My 5-Step Plan to Sculpt Your Dream Life in 2023

More fun, more $$$, and more impact

It’s a Saturday, and I’m working today.

I say working. A few hours ago, I lept out of bed, which I never used to do. I’m just too excited!

My last day at work was just under a week ago:

I now get to play with words for a living.

Each piece of writing is like a game with its own set of rules and constraints.

And if you choose this path too, you’re not just a writer. You’re an architect, builder, and decorator all in one.

You’re creating masterpieces.

Best of all, I get to swan about in this beautiful building:

The cherries on top? I get to set my schedule, work with fantastic clients, and make more money than I’ve ever made.

But it hasn’t always been like this. Sculpting this life has been years in the making, full of doubts, insecurities, and worries.

Will this work?

Will I find clients?

Will I make enough money?

So here we are.

Alright, that’s enough back-slapping. I want to show you how to sculpt your dream life.

My five-step plan is for anyone who’s willing to put in the work.

Are you ready?

Step #1: “What Does Your Perfect Day Look Like?”

This step features the legendary Debbie Millman.

Debbie is a designer, educator, and host of Design Matters.

She’s also freakin’ awesome!

About five years ago, she shared an exercise that completely changed my life. It’s all about creating a ten-year life plan and establishing a vision for your future self.

Here’s what you need:

1. A pen and paper
2. No distractions
3. 20–40 minutes

And here are some best practices:

• Keep writing until you have nothing else to write
• Go into as much detail as you can
• Write in full sentences
• Don’t edit yourself
• Dream big

Alright, here’s how Debbie explains the practice. (Change 2027 for 2032):

“Let’s say it’s winter 2027…What does your life look like?

What are you doing, where are you living, and who are you living with? Do you have pets?

What kind of house are you in? Is it an apartment? Are you in the city? Are you in the country?

What does your furniture look like? What is your bed like? What are your sheets like? What kind of clothes do you wear? What kind of hair do you have?

Tell me about your pets. Tell me about your significant other.

Do you have children? Do you have a car? Do you have a boat?

Talk about your career.

What do you want? What are you reading? What are you making?

What excites you? What is your health like?

And write this day — this one day — ten years from now…One day in the winter of 2027, what does your whole day look like?

Start from the minute you wake up, brush your teeth, have your coffee or tea, all the way through till when you tuck yourself in at night.

What is that day like for you? Dream big!

Dream without any fear. Write it all down. You don’t have to share it with anyone except for yourself.

Put your whole heart into it, and write like there’s no tomorrow. Write like your life depends on it because it does.

And then, read it. Once a year. And see what happens.”

If Debbie’s exercise doesn’t float your boat, try this.

Use the pen and paper or open up a blank Google doc to write 100 goals. Don’t edit. Just write.

Once you’ve got 100, review them using the following questions:

• On a scale of 1–10, how likely can I achieve this goal in six months?
• On a scale of 1–10, how excited am I by this goal?
• Will achieving this goal make other goals easier or unnecessary?

Next, choose five goals,

“…based on five different categories: Work, Relationships, Location, House, and Hobbies…

“Go on a road trip out West with my Dad. That’s relationships.

“Go to Europe. That’s a location.

“Get 1,000 email subscribers. That’s work.”

— Tom Kuegler

We’ll be coming back to these later.

Next, though, I want you to let your hair down…

Step #2: Dance On Stage Like an Idiot

You’ll feel stupid for a while, so embrace this mindset.

When something holds an ambitious person back, I like to ask them what it is:

Invariably, the answer is something like this:

No shame or judgement on this person, by the way. They’ve taken the crucial step in realising what it is, and I’m confident they can switch things up.

Here’s my advice in a shot glass:

Even though I call myself a full-time writer now, I’m experienced many misses over the last three years.

Example #1: This summer, I spent hours putting together a presentation for a webinar. Only one person showed up:

Example #2: Three of my online courses have yet to make more than $20. That’s 150 hours of work — gone. Udemy pulled two of them down (and I still don’t know why.)

Example #3: One of my first articles on Medium got just 13 views.

I could go on.

And even with my “hits”, I still experienced the same doubts and worries before putting them out there:

• I was curious to know if anyone would buy my first online course. I later learned that making an online course is one of the best things you can do.
• I doubted anyone would subscribe to my email list. Now, my email list is growing without me really trying.
• It still blows my mind that people read my articles.

The world is just a stage.

The question is, are you willing to look like an idiot?

“The internet is like a stage that’s open to anyone who wants to speak. 1% of people grab the mike, 9% of people actively listen, and 90% of people mill around at the bar.” — Justin Welsh

Step #3: Attend Google University & Put Together a 6-Month Plan

So you know what your perfect day looks like, and you’re willing to dance like an idiot (at least for a little while).

It’s time to make this sh*t happen!

Last year, I wrote about attending Google University. It’s a phrase coined by Tom Kuegler, who believes that if you want to learn a new skill, Google can teach you how.

