How to Change your Life in a Year

Ali Abdaal
31 Jan 202419:15

Summary

TLDRIn this three-part video series, the host guides viewers on transforming their lives within a year by identifying their goals and aspirations. They introduce the 'Dreamlining' method to envision long-term dreams, the 'Odyssey Plan' to explore alternative life paths, and suggest setting 3-5 focused goals for the next 12 months. The script emphasizes the importance of understanding personal desires, aligning actions with these goals, and the power of writing them down to manifest change.

Takeaways

  • 🌟 Changing your life in a year involves moving from your current state (Point A) to your desired state (Point B) as efficiently as possible while enjoying the journey.
  • 🧭 The first two videos in the series focused on identifying your North Star (desired destination) and understanding your current state based on past and present experiences.
  • 💭 The Dreamlining method, inspired by Tim Ferris, Jim Rohn, and Zig Ziglar, involves envisioning your dreams for the next 10 years across various aspects of life, from personal achievements to material desires.
  • ✍️ Writing down your dreams and goals by hand is encouraged, as it can strengthen mental pathways and make the goals more tangible.
  • 💡 Perfectionism can hinder the process; the aim is to brainstorm and list any potential desires, no matter how unrealistic they may seem.
  • 🗺️ The Odyssey Plan from 'Designing Your Life' involves creating three detailed 5-year plans: your current path, an alternative path, and a radical path where money and social obligations are irrelevant.
  • 📝 The value of the Odyssey Plan lies in recognizing your current trajectory and exploring alternative futures, broadening your perspective on potential life paths.
  • 🥳 The 12-month celebration method involves setting 3-5 goals for the next year in areas like health, relationships, and work, then figuring out the why, how, and when for each goal.
  • 🔍 The importance of focusing on one major goal at a time is emphasized, as it increases the likelihood of achieving significant progress in that area.
  • 📝 Writing down goals and reviewing them regularly can help align your actions and mindset toward achieving those goals, leveraging the brain's natural tendencies to focus on important objectives.

Q & A

  • What is the main idea of the video about changing one's life in a year?

    -The main idea is to efficiently go from one's current situation (Point A) to the desired future state (Point B) in 12 months while enjoying the journey, using methods like dreamlining and the Odyssey plan.

  • What is the dreamlining method and where did it originate from?

    -The dreamlining method involves asking oneself what dreams they might have for the next 10 years. It was first introduced by Tim Ferriss in 'The 4-Hour Work Week' and is also inspired by methods from Jim Rohn and Zig Ziglar.

  • Why is it important to write down dreams and aspirations?

    -Writing down dreams and aspirations helps to clarify goals, increase the pathways in our minds, and provides a tangible record to reflect on and work towards.

  • What is the Odyssey plan and what does it involve?

    -The Odyssey plan is an exercise from 'Designing Your Life' by Dave Evans and Bill Burnett, which involves envisioning three different paths for the next 5 years: the current path, an alternative path, and a radical path without constraints.

  • Why is it suggested to focus on 3 to 5 goals for the next 12 months?

    -Focusing on 3 to 5 goals helps to maintain clarity and concentration on what's important without spreading oneself too thin across too many objectives.

  • What is the significance of the '12-month celebration' method?

    -The '12-month celebration' method involves envisioning celebrating achievements with a friend after 12 months. It helps to set specific, attainable goals for the near future.

  • What are the three follow-up questions to ask for each goal set?

    -The three follow-up questions are 'Why is this goal important to you?', 'How are you going to achieve it?', and 'When are you going to work on it?'

  • How does the speaker suggest using content consumption to achieve goals?

    -The speaker suggests orienting all content consumption, such as books, podcasts, and videos, towards the goal to focus the mind and provide relevant knowledge and strategies.

  • What is the role of the 'why', 'how', and 'when' in setting and achieving goals?

    -Understanding the 'why' provides motivation, the 'how' outlines the strategy, and the 'when' sets the timeline for achieving the goal, making it more likely to be accomplished.

  • What is the importance of writing down goals and looking at them regularly?

    -Writing down goals and reviewing them regularly helps to keep them at the forefront of one's mind, influencing behavior and decision-making to align with achieving those goals.

  • How does the speaker describe the process of setting goals for personal development?

