This post starts a series of posts which will track my own experiment in creating a successful “muse.” The term is from Tim Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Workweek and references “a low maintenance business that generates significant income.” The point? To finance your ideal lifestyle and achieve income, time and location independence.
If you still haven’t read The 4-Hour Workweek, go grab a copy today and jump in. In it, Ferriss provides a comprehensive instruction guide to creating your own muse and what could be better than low maintenance cash flow?
Why now? Well, let me ask you a question. How much of your mental and physical energy is devoted to creating wealth and financial freedom for someone else?
I turned down a steady paycheck in exchange for time and mobility, in order to create a writing career while living my ideal lifestyle. One still must pay the bills, though. While I have been fortunate to enjoy a variety of fun and challenging income opportunities, it is counterintuitive to continue to invest my creativity and mental energy into others when my own goal requires so much of it and will yield much greater rewards.
I encourage any of you interested in creating your own muse to follow along and share your own progress and mistakes along the way. Before we jump in, a few points on preparation (especially since entrepreneurial-minded folks tend to bypass these steps):
- You need (read: must have) an emergency fund. Touring manufacturing factories in China is expensive. Even if you create a super low overhead muse, like an instant download, you are still going to invest some cash. There is no need to go bankrupt because you had to have your appendix out right after your dropped your last bit of cash into your muse.
- You need steady minimum income. If your muse fails, you still need food, shelter and transportation. Injecting pressure and stress into the muse creation process is not going to improve your odds. Keep your day job or pick up a part-time job to pay the bills while you get your muse going.
- If you are married, you need your spouse on board. That doesn’t mean that you vaguely ran it by them and they nodded while preparing dinner. Two enthusiastic brains are much better than one. Even more importantly, you need their support in the time and cash investment.
On a final note, you need to be excited by the prospects of your muse. What would your life be like if you had nearly automatic cash flow to pay your bills? If you didn’t have to work everyday to have financial security, what would you do with your time? What could you learn, master, or achieve?
Next up in this series:
- The 4-Hour Workweek Muse Method: An outline of Ferriss’ steps for muse creation
At the age of 15, John Goddard created a list of 127 aggressive goals and entitled it, “My Life List.” He passed away last Friday at the age of 88 after a battle with cancer. In those 73 years, Goddard checked off 120 of the goals on his bucket list, and became semi-famous in the process as the self-proclaimed “World’s Greatest Goal Achiever.”
Just 10 of Goddard’s accomplishments:
- Explored the full length of the world’s longest river, the Nile (4,145 miles over 9 months) – Goddard led the first expedition down the Nile in history. The LA Times called it the “most amazing adventure of this generation.”
- Climbed Mt Kilimanjaro (and many others, including the Matterhorn, continuing on even when his guides turned back due to dangerous conditions)
- Studied and lived with more than 260 different tribal communities
- Became a pilot (and flew more than 40 types of aircraft with multiple civilian air records)
- Retraced the route of Marco Polo through the Middle East, Asia and China
- Bagged “camera trophies” of an elephant, lion, rhino, cheetah, cape buffalo and whale
- Learned fencing, jujitsu, surfing, and archery, as well as proficiency with a lariat and boomerang
- Wrote a book and published an article in National Geographic Magazine
- Lit a match with a .22 rifle
- Circumnavigated the globe (four times)
You can check out Goddard’s full bucket list here.
Goddard was just a regular kid born here in Utah who went on to be called the “real life Indiana Jones.” It doesn’t matter if you are 15 or 50, Goddard said it best:
If you really know what you want out of life, it’s amazing how opportunities will come to enable you to carry them out.”
Do you have a bucket list yet? If you don’t, now might be a good time to reconnect with your dreams, no matter how wild. If you do, when was the last time you reviewed your list?
Regardless of whether you just started your list right now or have one you carry in your wallet, what goal are you tackling next?
The Traveler’s Gift was Andy Andrews first book to achieve widespread recognition and truly create traction for the author’s constant message. The Final Summit is Andrews’ sequel to the story of David Ponder, a present day man of all men who received The Seven Decisions that would create a successful life.
