interview with her on

my podcast Deep dive linked up there and

somewhere but this is great this is the

energy audit because again how we spend

our time how we spend our weeks is how

we spend our lives and if we can figure

out what are the things we're doing that

are draining our energy and what are the

things we're doing that energize us a we

can figure out how do I do more of the

things that energize me and less of the

things that drain me but B we all

obviously have to do things that we

don't want to do and sometimes those

things are going to drain our energy and

so we can follow the principles and feel

good productivity for example the 3ps

play power and people and you can try

and find ways to make the things that

you are doing that are currently

draining you can find ways to turn those

into a source of energy rather than a

drain in energy it would be so sick if

everything on your calendar was a net

gain in energy rather than a net loss of

energy and again it just encourages us

to see what are the changes we might

want to make to our lives all right

question number five is the wheel of

life this is something I've talked about

a fair bit so if you're already familiar

with this feel free to skip ahead in the

video but it might be worth doing

basically the idea is that we split up

life into three different components

work health and relationships now within

Health we've got physical mental and

spiritual or body mind and soul whatever

that means for you within relationships

we've got romance family and friends and

within work we've got Mission money and

growth I'd like to have a 10th category

called joy and the idea for this

question is in each of these different

categories how aligned are my current

actions with the future that I want how

aligned is my current actions in

physical health with the future that I

want how aligned are my current actions

in Joy or in romantic relationships with

the future that I want if you do this

exercise enough times you'll you can

draw it as a little circle you can turn

it into a graph you can track the

changes in your Wheel of Life over time

um I've got a bunch of friends and team

members who are super into this stuff

and so if for example I was hanging out

with Tintin earlier today one of my team

members hadn't seen hadn't seen him in a

while and instead of being like how's it

going I was like how's the Wheel of Life

and he gets it because he's been doing

The Wheel of Life every Sunday for the

last like several years and he was like

huh actually the wheel of life is pretty

good I realized you know I'm actually

maybe a little bit negative in this this

and this area but actually broadly

things are good it's a nice holistic

kind of Life assessment and again the

point of asking yourself this question

is that you can identify areas for

improvement like right now if I were to

run the Wheel of Life on myself I would

say my joy category is probably a 6 out

of 10 and so I'd like to make more time

for Joy which is why I'm considering

buying a PS5 for whatever that's worth

um and I would say my spiritual health

my soul category is also probably like a

four out of 10 because I haven't really

done any meditation I haven't really

been particularly mindful recently it's

like by just asking myself the questions

I'm already able to come up with some

action points which again to reiterate

is the whole point of these different

journaling prompts question number six

is the Odyssey plan this is three sets

of questions the first one is your

current path the question is what does

my life look like 5 years from now if I

continue down my current path next

question is the alternative path what

would my life look like 5 years from now

if I took a completely different path

and then option three is the radical

path what would my life look like 5

years from now if I took a completely

different path where I didn't care about

money and I didn't care about what

people thought I talked about this a

bunch of times in the channel before

this is probably the journaling the

journaling prompt that's most

single-handedly changed my life I first

did this in late 2019 and doing this

Odyssey plan made me realize oh crap 5

years from now the medical career that

I'm in is not actually the career I want

to be in that was super interesting

caused me to make immediate changes to

my life and caused me to end up here

making YouTube videos and writing books

for a living rather than being a doctor

so I think it's incredibly incredibly

powerful it does take some time to do it

takes some time to think about but it

gives a lot of clarity on like what are

the options and sometimes you might even

realize that like oh I just I've got a

bit of a failure of imagination like i'