    -The speaker describes a systematic process involving journaling prompts, reflection, and writing things down to clarify and work towards one's aspirations.

  • What advice does the speaker give about focusing on a single goal?

    -The speaker advises that focusing on a single goal and orienting one's life around it can lead to success, as it provides clear direction and purpose.

  • How does the speaker relate the process of goal setting to solving a complex mathematical equation?

    -The speaker relates goal setting to solving a complex mathematical equation by emphasizing the importance of writing things down to work through the problem effectively.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Starting the Journey: Defining Life Change in a Year

The speaker introduces the topic of life transformation within a year, emphasizing the importance of identifying one's current position (Point A) and the desired future state (Point B). They discuss the challenge of understanding one's present situation and aspirations, which were explored in previous videos of a three-part series. The focus is on efficient and enjoyable progress towards goals, introducing three favorite methods to achieve this. The first method, 'dreamlining,' is borrowed from productivity experts and involves envisioning long-term dreams to inspire action.

05:01

🌟 Dreamlining: Envisioning the Future Self

This section delves into the 'dreamlining' method, where the audience is encouraged to list dreams and aspirations for the next decade. The exercise aims to break free from routine thinking and consider what one truly desires, including personal achievements and material possessions. The speaker advises against perfectionism and societal judgment, advocating for a personal and private list that reflects genuine desires, even if they seem unlikely or materialistic. The method is meant to open up possibilities and inspire action towards those dreams.

10:01

🛣️ The Odyssey Plan: Charting Multiple Life Paths

The speaker introduces the 'Odyssey plan,' a technique from 'Designing Your Life' by Dave Evans and Bill Burnett, which encourages envisioning life along three distinct paths: the current path, an alternative path, and a radical path free from constraints. The exercise prompts detailed envisioning of what life would look like in five years for each path, aiming to reveal the range of options available and to challenge the audience to think beyond their current trajectory. The speaker shares personal reflections on the impact of this exercise, noting how it can lead to a realization of the need for change and a clearer direction for personal goals.

15:03

🎯 Setting 12-Month Goals: From Vision to Action

The speaker transitions from long-term dreaming to setting tangible 12-month goals, suggesting a focus on 3-5 key objectives. They recommend a reflective exercise where one imagines celebrating these achievements a year in the future, emphasizing the importance of having clear reasons (why), strategies (how), and timelines (when) for each goal. The speaker shares their personal goal of achieving financial freedom and how focusing on this single goal has directed their actions and consumption of content. They conclude by emphasizing the value of writing down and regularly reviewing one's goals as a means of driving progress and change.

📘 Conclusion: The Power of Goal Setting and Reflection

In conclusion, the speaker summarizes the three-part series, reiterating the importance of identifying long-term dreams, current status, and setting 12-month goals with clear why, how, and when. They encourage the audience to engage with the full series for a deeper understanding of these concepts and to embrace the process of self-reflection and goal setting. The speaker highlights the significance of writing down goals and the impact it can have on directing one's life towards achieving what truly matters.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Dreamlining

Dreamlining is a method for envisioning one's aspirations over a long-term horizon, such as 10 years. It encourages individuals to think beyond their immediate circumstances and to list out their dreams and desires without limitation. In the video, the speaker uses the dreamlining method to prompt viewers to consider what they might want to achieve or experience in the next decade, as part of the process of setting goals to change their lives within a year.

💡Odyssey Plan

The Odyssey Plan is a strategic exercise that originates from the book 'Designing Your Life' by Dave Evans and Bill Burnett. It involves envisioning three distinct paths for one's life: the current path, an alternative path, and a radical path, which disregards financial and social constraints. The video uses this method to help viewers explore different potential futures, ultimately to inform their 12-month goals and to challenge the status quo of their current life trajectory.

💡12-Month Celebration

The 12-Month Celebration is a goal-setting technique where individuals define 3 to 5 goals they aim to achieve within the next year. The concept is to imagine celebrating these achievements with a friend after 12 months. This method is highlighted in the video as a way to distill long-term dreams into actionable, short-term objectives that can significantly impact one's life in a year.

💡Manifestation

Manifestation, in the context of the video, refers to the process of materializing one's desires or goals into reality through focused thought, intention, and action. The video suggests that by writing down and regularly reviewing one's goals, individuals can harness the power of manifestation to attract the experiences and outcomes they desire.