Within The Final Summit, Ponder is much older and has recently lost his wife. Despite feeling that the end must be near, and as the author consistently communicates in most of his works, the fact that there is breath in his body means that he still has purpose to fulfill.
Within a distinctive Christian framework which either aligns with your own beliefs or presents an unoffensive metaphorical story, The Final Summit is a quest to save modern humanity from the brink.
As usual, Andrews incorporates wisdom and stories of great leaders from history, Winston Churchill taking a leading role in The Final Summit and delivering a gem that resonated with my own path and philosophy:
Strong people are sometimes allowed a taste of success…to whet their appetite for the long haul. But there is more to learn…more to become.
Therefore, after the first act, some of us are given the gift of a vacation in the Valley of the Shadow of Death. There, in that Valley – where all of life’s fertilizer seems to have leaked into a single spot – is where we become more.
In the Valley we are allowed to think and brood. We experience loneliness and gain humility. We learn to focus our thoughts on others and not weep for ourselves.
Then and only then do we gain glorious perspective. …Perspective brings calm. Calm leads to clear thinking. Clear thinking yields ideas. And from ideas, we get answers.
Then the second act begins.
Lifestyle design is the purposeful blueprint of our second act. Early success secures the confidence that you can and will create a life of exciting purpose, experiencing fulfillment through your unique talents and gifts.
Often, the in between leap from early success to a new, different, and often uncomfortably unique version of success can feel a bit like the Valley of the Shadow of Death. The point: soak up the fertilizer and put it to use!
Giveaway! Enter to win The Final Summit in two easy steps:
1) Become an email subscriber if you aren’t already. You can subscribe here.
2) What challenge, irritation, or difficulty could be your current fertilizer for success in achieving your vision? Share your thoughts on this post.
The subscriber with the most compelling comment by the end of the day Monday will receive a brand new, SIGNED copy of The Final Summit!
MST. A special thanks to the author for providing a copy of this book for review. Contest is limited to addresses in the United States, including APO/FPO addresses with US Zip Codes.
You will inevitably encounter periods of lackluster performance when you’re relying on yourself to stay on track. It’s also often necessary to take on several focuses at once when you first escape the structure of a 9-5 career.
You still have to pay the bills, so you have a part-time consulting gig. You don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket, so you have groups and mentors you assist. When there are a few (or a few dozen) balls in the air and you hit that wall where you would rather sleep-in and catch up on your favorite sitcoms all day, your motivation needs a zap.
5 Steps to Jumpstart Your Motivation (and therefore your productivity and results):
1. Reconnect with your vision.
You took this road because of a big dream. Take time right now to envision that dream come to life. Why were you willing to sacrifice for that dream? What will your life be like when you have reached that mile marker?
My vision is that of time and mobility. A six-figure income means nothing if I am tied down to an office chair. I will know I have achieved my goal when the fruits of focusing 4 hours or less per day on 2-3 of my passions result in a published book, articles in national publications, and long-term travel with my family.
My vision is so tangible and exciting to me that, when I connect with it, I can immediately and clearly assess and take advantage of the current opportunities to make it reality.
2. Jot down your unique strengths, resources, and opportunities.
Often times we get stuck in the doldrums because our confidence wanes. When we took the leap of faith to make our dreams reality, we were 100% sure we would succeed. But months down the road (8 months for me), we can question that original certainty. We belittle our own skills, abilities, and the prudence of the original plan itself.
Going after big dreams requires flexibility. Your plan will change. My original plan was to create a book proposal and submit it to publishers until I had a contract. The first publisher immediately informed me that, without a strong following, a first-time author doesn’t have much of a chance.
Plans change, but your uniqueness doesn’t. You have everything you need to succeed. You have the necessary knowledge and ability to learn. You have the tenacity and determination. You have more opportunity than any previous generation. Review your unique offering so that you can continue to align your plans.
3. Assess why you have no desire to do the critical tasks you’re avoiding.
Avoidance isn’t always simple procrastination. Sometimes we are avoiding because of genuine roadblocks. Our tasks can get out of line or out of order. What are you avoiding, exactly? Make a list. Then, consider each task’s connection to your grand plan.
