8 ways to make radical change in your life (with examples)
8 ways to make radical change in your life (with examples)
Now that Fauci is letting us play outside again, Americans are looking beyond normalcy and more towards living their life to its fullest potential. They’re more ready than ever for some radical changes.
I had this new-found desire a couple months ago when I made the big decision to ditch the international startup I was a partner of, for a life that was geared towards finding my God given potential.
Almost 6 months later, here’s what worked for me.
1. Interview 3 of the smartest people you know
When I was working for the startup, there was a critical moment surrounding how much equity I would take versus my workload and pay cut that I was admittingly too inexperienced to tackle on my own.
Not knowing where to start, I called my dad, who told me to call 3 Godly men that had been in my exact situation before with plenty of advice to share.
3 facetime calls later, I was 10X more educated to make my decision.
Each believer shared their personal stories with me, outlined what each of my options would mean in the long run, then gave their advice. Afterwards I made a mix-and-matched decision on what I was going to do based on all their inputs; A combination that was undoubtedly the best decision for myself all things considered. A decision, I might add, that was far different than what I was going to make originally.
The lesson here is simple: We all have people in our life with knowledge we don’t have. Fortunately, many of those people are willing to share if we just ask.
To this day, that whole process - though difficult and long - was one of, if not the most influential learning experiences in my entrepreneurial journey.
2. Track everything you do for 2 weeks
Toggl is a magical tool that I use all the time. It’s free, and it’s the best way to track everything I do in a day from my desktop and phone.
Now I recommend tracking everything you do at work for the rest of your life. It’s important to see where your productivity lies in the work space at all times, and it's a good safety mechanism for yourself if ever questioned in the office. Especially for remote workers.
This app will quickly highlight where you’re spending too much time, where you could apply more energy, and ultimately how you can be more efficient in the things that matter so you can incorporate more of what you love to do in your schedule without feeling guilty.
This is why I challenge you to track your entire day for at least 2 weeks.
Get a grip on how long everything in your life takes; dishes, gym workouts, sending emails, facetime calls, etc. I guarantee you’ll have a lot more clarity around where your precious time is going, have a better understanding of how much sleep you truly need, and develop a better understanding of what makes you happy in life.
Once you’ve got that down, you can go back to recording only work hours, but my bet is you’ll find so much value in the process that you’ll keep it going far beyond 14 days.
3. Create a list of “someday” goals
In life there are daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals. All of these inevitably point towards much bigger lifetime goals that are extremely hard to realize.
Goal setting in and of itself is a skillset that needs to be firstly understood, then constantly improved upon if you want to see real change in your life.
The best exercise I’ve found happens to be spending more time on those lifetime, or “someday” goals, so that you can better identify what needs to be done in the short-term.
There are two upsides to this exercise:
Better focus
Less busy work
Oftentimes we fill our days up to the brim with tasks that never amount to anything, but they make us feel good. We feel productive being constantly busy, but after a couple weeks fly by we begin to see we’re in the exact same place we started. This is a terrible feeling, especially if it happens over and over.
Here’s a good takeaway from the book Solid Ground (which I highly recommend).
Daily goals are important because they emphasize the importance of today. Monthly and annual goals are good because they help you focus on what is really important versus urgent. Someday goals are really great because they become your North Star and will keep you focused on your dreams… Whether your someday goal is living on a farm and fishing every day or owning your own company, it will be a hint as to what you should be doing today.
4. Wake up before the sun
I’ve been waking up at 4:30AM every weekday for the past 4 years because a bunch of famous people on the internet told me it was beneficial. Truth be told, they were spot on. Here are some people who swear by their morning routines; Jocko Willink, Tim Apple, Martha Stewart, Scott Adams, Bob Igor, Kevin O’Leary, and Howard Schultz.
Mark Wahlberg was the pioneer of the early morning movement in my opinion, with his infamous 2:30AM wake up time that kick started it all. Here’s the legendary IG post that shocked the world:
Mark’s reasoning: Wake up early to make time for everything else.