💡Goal Setting

Goal setting is the process of identifying and prioritizing specific objectives one aims to achieve. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of setting clear, actionable goals for the next 12 months, and provides a framework for determining why, how, and when these goals will be pursued.

💡Personal Development

Personal development encompasses the activities and practices an individual engages in to improve personal growth and self-improvement. The video's theme of setting and achieving goals is a fundamental aspect of personal development, as it encourages viewers to reflect on their desires and take deliberate steps toward realizing them.

💡North Star

In the video, the 'North Star' metaphorically represents a guiding light or a fixed point that provides direction and purpose. It is used to describe the ultimate goal or vision that an individual sets for themselves, which remains constant while other aspects of their life may change.

💡Financial Freedom

Financial freedom is a state where one has enough wealth and income to cover all their needs and desires without being tied to a traditional job or source of income. The speaker in the video discusses financial freedom as a personal goal that has directed their life choices and content consumption, illustrating the power of focusing on a single, transformative objective.

💡Progressive Overload

Progressive overload is a training principle used in fitness and exercise regimens, where the stress placed upon the body is gradually increased over time to promote physical adaptation and growth. The video mentions this concept as part of the 'how' strategy for achieving the goal of being in the best shape of one's life.

💡Mindful Pursuit

Mindful pursuit refers to the deliberate and intentional focus on a single goal or objective. The video uses this term to describe the concentrated effort required to achieve significant life goals, such as financial freedom, by directing one's thoughts, actions, and resources towards that goal.

💡Time Management

Time management involves the organization and allocation of time to increase efficiency and effectiveness in achieving goals. The video touches on the importance of time management in the context of working towards one's 12-month goals, suggesting that being specific about when one will work on their goals is crucial for success.

Highlights

The concept of changing one's life in a year by efficiently moving from current point A to desired point B in 12 months, enjoying the journey.

The importance of identifying one's current situation and desired destination, as discussed in the first two videos of the series.

Introduction of the 'dreamlining' method inspired by Tim Ferriss, Jim Rohn, and Zig Ziglar for long-term goal setting.

The exercise of listing dreams for the next 10 years to encourage thinking beyond day-to-day life.

The recommendation to write down dreams without overthinking, aiming for quantity over quality to capture a wide range of aspirations.

The assertion that writing dreams down by hand may increase mental pathways and the benefits of doing so.

The encouragement to list even materialistic dreams without fear of judgment, as they are personal and not for public sharing.

The Odyssey plan from Dave Evans and Bill Burnett, promoting divergent thinking about one's life path.

The exercise to detail life in 5 years on the current path, an alternative path, and a 'radical path' free from constraints.

The value of the Odyssey plan in recognizing the potential for change and the limitations of sticking to the current path.

The method of setting 12-month 'celebration' goals, focusing on 3-5 key areas to achieve in the next year.

The importance of identifying the 'why' behind each goal to increase the likelihood of achieving it.

The strategy of determining the 'how' for each goal, outlining the major steps needed to reach the objective.

The question of 'when' to work on goals, emphasizing the need for specificity in time management.

The personal anecdote of focusing on financial freedom as a singular goal and how it directed life choices and content consumption.

The assertion that setting and regularly reviewing goals can create a 'magical' effect on progress towards those goals.

The conclusion emphasizing the value of the three-part series in helping to identify and work towards life goals.

Transcripts

play00:00

hey friends welcome back to the channel

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so what does it mean for a given person

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like you watching this video right now

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to change your life in a year well I

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think it mainly comes down to one simple

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idea which is to go from where you are

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right now point a to where you want to

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be 12 months from now point B as

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efficiently as possible I.E in as few

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steps as possible while enjoying the

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journey along the way now this is simple

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but not very easy and one of the tricky

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things is to actually figure out where

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you are right now and where you actually

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want to be and that's what we figured

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out in the first two videos in this

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three-part video series so in part one

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we figured out what's our North Star and

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what is the sort of destination we want

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to get to and in part two we tried to

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figure out where we are right now based

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on our past and present experiences but

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now we're bringing everything down to

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just the 12 months time Horizon changing

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your life in a year and so we need to

