Yesterday, I talked about this idea of lifestyle design. I walked you (and myself, quite frankly) through an exercise of determining what one would need to produce online in order to live the tropical island life.
This exercise hopefully made it clear that creating the ideal life (whatever that may be for you) isn’t really a matter of dreams. It is a simple matter of working it backward to determine what kind of sales you’d need to make to earn enough to make it happen.
The flip side of this lifestyle design, however, is not to commit yourself to things which would bar you from living the life you want.
For example, in yesterday’s exercise, I estimated an approximate cost of $12,000 per month to live this island life. The actual cost might be much less. Now, there are certainly jobs out there where you can earn enough money to live in the islands. A solid, corporate job can pull down a solid income. But, the problem is that it holds you prisoner. You might have money, but you don’t have freedom of movement. So, in terms of your lifestyle design, it isn’t a good move to get a corporate job like that.
As another example, let us say you already have an online business going and it is going fine. However, somebody approaches you with a deal that could bring in a lot of money, but it would require a fairly substantial commitment on your part. So, would jumping into this opportunity fit into your lifestyle design? Perhaps not.
It isn’t about avoiding commitments. You can’t go through life without making commitments. But, it IS about making commitments which are in agreement with your overall lifestyle design goals.
Internet business is very flexible and this is one of the many perks. You can design a business to accommodate your overall lifestyle design. You can use outside labor and/or technology to help remove you from the equation and provide personal flexibility.
Some people don’t like to get into doing coaching online because it commits them to a schedule. Some might turn down a cushy job because it would require them to live in a place they don’t want to be. And you know what? Fine! Life isn’t all about money.
Stop And Design Your Own Lifestyle
Alright, so I have talked about this hypothetical example of the island life. I used this example because it happens to be attractive to me. 
But, what about you? What do you want your life to look like? What do you want to be doing during the day? What goals would you like to be pursuing? Are there any causes you would like to further? What does your ideal day look like?
I would actually spend the time to stop, form this scene in your head, and write it down.
With that in mind (and on paper), begin to work it backwards. What kind of money would you need to bring in to live that life? And what things would you need to do or not do to make it happen?
If you go through this, I think you will have some huge realizations about yourself and how you’re going to get there. Trust me, this is time well spent.
And, please share your experiences, thoughts, and anything else in the comments.
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