There are a bevy of things we’d love to do more of, like read, hit the weights, listen to podcasts, and even meditate if you’re into that sort of thing. Regardless of what those things are for you, it’s extremely difficult to implement them into your daily schedule because of all the unexpectedness that creeps into our lives as the day goes on.
“People are always taking our time, but they’re doing it much less in the morning.”
Night owls will debate that they’re just as productive at night, but I’d argue that the morning is a much better breading ground for consistency. Plus, the many benefits from focusing on yourself first thing in the morning will help you in everything else you do. Giving you the energy and peace of mind needed to be a top performer.
From my experience, here are the pros to a solid morning routine:
You’re ahead of the game.
Less Noise. The morning is a good time for creative work.
You can learn new things that are foreign to your job.
Working out is something you can do then forget about till tomorrow.
You will add 20+ hours to your week just by implementing a good sleep schedule.
Here are the negatives I’ve experienced:
A bedtime
Note: Developing a strong morning routine takes time. It’s not easy to figure out what works best for you, and people often stress themselves out by trying to replicate someone else’s routine when it’s just not feasible. My advice? Try a bunch of things to determine what works and what doesn’t. Once you figure that out, do it everyday so it becomes automatic. The end goal of a successful morning routine is one that can be done on a consistent basis while providing you with the energy, peace, and advantage to feel good and on top. My Morning Routine is a good place to start.
5. Publish an idea every day
Seth Godin is a world class marketer known in many circles for his daily blog.
Now I’m not the biggest fan of Seth’s blog, but I like his idea of publishing something every single day. Not just writing, but actually pressing "publish" on some form of content daily.
His argument: The best way to get better at something is to practice. And the best way to know if your ideas are good or not is to put them out into the world. Shipping an idea where it will face criticisms and clashing arguments is the best way to improve your communication skills whilst combating fear.
For Seth it's writing a blog post every day, but for me it ranges; Reddit post, Twitter thread, or a newsletter like this. I've found value in the practice alone, with some of my ideas receiving hundreds of interactions opposed to some receiving only 2 or 3.
My secret is simple: I use burner accounts for 6 ideas each week, and then share only my best ideas in this newsletter weekly.
Of course, it's ideal to brand build by posting something new every day on the same platform instead of using secret accounts if you want to build a following, but for inexperienced creators like myself, this form of anonymity is a good starting place for enhancing your craft.
6. Read the communist manifesto
America’s news cycle appears simple on the surface; Republicans versus democrats, a changing culture, and what’s new in the markets. In reality, there are vastly different ideologies at war that are reshaping the world, many of which have been seen throughout history before. Some even biblical.
These ideologies can rarely be simplified in a 240 character tweet, and social media does a horrible job of discussing the real issues at hand because its often riddled with empty platitudes, flat out propaganda, and the everyday virtual signaling.
That’s why I encourage you to dive deeper and really explore these complex topics so that you can have a better understanding of what’s at stake here. And what better place to develop these understandings than the source material itself.
The communist manifesto is one place to start, but there is so much more that will unveil itself if you just start looking.
I guess the title for this section could have been named “read more thought-provoking books” or “develop a deeper understanding of the issues” because those are exactly what will be unlocked after a little digging.
7. Be a human guinea pig
This country is a place filled with opportunity, but too many people aren’t willing to seize it. Particularly young people.
Someone who has taken on various opportunities and different experiences is interesting, and are the people who often come out on top in the end. Many people aren’t willing to take a pay cut or go outside of their comfort zone (myself included) to pursue or try something new, which oftentimes leads to life of regrets in old age.
Sayings like:
“Never do something you could pay someone else to do.”
“You have a college degree so you shouldn’t be doing that.”
“No one else has tried it so it must not work.”
Are empty phrases that block us from something that could actually be a great benefit to our lives in the long run.