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figure out how to go from A to B as

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efficiently as possible and while

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enjoying the journey along the way and

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in this video we're going to go over

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three of my favorite methods for doing

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just that okay so the first method for

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changing your life in a year is the

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dreamlining method now I first came

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across this from Tim Ferris 4our work

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week but it's also an amalgamation of a

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couple of methods by Jim ran and Zig

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Ziggler who were like big OG

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productivity Guru type people in like

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the 20th century and the idea behind the

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dream learning method is that you

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basically ask yourself the question in

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the next 10 years what are the sorts of

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dreams that I might like dream for

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myself and I really like this exercise

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because it encourages us to go outside

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of our usual day-to-day and actually

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think a little bit longer term and so

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here is the prompt that's worth thinking

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about in the next 10 years what do you

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want to learn what do you want to have

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who do you want to be what do you want

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to try what do you want to see what do

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you want want to do where do you want to

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go what do you want to create what do

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you want to contribute to and what do

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you want to overcome now what I'd really

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encourage you to do is pause the video

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right now with all of these 10 things on

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screen and just take 10 minutes set a

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10-minute timer on your phone and just

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like write this down and the goal here

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is to go for quantity rather than

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quality your goal almost is to just keep

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the pen going as much as possible and

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almost like write as much as you can

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without even taking the pen off the page

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yes you can type it if you want but I

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actually think there's something even

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more powerful about writing this stuff

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down and there is some evidence that

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writing things down by hand also kind of

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increases the Pathways in our mind and

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all that fun stuff but I'd really

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encourage you to pause the video right

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now and please do this exercise I

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guarantee if you actually do this

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exercise it will change something about

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your life okay so I hope you've done

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that but if you're struggling with this

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then usually perfectionism gets in the

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way a lot of people will think oh no but

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like now I have to think so hard and

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really the point of this exercise is you

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don't want to think too hard about it

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you kind of know in your core and in

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your heart what are some of the these

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things that you want and if you let the

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head get in the way if you let the Mind

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think no that's not possible no I can't

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do that no I could possibly have that

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then that's sort of defeating the point

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this is not a list you need to share

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with anyone it's not a list you're going

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to post on Instagram it's just a

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personal list for yourself and we're

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just brainstorming we're brainstorming

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some ideas here so one way of thinking

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about this actually is that if there's

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anything in the next 10 years that you

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think you might want or there's even a

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remote possibility that you might want

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it you have to put it down on the list

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and I want you to imagine that if you

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don't put it down on the list it is not

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going to happen but if you do put it

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down on the list then there is at least

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a possibility that it might happen so if

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you think for example maybe in the next

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10 years I might want to write a book

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maybe I've got 0.1% certainty that I

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might want to write a book that's enough

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put put down write a book on your

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10-year dream list the other thing with

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this method is that don't worry about

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coming across as as a materialistic

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basically like don't worry about it we

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are taught in society that it's wrong to

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want things to have but you know when I

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do this dream thing you know I want to

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have a nice big house want to have a

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loving family and also I want to have a

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nicer car like I want to upgrade to the

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Tesla Model L you know it's it's

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actually totally fine to put down these

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sorts of materialistic things again

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you're not sharing the list with anyone

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unless you make a YouTube video about it

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so don't allow yourself to be held back

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by like the sphere of like no it's wrong

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of me to want something that costs large

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amounts of money if you think you might

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want it put it on the list and you can

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work towards it and maybe as you get

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there you'll realize you don't actually

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want it but at least you're like going

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in the direction that you've defined for

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yourself and there's a link down in the

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video description if you want a free

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Google doc that has this all these

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questions along with my answers so for

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whatever it's worth you can see what

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sort of things I wrote down in response

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to these questions now especially in

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that category of like things that you

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want to learn one of your 10year dreams

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as mine was might be to learn computer

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science and if that's the case you may

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like to check out the sponsor of this

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science ones cuz actually when I was

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applying to Med school I was actually

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torn between medical school and computer

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science cuz I was interested in coding

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and I went for medicine in the end which

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I don't regret but I always harbored

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this interest in computer science and so

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the courses on brilliant you know the

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introduction to algorithms and how to

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program in Python and the other stuff in

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the computer science series have been

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itch to learn a little bit more about