Open up Chrome, search “how to [INSERT SKILL/PROFESSION]”, and paste your learnings into a Google doc.

Pull out practical, proven steps and the website URLs (in case you want to refer to them.)

It might look something like this:

Next, you want to transform these learnings into a 6-month plan.

A 6-month plan is a living, breathing document. You’ll be reviewing it daily, and it’ll help you work towards your goals.

I’ve drafted a 6-month plan for 1st Jan — 30th Jun 2023.

Here’s the front page:

In previous plans, I’ve started things off with a prologue (i.e. a reflection on the last six months).

Use mine as a guide and do whatever feels right.

The following page details my goals for the next 12 months, as well as links to various Google docs:

Page three details my weekly tasks and focus points:

The rest of my plan details the steps I’ll take each week to make these goals happen.

These steps will come from your learnings at Google University.

It’s all starting to slot together, am I right? :)

There are other steps I’ve included in previous 6-month plans, including a daily journal and weekly reflection. I journal and reflect with a pen and paper these days before bed. Still, they’re worth checking out.

The key to all this is the research stage. You want to make sure you’re pulling practical, actionable steps.

Nothing fluffy.

Step #4: “It’s Showtime!”

“You can only work smart if you’ve done the hard work first.” — Sinem Günel

Okay, you won’t want to hear this, but I’m going to say it anyway:

You’ll meet critics when you sculpt your dream life.

They’ll tell you it won’t be easy.

They’ll tell you you’re crazy.

To appease them (and yourself, for that matter), I recommend keeping your day job for as long as possible. But, then, only take the plunge when you feel 1000% ready.

I quit my job when I met the following conditions:

1. 12 months of savings in the bank
2. At least one steady client
3. Replace my monthly 9–5 income (~$2,000/month) with the money I make online (freelancing, blogging, online courses, and affiliates)
4. A proven process to land high-value clients
5. I tested that I like freelance work (by doing it on the days I wasn’t working my part-time job)

Pro tip: going part-time is an underrated life choice.

It can give you the best of both worlds — financial security and schedule freedom.

I only left my part-time job because it was boring me to tears. You know, pointless meetings and pretending to care.

But spending two days a week making your dreams come true and three days building someone else’s?

It could be the perfect balance for you.

How do you build the skills necessary to sculpt your dream life?

** Spoiler alert: you’ve got to put in the work **

If you want to do what I do and become a full-time writer, I can help. I recommend starting with this article if you want to make money online as quickly as possible:

And then pick out whatever helps from my “Build a Writing Business” list:

Step #5: It’s All About the Feels

Stare them in the face.

Entrepreneur turned podcasting supremo Steven Bartlett shares his experiences with young fans.

Many of his fans want to be public speakers, yet they’ve got nothing to talk about. Steven challenges them on this. Why? Why do you want to be a public speaker?

He discovered we tell ourselves two things:

1. The reason that sounds good
2. The actual reason

In this case, young people say they want to share their wisdom. It sounds noble, right? People will slap them on the back for having such a worthy cause.

The more likely reason is they want to feel heard.

(Therapy taught me this.)

Now, there’s nothing wrong with these feelings.

You’ve just got to own them.

What are the feelings you want to experience? Love? Contentment? Excitement? Relief? Elation? Confidence? A sense of pride?

All of the above?

There may be shortcuts to these feelings:

• If you want to feel excited, you could do a bungee jump.
• If you want to feel heard, you could start a podcast.
• If you want to feel loved, you could get a dog.

I know this sounds flippant, but it’s not my intention.

Some of these feelings may still take time. For example, a sense of pride often comes from meaningful work. As Uncle Tony reminds me, “Rome wasn’t built in a day, lad.”

The trick is separating your ego and social status from all this.

You’re in a good spot if you can pursue things without plastering them on social media.

Key Takeaways

If you told me in 2020 that I’d be making a living as a full-time writer, I’d have said you’re crazy.

The thought of making any money online — let alone enough to thrive — seemed like a pipedream.

Today, I work with fantastic clients, set my own schedule, and make more money than I’ve ever made.

So my message to you is this: sculpting your dream life is possible with the right tools.

Here are the five steps I recommend:

• Step #1: “What does your perfect day look like?” — Go through Debbie’s exercise and get crystal clear on your perfect day.
• Step #2: Dance on stage like an idiot — You’ll be tempted to skip this step. Please don’t. Experimenting in public and falling flat on your face a few times are the best teachers.
• Step #3: Attend Google University & put together a 6-month plan — Remember, you’re looking for practical, actionable steps. Nothing fluffy.
• Step #4: “It’s showtime!” — Put in the work and consider going part-time as a stepping stone.
• Step #5: It’s all about the feels — You can’t outrun your emotions. Think about what you truly want to feel and keep your ego in check.

Want to ditch the 9–5? Get my free 19-page guide: Everything I Did to Quit My 9–5 Job & Transition Into Profitable, Sustainable Solopreneuring :)