Let’s step back and think about your life and what you really want out of it as you design your business to work with your life. Most people don’t think about designing their life or their business to work best with the life they want to live.
Instead, they generally get training and get an entry-level job or start a business thinking it’s normal to work all the time and still not have anything extra to have fun with or invest in the future with.
The truly empowering and exciting fact is life doesn’t have to be this way. You don’t have to settle. You can change your life from right now moving forward if you simply understand what you want and figure out how to get what you want from your true starting point using goal setting techniques that require you to act.
- Why Do You Exist? – This may seem like an essential question but answer it in terms of what you want to do supposedly for the rest of your life. Perhaps you exist to experience hiking every US hiking trail known? How does that tie into your business needs? Well, it means you need a business that allows you the time and resources to go hiking a lot.
- What Do You Most Want to Achieve in the World? – Do you want to end hunger, stop pet abuse, or something else? It doesn’t have to tie directly into the business you start but sometimes how you earn money can be impacted by what you most want to achieve. It’s okay to make money from your achievements.
- What Do You Want to Be Remembered For? – Try writing your obituary to get your mind around how you want to be remembered. Sometimes it can help to design your obit for more than one audience to highlight different aspects of your personality in your heart and mind.
- What Excites You? – What was the last thing you did in your life that made you forget time and just forget all your worries? Was it that time you wrote a short story in high school? What about that time you learned to build a database? Whatever it is, write it down.
- What Do You Love Most? – Is there something out there already that you really love doing? Do you like gaming? Do you like watching movies? Reading books? Spending time with the elderly? Helping the less fortunate? Mountain biking? List all the things you really love doing.
- Who Do You Want to Be Like? – Is there someone else that you really think has done all the things you wish you could have done? If someone has already achieved what you want, it helps follow them and learn about them.
- What Do You Dislike? – Sometimes, if you cannot think of what you like, it’s easier to think about what you do not like. Make a list of things you know for a fact you dislike doing or thinking about. Dislike politics? Dislike running? Dislike filing? Dislike talking on the phone? Whatever it is, write it down.
- What Do You Know You Do Not Want? – Like writing what you don’t like helps, so will writing what you know you do not want. For example, “I do not want to work more than 20 hours per week earning money.”
- What’s Your Tag Line? – Create a tagline for your business but also create one for your life. This tag line can be posted prominently so that you can remember what you stand for and let that guide your choices.
- How Much Time Do You Have? – When you decide on any new goal in life, it’s important to consider how much time you really have to achieve it. If you’re 50 today, that means you have less time than if you’re 20.
- How Much Free Time Do You Need? – As you’re choosing a business to help fund your ideal life, think about how much free time you really want and need to be happy. Do you like being able to rest on the weekends, reading, watching movies, or do you like having a busier life?
- Who Do You Wish to Spend Your Time With? – Think about the average day that you’re not working. Who do you like being around? Think about working. If you had to work with others, what type of people do you want to be around? Describe the attitude, morals, values, and principles of the people you want to spend time with.
- What Do You Like Doing for Fun? – Make a list of activities you like doing for fun and recreation. These activities take time, money, and skill. It’s important for you to have the resources to do them.
- What Do You Like Spending Money on Without Guilt? – When you spend money, what makes you not think about it? If you spend money on something and you dislike it, consider whether you need to or not. If you don’t mind, consider what type of budget you need for it.
- What Does Your Ideal Life Look Like in Five Years? – If you started right now with what you have and what you know, what will your life look like in five years, ideally? Describe it using as many descriptive words as you can.
- Which Famous Quote Defines Your Moral Perspective? – You can have more than one quote that resonates and describes your moral perspective. Collect a few so that you can look at them when you need a reminder.
Answering these questions is just the start. The answers give you insight into the goals you will set for your business and your life. These goals can work together simultaneously to help you build a business that really does work with your life.