STEP I: D IS FOR DEFINITION
It is much like goal-setting but differs in several fundamental respects:
i. The goals shift from ambiguous wants to defined steps.
2. The goals have to be unrealistic to be effective.
3. It focuses on activities that will fill the vacuum created when work
is removed. Living like a millionaire requires doing interesting
things and not just owning enviable things.
Now it's your turn to think big.
"►O&A: QUESTIONS AND ACTIONS
The existential vacuum manifests itself mainly in a state of
boredom.
—VIKTOR FRANKL, Auschwitz survivor and founder of
Logotherapy, Man's Search for Meaning
Life is too short to be small. —BENJAMIN DISRAELI
reamlining will be fun, and it will be hard. The harder it is, the more
you need it. To save time, I recommend using the automatic calculators
and forms at www.fourhourworkweek.com. Refer to the model worksheet
on page 57 as you complete the following steps:
1. What would you do if there were no way you could fail? If you were
10 times smarter than the rest of the world?
Create two timelines—6 months and 12 months—and list up to five
things you dream of having (including, but not limited to, material
wants: house, car, clothing, etc.), being (be a great cook, be fluent in
Chinese, etc.), and doing (visiting Thailand, tracing your roots overseas,
racing ostriches, etc.) in that order. If you have difficulty identifying
what you want in some categories, as most will, consider what you hate
or fear in each and write down
D
System Reset 55
the opposite. Do not limit yourself, and do not concern yourself
with how these things will be accomplished. For now, it's unimportant.
This is an exercise in reversing repression.
Be sure not to judge or fool yourself. If you really want a Ferrari,
don't put down solving world hunger out of guilt. For some,
the dream will be fame, for others fortune or prestige. All people
have their vices and insecurities. If something will improve your
feeling of self-worth, put it down. I have a racing motorcycle, and
quite apart from the fact that I love speed, it just makes me feel
like a cool dude. There is nothing wrong with that. Put it all down.
2. Drawing a blank?
For all their bitching about what's holding them back, most
people have a lot of trouble coming up with the defined dreams
they're being held from. This is particularly true with the "doing"
category. In that case, consider these questions:
a. What would you do, day to day, if you had $100 million in
the bank?
b. What would make you most excited to wake up in the
morning to another day?
Don't rush—think about it for a few minutes. If still blocked,
fill in the five "doing" spots with the following:
one place to visit
one thing to do before you die (a memory of a lifetime)
one thing to do daily
one thing to do weekly
one thing you've always wanted to learn
3. What does "being" entail doing?
Convert each "being" into a "doing" to make it actionable. Identify
an action that would characterize this state of being or a task
that would mean you had achieved it. People find it easier to
brainstorm "being" first, but this column is just a temporary
holding spot for "doing" actions. Here are a few examples:
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