How to Get Access to Your Dream Life and Actually Live It
The blueprint I stole from successful creators
Realization.
I spent the last three months coordinating with different people to find time in their calendars.
You know how hard it is to work with 50 different people living in 4 different time zones with jam-packed schedules, sudden leaves, PTOs, and vacations.
It made me realize I don’t want to manage people like this.
I want to focus on building something and spending time having amazing conversations that spark my curiosity.
That’s how I want to do business, building my career on top of it, and being passionate even on days when I feel the worst.
One where I don’t have to spend my day in meetings coordinating humans who should already know what they need to do.
Some of us just know deep down that we don’t want that kind of job forever, working for 40 years until retirement.
Work for 40 years and then what?
Recently, Sahil Bloom, who is famous for creating content online, posted something on LinkedIn about retirement, and he beautifully put it.
We create this beautiful image of what retirement will look like, but the reality is likely much different.
A life that has the freedom to balance fulfilling work with relationships, hobbies, experiences, and pursuits that bring joy.
The idea here is that there isn’t a before and after, but a steady, incremental line of growth and progress that leads to more freedom and fulfillment over time.
The designed life arc doesn’t require you to defer happiness to some future date; you derive it along the way with continuous growth and improvement.
It doesn’t matter where you are today — whether you’re young or old — there’s no such thing as “falling behind” on a path based on continuous improvement.
Retirement doesn’t happen magically.
It’s not like when you hit 62, you suddenly stop working unless you have planned your retirement strategically and have enough bank balance/money to live off your life.
According to an article on CNBC, among adults ages 65 to 74, the workforce participation rate was 25.8% in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That share is expected to grow to 30.7% by 2031. In the 75-and-older crowd, the portion in the workforce is expected to reach 11.1%, up from 8.6% in 2021.
It’s hard to explain; there’s not much authentic and researched data available.
The myth of the next level and next promotion:
I interviewed 6 different colleagues who recently got promoted to the level/title I aspire to be at.
One question I asked everyone is this: “How has your work and life changed since the promotion?”
The answer I received in simple version is: “nothing much in terms of day-to-day work and compensation. However, there is an expectation to do more, generate new business, and fulfill KPIs for the new level.”
This leaves hardly room for creativity and innovation.
Every organization talks so much about innovation and promoting creativity, but the reality is that projects and clients run 99% of the time on business as usual.
Only 1% allows for some kind of innovation or building something extraordinary.
If you feel like I did and know a job is not your forever life, then here’s the simple formula I used to slowly transition from a job to building something cool and fun.
Niche is good until it’s not.
Everywhere, niche is a word that most people talk about.
You don’t have niche skills, that’s why you’re unable to attract an audience.
Or your skills are too niche to find its market.
Some days having a niche skill seems good, and most days it doesn’t.
I eventually chose the niche of achieving success.
And you know what I realized?
I find the topics I am passionate about, ranging from
Sometimes, there is no interrelated commonality among these topics, but if you look at it in a way, all these topics are somewhere related.
We all want to look our best, be physically fit and healthy, come out from ruts and routines, find something that fulfills our hearts and souls, and ultimately live our dream life.
For me, I love writing, self-improvement, and sustainable living.
No one has to tell me to search for it or discover this niche.
Build your tiny empire brick by brick.
It all starts with a tiny step or an idea.
Who am I to disagree with James Clear?
If you improve and do things 1% better every day, in 365 days you will improve by 37%.
The fastest way to build a tiny media empire is with social media apps. Pick any one of the apps and master it.
Show up consistently, connect with people, and share great content.
The most hip platforms these days are
- Medium
- TikTok
- Substack
- YouTube.
Use any of them and create content.
Treat it like a start-up that you are building from the ground up.
Experiment, learn, and pivot.
Do it quietly and at your pace.
I made a mistake when I started writing online 2 years back.
When I started sharing with my friends and family, all shared their doubts and judgments.
It made me doubt myself and tricked me into believing maybe I don’t have what it takes to write online or maybe after a few months, I would lose interest.
I panicked and started believing they were right and that there are already plenty of better writers and creators than me.
Now, after writing for more than 2 years, exactly 1000 days later, I came to the conclusion that there will always be people who may not be happy for you when you try something new.
My family still doesn’t understand what I write online.
So if you are starting out, do your work quietly; no need to share screenshots of how many subscribers you’re gaining or how much you are making writing online.
Just calm down and do your work.
Consistency and continuous improvement are key.
The thing is I am not doing it to be cool or to be trendy.
I am doing it because the dream I believed in for 10 years no longer resonates with me.
I want a life to own my time.
To do what I enjoy doing most.
Spend time with family.
Work on my creativity and imagination to attract new opportunities.
I am willing to quietly do my work and see what happens next.
This is the only way I find to live a better life the life that allows you to be free.. free from your own limitations.
Be Bold
Be Courageous
Be Your Best
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