Is it critical? If not, delete it. You certainly don’t have the time and resources to waste.
Is it the right time? If not, defer it. A cluttered to-do list makes you feel unproductive and overwhelmed.
Are you the right person for the task? If your task doesn’t align with your strengths and abilities or it isn’t critical for you to be the one to complete it, delegate it. You can outsource it or ask for assistance from a mentor or friend who has those talents.
Delete, defer, and delegate. Constantly.
4. Right now, one tiny task.
Normally we can’t pull the wool over our own eyes, but this self-deceit works every time. When you first start to head toward procrastination, force yourself to simply complete one tiny task that will take less than 15 minutes.
You can wait 15 minutes before starting a DVD marathon, right? Won’t you feel better if you get that one task done? Of course. So you do it. The beautiful result is traction. “Well, that didn’t take long and I feel so good that it’s done, maybe I can just do that one other task real quick.”
Hours later you will still be snowballing toward great results for the day. The feeling of accomplishment is intoxicating.
5. Hyper-focus on one major project at a time.
I fail at this…often. I’ve met many other entrepreneurs who also lack focus. We want to accomplish so much and we know that all of the critical tasks are high priority, so we try to juggle them simultaneously. This leads to a place called burn out. It’s all too overwhelming and we don’t get any traction because we are ONE PERSON.
Recognize your singularity and pick one high priority, results-driven project to hyper-focus on. Then do the bare minimum in everything else (hint: the bare minimum for your family, health, and self is probably more than you’re doing now, so this isn’t an excuse to neglect them). Give yourself a timeframe and a milestone (ie. I will hire five new team members within two weeks).
Identify now what the next project will be so that you can shift gears quickly and channel your accomplishments into the next challenge.
What other tools and tricks have you found get you flying down the road again?
Short and sweet. Vacations, parables, and this blog post. A quick reminder of a restorative ingredient of life, and then back to reality.
The short and sweet points in life usually fade into good memories. We often fail to sow the seeds that fed our souls for that brief period of time.
Breathing in the salty smell of the ocean.
Watching the sun and the sea become one for that brief instant.
Embracing the oddities that you call family.
Letting go of your own odd insecurities.
Recognizing a life lesson that could make waves for your day to day life.
Such sweet moments that come and go in an instant.
There is one day left on my cruise through the Bahamas. Like all vacationers, it feels too soon to end. It’s not that I want to remain on a boat or the islands. It’s not that I dread returning to work. I look forward to getting back to the day to day.
What I don’t want to end is fresh perspective: the balance of contentment and excitement, the bonding with self and family, the sudden quiet in my head.
We too often pass through vacations, great books, and valuable conversations like out of towners just looking in on what we could (but yet tell ourselves we cannot) have. What one small piece of your last short, sweet moment will you carry on into your day to day routine?
I am headed on a Bahamas cruise for the next 5 days and, while anticipation is high, I am already lamenting how quickly those 5 days are going to pass. So, this morning I spent a little time researching what other travelers do to ensure they meet their vacation objectives (I know, so type A).
Tip #1. Know your objectives.
Vacation time can be filled with any number of activities. You can have a great adventure, a few small adventures, relax every day by a pool, read really great books you’ve been putting off, experience somewhere or something new, or just bond with your fellow travelers.
If you aren’t cognizant of what you want to get out of your trip and are only focused on where you are going, you can have a few regrets when you board your return flight. It’s also key to understand your fellow traveler’s objectives. If they conflict with your own, you may need to compromise ahead of time to avoid your bored friend’s pouty face while you consume a thick fiction novel.
For my cruise, my primary objective is quality time with people I care about. My mother and sister will be my cruising companions and girls only time is a rare occurrence with my mom living in Georgia. Secondary objective of trying everything new that I can. The itinerary already includes cooking local sea fare in Freeport and a “water coaster” in Nassau.
Tip #2. Pack light.
While I, like most people I imagine, have a strong urge to pack everything I could possibly need, I will be forcing myself to pack minimally, although the laptop is still on the list in order to facilitate at least two expensive blog posts (satellite internet access on the boat is a tad pricey).