Many famous entrepreneurs did a multitude of random things before their claim to fame simply because they were interested in them. These seemingly random experiences ultimately led them to what they’re known for today.
Not only that, but these experiences helped them make creative and innovative decisions in their later life. Only connecting the “dots” decades later when its been all said and done.
For example, during Steve Job’s 2005 Stanford commencement speech, he touched upon the impact a calligraphy course had on the iconic design and stylization of the Apple products and interfaces. What was at once considered to have no-real world implications, later led to Steve’s overwhelming success.
That speech can be watched below:
Further emphasizing the idea of opportunity in America is many organization’s willingness to train its workers. In the video below, comedian Tim Dillon highlights this idea by calling the fast food chain Sonic and asking for a job. The guy Tim calls says they’re looking to hire a cook, but that cook doesn’t need any prior experience because they’re going to be trained. They’ll also get a ton of free food too!
I like this example because it shows that you can learn to anything you want if you’re willing to try. Some people learn how to code by watching a YouTube video, but an American can gain real world experience too if they’re willing to seek it out and accept the challenge.
Many today aren’t willing to do that, but the opportunity is out there.
8. Read the bible
This has been one of the most difficult things for me to implement regularly all throughout my life. I’ve always viewed reading the bible as something that should be fluid or without structure, and something that will just organically happen because I believe in God. Not the case.
Instead, reading the bible should be viewed as another item on the to-do, because frankly that’s the only way it’s going to get accomplished.
Just like any other regimen, there should be a clearly laid out roadmap for what’s going to be accomplished (in this case read) on each day of the week. I rely on the Bible In One Year app to structure my readings, and use my morning routine to stay consistent.
Reading the bible has without a doubt been the foundation that gives me daily strength in this looney tunes world. The days I don’t read my bible are the ones where I feel lost, and it can take me a series of days to realize why I’m feeling out of sorts.
Just like any routine, it’s ok to miss a day every here and there, but never, and I mean never, ok to miss more than one in a row.
⭐ Honorable mentions ⭐
Caffeine is a tool. Weaponize it. There are two types of caffeine: The kind used for maintenance (morning coffee), and the kind used to improve effectiveness (energy drinks). Recognize the difference in your life, then minimize what you need for daily maintenance. That way you utilize caffeine for bursts of productive energy when needed most. Listen to this to learn more.
Procrastinate more. As they say, “Due today. Do today.” Nothing gets done without a little pressure. Don’t even entertain the idea of doing a little bit each day. Just be realistic. Do it all in one go and never look back. Trust me: The work quality is better, and you’ll make more gut decisions – aka the best kind of decisions – instead of questioning everything. You don’t have time for that! Rule of thumb: If you find yourself spending too much time on design, details, or formatting – at least in the beginning stages of a project – you probably don’t know what you’re doing. Focus on what really matters, which is getting the task done. The other stuff always falls into place in the end anyways.
Run so far you throw up. Also translated as “do hard things,” pushing yourself outside of your comfort zones is paramount when it comes to crushing goals. In an interview with Tim Ferris, Chip Wilson - the founder of Lululemon - talked about when he asked himself a critical question one day: What would happen if I gave 100%? He emphasized this question because people often “save a little for the next day.” The problem with this is it blocks us from seeing our true potential. Maybe we’re setting the bar too low, or perhaps we don’t even truly understand what we’re capable of yet. Regardless, pushing ourselves more and more is a key ingredient to tackling more in the long run.
Embrace Margin – If your schedule is stuffed to the brim with to-dos, you’ll quickly become a jerk because of just how inconvenient life can be. Instead, leave room for the everyday surprises. More importantly, learn to enjoy them. More on this here.
This list helped me make radical changes in my life. 6 months ago, I was looking to “level-up”, and wasn’t interested in some hoity-toity tips from a generic blog post that would inevitably lead me nowhere. These work! And I hope you can apply at least some of my tactics to your life to level up too. Thanks for reading!