We have all heard the formula of reaching the American dream- go to a good college, get the right degree, find a job with a great company, put in 35 years, get a gold watch, and retire. But does that accomplish anything beyond creating an income? Does the process address the larger issues of passion, purpose, and calling? Most probably not for several people in the workplace today. In the lifestyle business, you will see the dangers of working towards security.
Yes, it’s been said that nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit than a man with a secure future. Security is not our friend. It’s most likely to bury our adventurous spirit and our passion for being fully alive.
In lifestyle business, you will see that most people have two lives- the one they are living and the one they want to live. In this, you will get to know about the six steps that will move you from your purpose, freedom, cash, and the lifestyle you have been wanting.
1. Plan With Purpose
The first step to shifting towards the life that you want to live is to define what that life looks like. Then you have to build a roadmap for yourself that directs you from where you are and where you want to be.
Define what this means to you. What does your ideal lifestyle look like? What’s your vision for the future? What your core values are? What legacy will you leave behind yourself? It gives you something to strive towards.
After this, you have to decide the type of business you want to create which will enable new opportunities for you. Make a list of the characteristics and describe your ideal business which enables your ideal lifestyle. For this think about what your ideal routine looks like and work towards it.
When you know what your ideal day and lifestyle look like, you can proceed to determine the gaps. After this, you have to take some steps to turn it into a reality. You have to make a vision board and then look at where you currently are concerning the experience. Consider the following things to measure it:-
- What logical steps do I need to follow? You can do research and find out how other people have accomplished these goals.
- What have those other people done to accomplish this goal? Find those people and ask for some suggestions and advice that they could give you.
- Determine the expenses you need to accomplish those goals.
All these points will now help you clarify your destination. After defining your destination, starting point, and the changes required, you have to combine them all into a single roadmap. Fix a timeline and layout for each goal, say 5 or 10 years. Now, divide these goals into small timeframes to achieve them on time. Set check-in points to reflect and evaluate the whole process by making some adjustments and planning out the next thing.
Shift your focus to the right activities rather than doing the activities fast. It will help you clarify what’s important in your life and will make your head in the right direction. With that, we can begin to implement everything that you need to start making progress on your goals.
2. Find Your Freedom
With clarity around your ideal life and roadmap in place, it’s now time to determine what you need to make that happen. You will go through and define your ‘Freedom Number.’ The amount of money and income that you need to leave your job.
This includes gathering and understanding all of your financial information, from how much you make, and how much you spend, to how much debt you have, and how much money your business provides you. This will help you to get your finances in order as well as will also help you model your business to achieve your goals.
3. Concept of Cash
Once you know what it looks like you achieve financial freedom, your next course of action is to create a business that will enable you to achieve it.
Most people go about this process by creating the product or service first, and then attempting to sell it. This kind of people often struggles to grow or increase their sales. The better formula is to start promoting your brand first.
This will show you a better way of focusing on testing and validating your idea to make sure people will pay for it before you even build it.
4. Set Up and Scale Your Systems
With your business model increasingly becoming more validated, starting with your initial set of sales and continuing with each subsequent sale, you will have to shift it into designing and organizing your business.
This can continue to grow and drive you closer and closer to your goals. You will also learn how to run a business and how to structure and organize it for efficient growth that doesn’t overtake your life.
5. Quit Your Cubicle
With a lot of hard work, some pivots along the way, and a bit of luck, your business will grow to a point where you achieve your freedom number. After that, you can leave your job to pursue your dream.
First, you should identify the need and how many people are willing to pay for it. Secondly, you should use your nights and weekends to do some shadow work for your business to make it work for you. At last, after you have earned enough money to cover your next 6 months, you are good to go. You will find a profitable niche and can quit your job without having a fear of essentials.
This is an awesome time in your life but it comes with new shifts and challenges. It will help you to make the transition from an employee to a full-time entrepreneur as seamless as possible. It also helps you navigate through some of the obstacles that will arise as you make the transition.
6. Stop Self-Sabotage
How do you make sure you don’t get in your way? Often we are our own worst enemy and inner critic. If you trust the process, you can join a small group of people who not only have big dreams but go after them to make them a reality.
You can get meaningful goals that help you live with intention with specific actions or tasks. Start with the small changes and replace one thought or behavior every day to give time to yourself. Keep a list of your strengths and acknowledge them in your work to have a better action plan. It will help you to identify the various roadblocks and barriers that will arise and navigate past them.