Most trips are centered around one to two activities and the lighter you pack, the easier to is to get to your vacation comfortably and the more focused you can be while on vacation. On my trip I will be swimming, sunbathing, and walking around the ports. I just need a swimming suit, tennis shoes, a good pair of shorts, a couple shirts, and a pair of jeans and a light jacket, just in case.
Tip #3. Go with the flow!
This should be Tip #1 since the only folks interested in reading an ordered list of tips for getting the most out of their vacation are TYPE A to the hilt. We very often ruin our own vacations, taking others down with our desperate need to control the trip, see every sight, and have everything go according to plan. Guess what, that’s impossible.
The key to the best vacation ever is to make the most out of unexpected delays and detours from your original plan (and have a flexible plan in the first place). If it rains when we are in Nassau, having already paid for a day at the water resort? Instead of getting down about our lost opportunity and lost money, we will be better served by putting our hair up, grabbing our jackets, and exploring the city on our own, crafting fun memories along the way.
Tip #4. Disconnect.
This can be hard for most, but it is low on my list because I have discovered the value even at home of disconnecting. Turn your network service off on your phone as much as possible so that all calls go to voicemail without you even knowing you had a call. Check your messages as infrequently as possible. Better yet, identify an emergency method to get in touch with you through your cruise ship or hotel and then completely neglect your voicemails and emails for your entire trip. They will find you if you are truly needed.
Tip #5. Start vacationing ahead of time.
This is a clever little trick that I can appreciate. When you go on vacation, there are so many to do lists, lingering projects, and little details whirling through your normally crammed brain that it can days if not your entire vacation to simply stop adding up what’s next. Many of us have brain rest high on the priority list for our vacation because we are burnt out. Don’t continue to burn while you are away from work.
The trick is to start a day or two in advance of your trip. Begin to delegate your tasks for the coming week as far ahead of time as reasonable. Forward your emails and calls. Make a final list of priority to dos, make sure they will either be managed or can wait, and then throw it away. Practice brain quiet time, forcing yourself to think about nothing for longer and longer stretches. If you have to, simply picture yourself fully relaxed on your vacation. This way, when you actually are in your beach chair, you can let go and recharge like you planned.
What are your tips or rules for a fulfilling and memorable vacation?
I’m sure most of you have already read Who Moved My Cheese?, likely while you were in high school or college. But, this now-famous parable on dealing with change is well worth a revisit.
The concept is simple: Change is inevitable and if you grow too comfortable or entitled to the wealth in your life, whether financial or otherwise, you can easily overlook the signs of coming change and struggle to adapt once it arrives.
We have all witnessed and fallen prey to resistance. Change is often associated with discomfort or loss. However, as this little parable of Hem and Haw illustrates, change results in loss only when we resist it.
I might be making a few assumptions, but those of you who read blogs such as this are likely a bit more enamored with change. We tend to trigger change rather than wait for it. In fact, the point of this blog is that we can enjoy the best cheese out there by walking away from already decent cheese. We seek out Gruyere direct from Switzerland, leaving behind seran-wrapped mild cheddar.
Despite our willingness to risk our generic swiss, the parable of Who Moved My Cheese? can keep us from running back to cheddar while we are maneuvering the dark maze searching for something better.
There are two key lessons that I found impactful during the in-between:
1. The maze is fun. Appreciate the new places and skills you are learning on your journey to new cheese. Discovering new sections of the maze keeps you young, energetic, and excited (given the right attitude).
2. Enjoy the morsels of new cheese you find along the way. Regardless of how long you are in the maze, if you work hard and stay open to opportunity, you will find enough cheese along the way to keep you going. Little morsels of goat cheese, brie, and roquefort are delicious tastes of what is to come.
In the eight months since leaving my comfortable salaried position, I have learned the basics of website development, blogging best practices, graphic design, startup pitches, and desktop publishing, among many other odd skills I never thought I would develop. I have also been mentored by the best in networking and relationship development, sales, and business consulting. Finally, and the two most surprising, I now know the ins and outs of day spas and angel investing. The maze is full of surprises!