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how computers and about how coding works

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in particular one of the new courses

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thinking in code is also really nice

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because it helps you solve real world

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problems using Code which is also a

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really cool way to level up your own

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General problem solving abilities

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whatever your skill level brilliant

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thank you so much to brilliant for

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sponsoring this video all right so now

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that we've got our 10year dreams vaguely

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pencil sketched out just a sort of sense

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of what I maybe might want in the next

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10 years let's now move on to Method

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number two which is bringing it down to

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a 5-year time Horizon and Method number

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two is the Odyssey plan now this is an

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amazing exercise from the book designing

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your life by Dave Evans and Bill Bernett

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they are professors at Stanford Business

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School and they have a class about how

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to apply design thinking to your actual

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life now the idea of the Odyssey plan is

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that you have these three different

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prompts the first prompt is your current

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path and the prompt is write out in

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detail what your life looks like 5 years

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from now if you continue down your

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current path path so again what I would

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really recommend you do is you pause

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this video and you take action and you

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actually spend 5 minutes just drafting

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out pen and paper Apple notes whatever

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the hell you want to use what does your

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life look like 5 years from now if you

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continue down whatever path you're

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already on and it's useful here to

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really imagine like what does an actual

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day in the life look like what time are

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you waking up what are you doing for

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breakfast how long are you committing to

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work are you even working like what's

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going on there what are you doing at

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work what time is your lunch break what

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time do you get back from work what do

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you do in the evenings like what does a

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day in your life look like 5 years from

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now on your current path and obviously

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you're not going to know if certain but

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you can make a prettyy good guess

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depending on where you are in your life

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right now all right now we come to

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prompt number two so ignore everything

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you've written for your current path

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you're going to design A New Path and

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this is your alternative path write out

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in detail what your life looks like 5

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years from now if you took a completely

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different path so I took some people

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through this exercise when I gave a talk

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at Google a few months ago and all of

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them were software engineers and so what

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you know their current path was

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continuing down the route of software

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engineering whereas the alternative path

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what I said to them is like all right

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guys you're no longer allowed to do

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software engineering as a career and you

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also get fired from Google and you not

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allowed to apply for another job at

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Google what does your alternative path

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look like in that context so that just

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hopefully gives you an idea of like what

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we're talking about with current versus

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alternative and again I'd recommend you

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pause the video write it down because I

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guarantee this exercise has the

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potential to change your life if you

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actually do the work and then once

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you've done that we now have the most

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interesting question which is ignore

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your answers to the first two prompts

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the current path and the alternative

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path and now write out your radical path

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write out in detail what your life looks

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like 5 years from now if money and

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social obligations and what people would

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think were completely irrelevant I would

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recommend you pause the video think

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about it write it down and I guarantee

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if you do it really has the potential to

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change your life now the whole idea

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behind the Odyssey plan is not that

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you're necessarily picking one of these

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or picking an amalgamation of them but

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it just gives you permission to think a

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little bit more divergently to think a

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little bit more broad because all of us

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have a tendency to stick to the path

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that we already on and we fail to

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realize that actually what wherever you

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are in your life right now even though

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it might not seem like it you actually

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have loads of different options if you

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are sitting here watching this video

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video right now on some kind of device

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you have more options than like 90% of

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the world's population or however Grim

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you think your situation individually

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might be now whenever I bring up this

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Odyssey plan to people there are always

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people in the audience that say oh but

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you know what about these Financial

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constraints I have what about these

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family obligations and you know this

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sort I can't just abandon my kids can I

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and yes I'm not suggesting you abandon

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your kids the current path is the path

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that you're currently on with all of the

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financial and family and all of these

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social obligations that you currently

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have the alternative path is those

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obligations are still intact it's just

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you have to take a different path but

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the radical path asks us to imagine a

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world in which just like imagine what if

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money were No Object what if you just

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had 100 million in the bank how would

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you then be spending your time what

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might that path look like and the whole

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idea behind the whole social obligation

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thing it's not that you're going to

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abandon your kids in this in this

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radical path the idea is that you're not

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worried about what other people will

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think often the fear of what others will

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think and the Judgment they might bring

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on us holds us back from achieving the

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things that we actually want to achieve

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in life obviously if you have kids

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you've got to deal with the kids like

