The Simplest, Fastest Way to Transform Your Life
It’s what what worked as a child, and it will work now
“The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be.” — Oprah Winfrey
That’s not hyperbole. This will work — if you’re ready and willing.
Yes, sorry, there is that catch. You’re going to have to actually make some changes, but they will be doable, manageable, and even enjoyable!
Are you ready to turn the corner, step into a richer daily life and realize more of your potential and destiny? The path and solution await —
To understand this approach to rapid life transformation, which is ironically slow and gradual, think of the iPhone.
On June 29, 2007, Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone to the world. It was a revolutionary product, uniting cell phone, camera, phone, internet search, and maps; a truly stunning technological breakthrough.
Fast forward sixteen years to the time of this article, and the original iPhone is a relic. The 2MP camera alone would make it unusable. The memory, processing speed, app availability, screen size — all inferior. Side by side, it’s like comparing horse and buggy and a sleek BMW.
How did they make this journey? Small, incremental changes.
Once these changes are made, they are ‘locked in.’
The iPhone 12 never reverted back to the iPhone 7. Once they made an enhancement, it was permanently upgraded. Sure, they refined features along the way, but they have never retreated to something inferior.
Yet, this is often how we humans approach our growth and dreams.
We set goals and advance dynamically. Then, we doubt, tire, fear, overthink, listen to others, self-sabotage, get distracted or comfortable, and we stop. We start a new habit and live it for a while and then revert.
I know I’ve done this countless times, only to find after a year of dreaming, planning, and trying that my life is in essentially the same place. Madness.
It’s akin to climbing a flight stairs haphazardly — climbing three steps, stopping there, retreating back two steps, climbing one, retreating two. Imagine how crazy this approach to climbing stairs would be.
Isn’t this how most people approach personal change, though?
Put simply, the path to the results you’re seeking in your growth and external reality is through incremental changes that are ‘locked in.’
It may not be the sexiest path, but it’s what works.
It’s the surest path.
It’s the most enjoyable path.
It’s, ironically, the fastest path.
We all know this. Almost all of us grew up hearing the fable of the tortoise and the hare. It follows the Chinese Proverb —
‘To go faster, try slowing down.’
Steadily upgrade yourself. This is the path and the solution.
This process of steadily evolving is familiar to us.
It’s how we started in life; how we progressed from our embryonic stage in our mother’s womb up until our birth.
Our innate programming continued unabated in childhood.
We crawled, stood up and wobbled, took steps, stumbled and fell, walked and then ran. We babbled, uttered a few words messily, put together phrases, and eventually spoke fluently in full sentences.
Our physical, intellectual and social growth was in overdrive.
Of course, this process slows as our bodies mature in our teens and as our structural brain development matures, hopefully, in our mid twenties.
But it’s more than that. While, as adults, we continue to gain insights and experiences, our unadulterated zest for self-actualizing often wanes.
Life can be challenging and the resistance can be overwhelming.
We may find ourselves weighed down by the demands of daily life at home and at work, by incessant digital distractions, by negative forces in our environment, by health or financial struggles, and perhaps most of all —
Our limited programming and the story we tell ourselves.
“This is my lot in life. This is where I stop. This is my peak- what I think I can be, do, and have. I’m stuck here, it seems. Well, maybe I could reach for more but I just don’t have the will and belief. I’m okay with it, I guess.”
But, no, we are not okay with it. It’s a violation of our divine wiring
Our divine wiring is to keep striving to become more, just as we did as children. It’s an innate yearning. When we fail to do so and live only on repeat or settle for less than what we are capable of a part of us dies.
We are sleepwalking; existing rather than advancing.
No. Just plain no. Shake off the complacency, the fears, the comfort and the stagnation. This is not the game of Life we came to play. Advance!
What is the next 1–3% higher version of yourself?
Where are you still crawling in life or maybe just walking? What are you letting be just a want rather than insisting on it being a standard?
What this looks like for you, in this phase of your life, will be different than it is for me or for anyone else. Also, there is no perfect answer.
You could expand in a multitude of ways. Start with —
- Your physical health health habits
- How you plan your days
- Breathing more slowly, fully and deeply
- The way you interact with others
- The emotions you generate in the morning
- What you think about as you fall asleep
- Upgrading your exercise routine (or starting one)
- The way you manage phone distractions
- Time blocks for more productivity
These are just one of hundreds of upgrades you could ‘lock in.’
What matters is that it’s important to you relative to the kind of person you want to be as you journey through life and that it’s important to you relative to your values and dreams for you and your loved ones.
In September, 2023, Apple will debut the iPhone 15.
New features, faster this, better that — all from micro upgrades. Each time a new iPhone debuts it’s a useful reminder. “Have I upgraded myself this year? How specifically do I want to upgrade myself in the coming year?”
As children, Life itself was pushing us higher, but now it’s up to us.
Trying, dabbling, starting and stopping, being disciplined for a while and then reverting to your last year self has never worked. It never will. It ends up just being a lot of noise only to end up in the same unsatisfying place.
Steady, incremental upgrades. This is the path and the solution.
Years ago, a friend tried to impress this upon me —
“People think of transformation as flipping on the lights. But that’s not the way it works. It’s more like a dimmer switch that you turn up gradually.”
I liked his analogy, but I was drawn to more fantastical change, not this path of quiet self-actualization. Now, I see the wisdom of what he said. If you and I steadily expand who we are, our lives can’t help but catch up.
Yes, all that you hope for is still possible for you — if you upgrade.
Surprisingly, this quiet path of self-actualizing is also fulfilling.
It’s deeply rewarding to know that you’ve decided to reinvent yourself, to be deliberately and genuinely raising your standards, and to be doing so quietly within yourself from a place of intrinsic motivation.
On this path, you’ll find that you’re having more fun. A skip will return to your step. You’ll feel more in control, content and confident.
The process itself is rewarding — which also increases its effectiveness.
Of course, your motivation might be intensified by your desire to be your best for those around you and the ways you wish you improve the quality of your life for them. But ultimately, this is between you and you.
This is your one life to live and you’re a person on a mission. You’re not settling, not looking for external motivation. You’re expressing your appreciation for your life by making the most of your life.
Your greatest gift to the world is your quietly, steadily evolving self.
Action
It’s time now to identify your next personal upgrades.
Keep it simple.
One small shift that you lock in for a few days or even a few weeks before you layer in something else.
Forget perfectionism.
‘Locking it in’ doesn’t mean you never slide. It means that you now have a new standard for yourself which you get back to — quickly.
Do it quietly and resolutely.
This is between you and you. Yes, as you expand, others will benefit, but this is first and foremost to honor the gift of life you’ve been given.
Get a growth partner.
It’s a paradox. You have to do it for yourself and without the need for someone to do it with you, but having a partner helps.
Life will match your growth efforts in wondrous ways!
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Subjects I write on:
Human potential, Screenwriting, Business Startups, Futurism, Social Change, Conscious Politics, Italy, Manifesting, Investing, Tennis
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Note: No A.I. was used in the ideation or writing of this content. I only use A.I. tools for research on facts, quotes and references.