The experiences you gain while you are searching for new cheese can be exciting, challenging, and rewarding opportunities that eventually lead to the best cheese you could imagine, with tasty tidbits to munch on along the way.
Giveaway! Enter to win Who Moved My Cheese? in two easy steps:
1) Become an email subscriber if you aren’t already. You can subscribe here.
2) What morsel of tasty cheese have you encountered while in transition to something new? Share your thoughts on this post.
The subscriber with the most cheesy comment by the end of the day Monday will receive a brand new copy of Who Moved My Cheese!
MST. Contest is limited to addresses in the United States, including APO/FPO addresses with US Zip Codes.
Not all of our decisions or circumstances are going to add up to the life we seek. Obstacles can either paralyze our efforts or become our greatest lessons and allies as we stretch ourselves to adapt or change course.
With the most difficult challenges, there is a definite crossroads. One that we might linger at for days, weeks, or even years. Where we decide whether to meet the pain head-on and become more patient, selfless, and pliable or to walk away; to take a different road and let go of the time and energy we had invested, set new terms, and claim a new beginning.
Unfortunately, we aren’t able to see around the bends in either road we could take. There is no predicting which choice will lead us closer to our goals. Three questions can help create the clarity needed to make a confident decision and leave the crossroads in your past, for better or worse.
- Become a stranger. If you were to approach this decision without all of the baggage of your past, all of the regret and hope, and look solely at the two choices you have now, considering only what is possible going forward, which road would you choose?
- What is the worst possible realistic outcome of each choice? If you stick with your current route and adapt, assuming that the problem will not become any easier, what will you likely give up? If you change directions, what will you actually lose in exchange for what you will confidently gain?
- Channeling love for yourself, completely unburdened by any regrets, self-doubt, or anger, what would you choose for yourself? Considering each other person whose life will be changed by your decision, ask the same question.
Some of your answers will be in conflict. Perhaps you would honestly choose a different road for a loved one than you would choose for yourself, which could reveal your answer. Perhaps both roads could create incredible opportunities and growth and you simply need to make a choice, knowing that opportunities for change are ever present.
Ultimately, we can’t linger at the crossroads forever, numb with indecision. If you can’t come to a clear decision, commit to the road you are on and play full out. You will either discover that you do need a new road, which is always available, or you will look back at the crossroads thankful that you stuck through the bumpy part. Regardless of what you discover around the bend, you will have stretched yourself to become a better, wiser you.
There is a succinct parable that sums up the philosophy of lifestyle design. The story of the Mexican fisherman creates a stark contrast between the popularized, modern version of success and the quiet happiness of living on purpose.
An American businessman took a vacation to a small coastal Mexican village on doctor’s orders. Unable to sleep after an urgent phone call from the office the first morning, he walked to the pier to clear his head. A small boat with just one fisherman had docked, and inside the boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish.
“How long did it take you to catch them?” the American asked.
“Only a little while,” the Mexican replied in surprisingly good English.
“Why don’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?” the American then asked.
“I have enough to support my family and give a few to friends,” the Mexican said as he unloaded them into a basket.
“But…What do you do with the rest of your time?”
The Mexican looked up and smiled. “I fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, and stroll into the village each evening, where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, senor.”
The American laughed and stood tall. “Sir, I’m a Harvard MBA and can help you. You should spend more time fishing, and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. In no time, you could buy several boats with the increased haul. Eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing boats.”
He continued, “Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the consumers, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village, of course, and move to Mexico City, then to Los Angeles, and eventually New York City, where you could run your expanding enterprise with proper management.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, senor, how long will all this take?”
To which the American replied, “15-20 years, 25 tops.”
“But what then, senor?”
The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions.”
“Millions, senor? Then what?”
“Then you would retire and move to a small coastal fishing village, where you would fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play guitar with your amigos…”
If you are one of the many breaking your back and sacrificing who and what you love to climb a ladder to “success,” the story either generates defensiveness (it’s not realistic, I will get there sooner this way, etc) or an immediate realization that you want to make some changes in your life.