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I'm not suggesting you mad on your kids

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like that's not the goal of this the

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goal is to to just break free of the

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limitations of what Society is telling

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you you need to do with your life based

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on what you've already done up to this

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point now I think a lot of people might

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think that the value of something like

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the Odyssey plan is these alternative

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Futures that you're imagining but

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actually for me when I did this in 2019

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the main value I got from it was

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recognizing what is the life I will have

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if I continue down my current path and I

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actually wrote about it in My Weekly

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Newsletter that I've been writing every

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week since 2018 so this is what I wrote

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out when I was around 25 um and this was

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about four something years ago uh and

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feel free to pause the video if you want

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to have a read of it but then this is

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what I wrote in my email afterwards when

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I was writing this out I honestly felt a

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bit depressed I had a feeling of is this

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really it I guess it's similar to the

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classic midlife crisis that you're

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supposed to have when you hit 40 when

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you realize that your life is basically

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over don't get me wrong this Future

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Vision is a pretty idelic life but

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there's nothing particularly cool about

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it it's just a very standard result of

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the path I'm currently on and if I think

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about the climb the process of getting

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there it's pretty pedestrian I just have

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to do more of what I've been doing for

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the last few years churn out more

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YouTube videos launch a few more more

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online courses and next thing I know

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I'll be 30 looking back and wondering

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where my 20s went now this exercise was

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really impactful for me because it made

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me realize that you know this current

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path it's not really the path I want

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there are aspects of it I like I like

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the idea of continuing to make YouTube

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videos but do I really want to be

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training as a part-time traine in

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anesthetics and supervising physiology

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on the side just seemed a bit not very

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exciting and that was the realization

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that made me realize oh hang on I can

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make a change to what I'm doing right

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now and I can actually choose the sort

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of direction that I want to take with my

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life and I can actually tweak what I'm

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currently doing to land at an entirely

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different destination okay so what does

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all this have to do with our goal here

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which is to change your life in the next

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year well the idea behind figuring out

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what you want in the next 10 years and

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figuring out what you might possibly

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kind of aim for in the next five is to

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ultimately boil it down to a list of

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things that we want to achieve in the

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next 12 months and this is Method number

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three which is the 12mon celebration

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what you want to do is basically pick

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somewhere between 3 to five goals that

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you're going to focus on for the next 12

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months and I call it a celebration

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because the way I like to figure the

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these goals out is by imagining 12

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months from now I'm sitting across with

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a friend and we're having coffee and

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we're celebrating the progress we've

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made in our lives and how great things

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have gone over the last 12 months and

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usually I like to have at least one

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thing for health one thing for

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relationships and one thing for work and

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I don't like to have more than five

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because I think four is a good number

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because like more than five you start to

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not really remember what you're focusing

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on you start to focus on too many things

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and so I would encourage you to post the

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video right now and have a think 12

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months from now what would you like to

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be celebrating with a friend in your

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health in your work and in your

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relationships and any other category of

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life that you might choose to celebrate

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things in and this is why figuring out

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what our 10year dreams are is often

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helpful because mostly people find that

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a lot of their 10year dreams could

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actually be accomplished in the next 12

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months if they really set their mind to

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it and even just deciding that and

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making that list and writing it down and

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just looking at it every now and then is

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basically guaranteed to change your life

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this is this whole idea of manifestation

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but manifestation is really just like

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you've set a goal in your mind and now

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your brain your default mode Network

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your reticular activating system all of

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these like aspects of the brain and mind

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are focused then on like recognizing

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those things that will get you closer to

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your goal but if you want to make this

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even more powerful then there are three

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follow-up questions you may want to ask

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yourself for each of these three to five

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goals and those questions are why how

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and when so the first one is why why is

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this goal actually important to you the

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more reasons you have for doing

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something the more likely you are to do

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it whereas the fewer reasons you have

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the less likely you are to do it if

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something is really important to you you

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know starting with why really connecting

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to the purpose behind it it is far more

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likely to happen compared to if it's

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just a thing that you just sort of maybe

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feel like doing and don't have really

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any compelling reasons to do the thing

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secondly how are you going to do the

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thing what are the three to five major

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moves that will help you get to that

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goal so for example one of my goals for

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2024 is to get into the best shape of my