I'm sort of imagining that I have to go

down this particular path but now that

I've written out my alternative path and

my radical path my alternative path

might be to become a music composer and

sing a songwriter and my radical path

might be to I don't know van life around

the world for the next 10 years and be a

photographer or something like that

there is this really cool image um from

Tim Urban's blog it basically shows that

like our life has could have taken a

bunch of different paths but we took one

path to end up here but where we are now

our life can still take an absolute

multitude of other paths but it's so

easy to think and be blinkered by the

fact that like oh well I guess I did a

degree in economics I guess I have to

become a banker or I guess I did a

degree in medicine I have to become a

doctor and so to confine ourselves to a

path that is not actually the path we

necessarily need to be on and so the

point of the Odyssey plan and these

other sorts of sorts of journaling

prompts is that they help us realize

that actually you've got way more

control and you have way more options

available to you than you might think

and so to me every few years I will

actually every year when I do my annual

review I will just redo my Odyssey plan

just to make sure that I'm thinking big

and I'm not allowing the inertia of my

existing path to keep me on the road of

content creator or whatever the thing

might be all right question number seven

is incredibly powerful

what is the goal and what is the

bottleneck I find myself asking myself

this question a lot I also ask it a lot

to people when I do these sort of pseudo

life coaching and business coaching

sessions with other creators and

entrepreneurs and stuff what's the goal

and what's the bottleneck the first half

of that question is incredibly valuable

what's the goal if you are struggling

with absolutely anything if you feel

like you're torn in multiple directions

and and stuff you feel like you might be

in a transition period of your life

right now I suspect if you're watching

this channel ask yourself what's the

goal what am I really optimizing for and

so often we get embroiled in our

problems and we don't remember to ask

ourselves what is the goal cuz the goal

changes everything I was at a a writer's

Retreat the other day we had this little

like hot seat session where the idea is

that you get you're in the hot seat for

45 minutes and you discuss your problems

or your challenges and then everyone

gives you advice and asks you questions

and one thing we realized is that

basically all of us go in the hot seat

and we were describing like a problem

that we were having and someone in the

group would ask what's the

goal and and then the person in the hot

seat was like hm I guess the goal is I

want to get my business to $10 million

okay cool what's the bottleneck I.E what

is the what is the one thing that's most

stopping you from getting there we don't

have enough products to sell cool we can

solve the bottleneck I guess the goal is

to really enjoy my work life okay what's

the bottleneck what's stopping you from

doing that right now well I guess I've

actually been spending a lot of my time

chasing money rather than chasing

passion huh that's interesting what's

the goal and what's the bottleneck is

often like a question that cuts to the

heart of anything that we're struggling

with and so it's a question I ask myself

a lot when I'm doing my own journaling

and it's a question I love to ask other

people because it just encourages us to

think in a way that we might not

otherwise all right question number

eight is actually a journaling prompt

that I got from Brian Tracy Brian Tracy

is like this old dude who's written a

bunch of really good books about goal

setting and productivity and there was a

good YouTube short from a clip of his

that I came across a few months ago take

a clean sheet of paper and write down

goals in today's State and then write

down 10 goals that you would like to

accomplish in in the next 12 months and

write them in the present tense I earn I

achieve I weigh I drive such and such a

car I own and then you take this list of

10 and you say if I had a magic wand and

I could wave this magic wand and I could

have any one goal on my list within 24

hours which one goal would have the

greatest positive impact on my life and

usually this will jump out at you put a

circle around that goal and that's a

goal you transfer to a clean sheet of

paper and then you follow the seven

steps write it down set a deadline make

a list of everything you have to do to

accomplish it organize the list into a

checklist take action and then do

something every day if you'll just do

this nothing can stop you but yourself

so for me at the start of the year when

I I led like an annual planning session

for like 12,000 people in my audience it

if you joined it then welcome back uh

this was the sort of idea that I used to

land on my own goals for the year for me

I've got like three main goals work

health and relationships my work goal is

to get our business from 5 million to

$10 million in Revenue for whatever

that's worth uh my health goal is to get

into the best shape of my life and

actually over the last two months 3

months I have gotten into the best shape

of my life like I'm in better shape than

I've ever been in terms of muscle mass

and in terms of General activity levels

and so I've got another 9 months to bulk