However, beyond the stark contrast between a New York IPO and a coastal fishing village, the Mexican fisherman can still open our eyes.
Note the first thing the Mexican fisherman does in the morning. He accomplishes his goal for the day, earning his siesta, time with his children, and time with friends doing what he loves.
Happiness is not a lazy fisherman. It is an intense focus on what creates meaning in our lives, aligning our talents and purpose, and both earning and nurturing fulfilling activity.
The fisherman thoughtfully selects and lives fully in each moment with a focus that creates peaceful abundance.
Funny enough, we look at the fisherman and feel that he is not doing enough. We look at the businessman and wish we could work as hard.
What are you fishing for, an intense career or a life?
The Noticer has been by far my favorite Andy Andrews’ book. I was completely unaware of Andrews’ life story and it is pretty incredible, but I will leave that gem for readers to discover in full detail direct from the author.
The Noticer opens your eyes to the power of perspective. It seems the common thread between our challenges and struggles is an inward, self-centered focus; an inability to transcend our own myopic view of the situation and notice the broader strokes.
Andrews’ seamlessly shares his own compelling story while weaving in a treasure trove of ah-ha lessons that so perfectly illustrate you as your biggest barrier to happiness that you want to kick yourself at the same time that you excitedly reap the rewards of new vision.
Each reader no doubt resonates with a different situation from the book. For me, the “four dialects of love” hit the spot. The concept that each of us is hardwired to communicate love through different vehicles isn’t new, but it was illustrated so efficiently within The Noticer:
- Words of Approval: The puppy dog whose whole body shakes with his wagging tail in response to praise and tone. The word of caution is driven home; if you have ever scolded a puppy, the result is heart breaking.
- Physical Contact: The cat who has not a care in the world and zero appreciation for your daily feedings and poop scooping, but endlessly purrs at your touch and shows her love by rubbing up against you.
- Favors & Deeds: The goldfish who only wants the bowl cleaned out and a bit of food dropped in to know you care.
- Quality Time: The canary who doesn’t cuddle or need your words of approval, but will die without your attention. The canary simply wants you to share space and listen to her song.
As you can see, Andrews’ version of the languages of love is incredibly memorable and lighthearted. I am a huge fan of quickly applicable lessons that can be effectively described in five minutes or less to a man (who certainly doesn’t want to read 300 pages on the topic).
The concept passed the test with my husband and we have been teasingly communicating through one another’s dialects for the past few days (him = favors and deeds, me = quality time).
The other lesson that resonated with both of us and has even spilled over into conversations with friends is also a classic:
Whatever you focus upon, increases.
While such an obvious principle, I often find myself drifting back to negative thoughts if I am not careful. Called “the downward spiral” in treatment settings, when we focus on the negative, such as what’s missing from our relationships or being short on cash, the end result is a downward spiral, both in our thoughts and in what we manifest in our lives.
Instead of worrying about money, if I instead focus on the abundance of freedom and potential in my life, I manifest the very opportunities that will create more wealth.
Instead of ruminating on who I wish my spouse was, if I instead nurture gratitude for everything that he is, I manifest the exact relationship I was hoping for.
Andrews’ describes the concept succinctly:
- When we are happy and enthusiastic, other people enjoy being around us.
- Those around us produce opportunities and encouragement.
- A life filled with opportunities and encouragement breeds more opportunities and encouragement; success becomes inevitable.
Conversely, when we are negative and disagreeable, others stay away. The person that receives less encouragement and opportunities becomes more and more entrenched in a miserable life.
The Noticer is truly one of Andrews’ best works, containing bite-sized life-changing lessons that you can immediately apply to your life with instant results, feeding a cycle of greater fulfillment and success.
Giveaway! Enter to win The Noticer in two easy steps:
1) Become an email subscriber if you aren’t already. You can subscribe here.
2) What challenge could you overcome with a little perspective? Share your thoughts on this post.
The subscriber with the most compelling comment by the end of the day Monday will receive a brand new, SIGNED copy of The Noticer!
MST. A special thanks to the author for providing a copy of this book for review. Contest is limited to addresses in the United States, including APO/FPO addresses with US Zip Codes.