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life why because of various reasons to

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involving improving my appearance

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improving my cardiovascular health

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improving my stamina I don't want to die

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young I've kind of got a bit of a belly

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and poor genetics so I want to get rid

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of all that stuff I don't want to have

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my increased risk of cardiovascular

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events or Strokes like that run in the

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family there's all sorts of reasons I

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have for wanting to get into the best

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shape of my life and then if I figure

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out the how the how is like the three to

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five main moves that are going to get

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there and so what are those it's gym

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three to four times a week Progressive

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overload eating healthily and eating

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lots of protein and honestly if I

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actually went to the gym three to four

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times a week with Progressive overload

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with healthy eating and enough protein

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I'm basically guaranteed to get I'm

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basically guaranteed to get to my goal

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of being in the best shape of my life

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and that's how I know that I've got the

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right plan at least for now and then the

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final question is when when are you

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going to find the time to work on those

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specific things and really getting spef

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specific on what that actually looks

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like is going to be ridiculously

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important and if you're interested in

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the specific method that I use to manage

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my time and do all this stuff that'll be

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linked up there and down below it's the

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Trident method for managing your time

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now for me I'm going to be honest I did

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not have a systematic way of setting

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goals back in the day I've only recently

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come across a lot of this stuff uh as

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I've been reading a lot about the signs

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of goal setting and things like that but

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if I connect the Dos looking backwards

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oh you know one thing that I did

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actually do is the Odyssey plan and you

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can see the results of that um but every

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year I would try and set goals and I

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would sort of come up with a bunch of

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random ones and I've been doing like

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annual reviews on notion since 2019 so

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but but there were always goals like I

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want to learn the guitar I want to learn

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how to sing I want to get into a

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relationship I want to improve my

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posture I want to become a gym shark

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athlete there were just too many things

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but if I really think about it I only

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really had one goal when I started this

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YouTube channel and sort of worked on

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this business and that one goal was the

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goal of Financial Freedom I knew that

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like with every fiber of my being that I

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never wanted to be Shackled to a job

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that I didn't enjoy and I saw so many

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doctors around me absolutely miserable

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at work and I was like this is my

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personal definition of hell so the thing

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that I would think about in the shower

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the podcast I would listen to on the way

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to work and back the YouTube videos I

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would I would be watching the courses

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I'd be taking the books that I'd be

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reading all of this stuff was all

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focused on this one goal of how do I

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Achieve Financial Freedom you know I was

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giving a talk at at Cambridge yesterday

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to a bunch of medical students and a

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bunch of them were asking you know what

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are your tips for making money one of

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them was tutoring for 440 an hour and I

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was like he was like you know I'm doing

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some private tutoring and I was like how

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much money you're making he was like oh

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it's a lot of money I was like how much

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it was like £40 an hour oh my God so

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much money it's like $50 an hour and I

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was was like ah BR um he I you know I

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then asked asked some follow-up

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questions and he was I was like okay you

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know what are we aiming for and he was

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like you know I really want to build a

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business and you know make lots of money

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Achieve Financial Freedom and I asked

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him okay how many books have you read

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about building a business he was like

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zero I was like how many YouTube videos

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do you watch about building a business I

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was like you know just yours I was like

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do you watch any Alex hosi stuff no how

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many podcasts do you listen to about

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building business I was like I mean I

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don't have time to listen to podcasts

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I'm a I'm a student and I was like oh

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I'm not knocking the guy cuz it's good

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that he was making for 40 quit an hour

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as a private tutor but when you set your

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goal on like this one thing and you

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Orient your life towards just that one

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thing you know like Michael Phelps all

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he probably thinks about is swimming

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right he's not thinking he's not

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worrying about all these other 18

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different goalss that he wants to

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achieve he's focused on that one thing

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and doing that one thing really well and

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he lives and breathes that one thing

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similarly even now I'm still focused on

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the goal of growing my business that's

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one of my three goals for the year also

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focused on my health which is why I did

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a personal trainer session this morning

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but I'm so focused on that that like

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I've like today it's it's like 2:30 and

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I've already listen to like three

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podcasts at 2 2.5 XP all about growing a

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business and this is what I think a lot

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of people don't realize that this sort

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of stuff doesn't just happen

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accidentally I have not met a single

