Now that it’s officially spring, and with Q2 just on the horizon, let’s check to make sure you’re on track to hit your targets.
The Life Audit
Every quarter I do a life audit, which is a collection of exercises. Some I’ve found from other people, some I’ve created myself. Here are some examples you can use for free right now.
Fear Setting - Tim Ferriss
This exercise comes from the entrepreneur, angel investor, and podcaster Tim Ferriss.
His TED Talk has over 3.8 million views. His blog has a more comprehensive picture, but here is the gist:
Conquering Fear = Defining Fear
If you’re nervous about making a jump or simply putting something off out of fear of the unknown, here is your antidote.
Keep in mind you should write down your answers, and that thinking a lot will not prove as fruitful as simply brain vomiting on the page. Write and do not edit—aim for volume. Spend a few minutes on each answer.
Define your nightmare, the absolute worst that could happen if you did what you really want to do with your time.
What doubt, fears, and “what-ifs” pop up as you consider the big changes you can—or need—to make?
Envision them in painstaking detail.
Would it be the end of your life? What would be the permanent impact, if any, on a scale of 1–10? Are these things really permanent? How likely do you think it is that they would actually happen?
What steps could you take to repair the damage or get things back on the upswing, even if temporarily?
Chances are, it’s easier than you imagine. How could you get things back under control?
What are the outcomes or benefits, both temporary and permanent, of more probable scenarios?
Now that you’ve defined the nightmare, what are the more probable or definite positive outcomes, whether internal (confidence, self-esteem, etc.) or external?
What would the impact of these more likely outcomes be on a scale of 1–10?
How likely is it that you could produce at least a moderately good outcome? Have less intelligent people done this before and pulled it off?
If you were fired from your job today, what would you do to get things under financial control?
Imagine this scenario and run through questions 1–3 above.
If you quit your job to test other options, how could you later get back on the same career track if you absolutely had to?
What are you putting off out of fear? Usually, what we most fear doing is what we most need to do. That phone call, that conversation, whatever the action might be—it is fear of unknown outcomes that prevents us from doing what we need to do.
Define the worst case, accept it, and do it.
I’ll repeat something you might consider tattooing on your forehead: What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.
As I have heard said, a person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.
Resolve to do one thing every day that you fear.
What is it costing you—financially, emotionally, and physically—to postpone action? Don’t only evaluate the potential downside of action. It is equally important to measure the atrocious cost of inaction.
If you don’t pursue those things that excite you, where will you be in one year, five years, and ten years?
How will you feel having allowed circumstance to impose itself upon you and having allowed ten more years of your finite life to pass doing what you know will not fulfill you?
If you telescope out 10 years and know with 100% certainty that it is a path of disappointment and regret, and if we define risk as “the likelihood of an irreversible negative outcome,” inaction is the greatest risk of all.
What are you waiting for? If you cannot answer this without resorting to the previously rejected concept of good timing, the answer is simple: You’re afraid, just like the rest of the world.
Measure the cost of inaction, realize the unlikelihood and reparability of most missteps, and develop the most important habit of those who excel and enjoy doing so: action.
Becoming the CEO of your Life - Shane Parrish
This advice comes from Shane Parrish, the author and entrepreneur behind Farnam Street.
Imagine you took over your life today. The previous CEO was fired and you now have full control over your life. You inherited those decisions, you cannot change the past.
If you wanted to be more successful, what would you stop?
What would you start?
What’s getting in the way?
What gives me energy?
What drains me?
What gives me meaning?
What seems void?
What do I want to spend MORE time on this year?
What do I want to spend LESS time on this year?
Where am I waiting for another person to make the first move?
What can I do to go positive and go first?
What can I do in the next week that will make the rest of the year easier?
What can I do this year that will leave me in a better position for next year?
Who do I spend time with that pulls me down?
Who do I spend time with that lifts me up?
What am I doing that I’d want a film crew to see?
What are the things I’m doing that I don’t want a film crew to see?
What are my goals for this year?
Do I have the right systems in place to make them happen?
What needs to change?
What are some bucket list goals I have for my life?
Is there any way I could make one of those goal happen in the next ten days?
Why or why not?
The Aspirational Hourly Rate - Naval Ravikant
This advice comes from Naval Ravikant, the entrepreneur and angel investor. I would highly recommend the book "The Almanac of Naval Ravikant" which basically lays out his philosophy for life.
In his words:
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