a bit more then do some cutting then

think about flexibility and Mobility but

all of this is for the goal of getting

to the best shape of my life which I

realized was a really important thing

for me on the health front and then on

the relationships front got a couple of

goals one of them is secret but the

other one is to host six mini Adventures

for friends and family and that's

something that I'm working on this here

cuz I think it would be cool all right

question number nine this applies to

entrepreneurs uh and the question is do

you work for your business or does your

business work for you I first came

across this question about a year ago at

a entrepreneurs Retreat that I was in in

California of all places um and that

question just sort of hit me like a

baseball bat to the face do you work for

your business or does your business work

for you I L at the time oh crap my

business doesn't work for me I work for

it like I'm an employee of my business

like my business is the the prison that

I've created for myself and I'm a slave

to that prison okay cool now that I know

that let's change things up I want my

business to work for me rather than for

me to work for my business I want to

make videos on my own terms I want to do

stuff that I want to do I want to sort

of I wanted to feel purposeful and

spirit of service and all that kind of

stuff but that question caused me to

make a lot of changes in my business and

therefore by extension my life and now

I'm in a way less stressful place than I

was this time last year I'm way more

chill I enjoy the business a lot more I

feel much more confident about our

future as a business and finances and

stuff and I feel much much more aligned

with the stuff that I'm creating and the

content I'm making this is a pretty fun

video for me to make I freaking love

these journaling prompts I love these

questions but a year ago I would have

been like no but like the titles are not

clickbaity enough and like uh not sure

anyone cares about journaling and like

we don't have any products about

journaling so why would I make the video

but now I'm just like I just want to

make videos that I think would be just

useful to people watching them because

the North Star is if you visit me at my

funeral uh I want you to I would love

for you to say that something about my

content my books my YouTube videos my

podcast whatever thing might be

something about that content helped

change the trajectory of your life and

so if even one of these journaling

prompts that I've given you out of the

10 in this video helps you make an

action or make a decision that causes

you to take action that causes you to

change your life that's pretty cool

that's what I'm here for and then

finally question number 10 if I knew I

was going to die 2 years from now how

would I spend my time now this is sort

of a variation of like if you knew you

were going to die tomorrow how would you

spend your time but generally if you

knew you were going to die tomorrow

you'd probably do very destructive

things things but if I knew I was going

to die 2 years from now what would I do

I wouldn't just stop working because I

really enjoy my work and find it

meaningful um I'd probably play more

video games which reminds me I should

probably get that PS5 and plug it into

that TV I would probably see my grandma

more she's in Pakistan at the moment so

probably fly to Pakistan and just chill

with my grandma a bit I would probably

host more dinners with friends H what

are the things I would do if I knew I

was going to die 2 years from now and

then why am I not just doing those

things now obviously that's what the

question is implying I do like to change

of the time timeline sometimes sometimes

I think okay if I knew I was going to

die 10 years from now what would I be

doing if I knew I was going to die two

years from now I probably wouldn't write

another book because it take took three

three and a half years to write this

freaking thing but if I knew I was going

to die 10 years from now I might

actually think you know what I think it

would be really nice to work on two

books during that time during for the

next 10 years so really the time Horizon

does sort of dictate what projects you

want to work on but again the point of

this stuff is not that you become wedded

to the thing that you said in the

journaling prompt it just gives you

ideas so yeah if I knew I was going to

die 2 years from now or 5 years from now

10 years whatever the thing might be how

would I spend my time and what of those

things can I just do now so that brings

us to the end of these 10 powerful

questions that have personally had a

massive impact on my life if you're

interested in a more in-depth guide to

exactly how to journal with like

expressive writing and morning pages and

different journaling techniques check

out this video over here that I've done

a few months ago about how to journal to

change your life otherwise thank you so

much for watching I hope you took

something from this video and I would

love it if you could leave a comment

down below which of these is your

favorite question or if you're a

journaler yourself what is your favorite

journaling prompt I would love for you

to leave that down below we can compile

them and put it out as a community post

or something anyway check out this video

over here for the ultimate guided

journaling thank you so much for

watching and I will see you in the next

video bye-bye