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entrepreneur who has achieved Financial

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Freedom who has not dedicated a lot of

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their life to the Mindless pursuit of

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that one thing there's a good book by

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Felix Dennis called how to get rich

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which basically talks about that if you

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actually want to get rich you have to

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devote your life to that one goal I'm

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not saying that that's what you should

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want but if you do want it then it's

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worth recognizing that there is value in

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focusing there's value in focusing on

play16:30

that goal and like orienting your life

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towards it and orienting the consumption

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of content and reading and writing and

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like podcasting and audiobooks and all

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the stuff towards that one goal if your

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one goal is to get really good grades in

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your exams then obviously you you

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already spending a lot of your time

play16:43

doing that thing but for some reason

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when it comes to non-w workk themed

play16:46

stuff non-academic stuff we don't

play16:48

realize that based on the goal you

play16:50

should absolutely change your behaviors

play16:51

if you actually care about achieving

play16:52

that goal now what have I said in this

play16:54

video I've basically said figure out

play16:55

what you want in the next 10 years

play16:56

figure out what you might want in the

play16:57

next 5 and and then turn it into a bunch

play16:59

of 12-month goals it's the basic

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standard advice that every personal

play17:03

development and like personal growth and

play17:04

self-help book has been spouting since

play17:06

the dawn of time but it's still

play17:08

ridiculously valuable and yeah loads of

play17:09

people set 12-month goals but then how

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often do they actually think why how and

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when how often do they actually look at

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those goals you know one thing that

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often sometimes super successful people

play17:19

say is that all you need to do is write

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down what you want to do and just look

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at that list every every day and even

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just that act of writing down what you

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want and actually looking at it every

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day will nudge your brain and your mind

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and your behavior towards that direction

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and yeah you might not be able to

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specify exactly what the timeline for

play17:35

the thing is like when you're going to

play17:36

achieve the goal but if you write it

play17:37

down and look at it every day it's often

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magical how the brain somehow finds

play17:42

different things to latch onto and helps

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you get towards that thing that you

play17:45

think you want but you have to write it

play17:47

down so this brings us to the end of our

play17:49

three-part series on how to figure out

play17:51

what you actually want in part one we

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talked about finding your North Star in

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part two we talked about finding where

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you are right now and in part three in

play17:58

this part we've talked about boiling it

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all down to a series of 12- month goals

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and defining a why a how and a when for

play18:05

each of these three to 5 12- month goals

play18:07

if you haven't seen the other videos in

play18:08

the series I'd recommend you might like

play18:09

to check them out especially if you've

play18:10

got to this part of the video you

play18:12

probably Vibe with this sort of stuff

play18:13

and genuinely these are all like

play18:14

journaling prompt things like like no

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one can tell you what you want in life

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it's a really hard question to answer

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but it's not an impossible question to

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answer and I think a lot of us have the

play18:23

default assumption that like oh it's

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just you know it's it's sort of like the

play18:25

meaning of life like like there's no

play18:27

answers but it's it's not like the

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meaning of life in that there are

play18:29

answers and those answers you can get at

play18:31

through a systematic process of

play18:33

journaling prompts of reflection and

play18:35

ideally of writing things down and the

play18:37

importance really of writing things down

play18:38

it's like if you're trying to solve a

play18:39

complex mathematical equation you

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wouldn't try and do it in your head you

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would write things down and the complex

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mathematical equation of what you

play18:46

actually want is exactly the sort of

play18:48

thing that benefits from some serious

play18:50

thought serious effort because if you

play18:52

change the things that you want that

play18:54

completely changes your direction in

play18:55

life and so really the more effort you

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can put into figuring out this

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fundamental question of what do I

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actually want the more likely you are to

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actually get it now if you haven't seen

play19:03

episode one or two in the series episode

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one will be linked over there around

play19:06

finding our North Star and episode two

play19:08

will be linked over here around figuring

play19:09

out where you are and what you actually

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want so thank you so much for watching I

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hope you enjoyed the series and I'll see

play19:13

you in the next video bye-bye

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Related Tags
Life ChangeGoal SettingDreamliningOdyssey Plan12-Month GoalsPersonal GrowthProductivity TipsSelf-HelpFuture PlanningSuccess StrategiesLife Design