Freedom Mindset

How to Plan Your Dream Life (Even If You’re Not Living It Right Now)

With Lydia Lee

Inspired to plan your dream life, but not quite sure where and how to start?

I bet you have big ideas for what you want in your dream life that excites you, but I’ll also bet you’re feeling pretty overwhelmed on how the hell you’re going to make it happen.

You may be dreaming of being self-employed, creating a business, or building a lifestyle that isn’t on the traditional track.

When no one else around is doing what you dream to do, it can make it a whole lot harder to believe it can be real for you too.

In today’s #ScrewTheCubicleTV video blog, I’m sharing how you can create do-able actions to carve the path to your ideal life, have the confidence you need to believe in what you want, and stop waiting for the perfect time to live the life you want to lead.

Start With A Small Win You Can Control

First, you need to know what you can improve and change in your life RIGHT NOW.

Not 10 years from now, but right now.

You already know what some of these things are.   It’s patterns and recurring things that happen daily that you know deep inside needs to change.

Perhaps it’s taking control of your overspending before you make some big lofty plan to quit your job.

Or it’s making a conscious effort to be present with your family instead of waiting until you have less busy hours at the office.

These are all things you can control right now, in order to live a better life.

There’s no need to wait to start living a healthier version of your ideal life.

What are some small wins you can achieve if you were to focus on 1-3 areas of your life that you have control in changing?

This feels less overwhelming than trying to tackle every aspect of your life.

These small wins spark a charge when you experience positive change, and that’s going to motivate you to do more of it.

Try-On Your Ideas For Size

How can you feel confident and validated that the ideas for your dream life are really what you want?

Start exploring your ideas and curiosities by trying them on for size.

You can start to see how it fits, whether or not it impacts your life positively, and lead you to determine what’s ‘enough’ in your life to be happy.

When we experiment with our ideas for our lives through a non-permanent way of exploration, we don’t feel as anxious about screwing it up.

What does this look like?

Thinking you want to be a global citizen and want to know what it feels like to work and travel abroad?

Don’t sell your hours or furniture just yet.  Instead, on your next vacation, pick a spot you’d want to experiment with being an expat or digital nomad and start immersing yourself in that community.

Not quite sure what talents you’ve got that you’ll enjoy starting a business with (and that’s why you’ve been dragging your feet for years)?

Don’t start blowing money on a big website and the shiny things of business.  Instead, choose a skill you want to explore and offer to help someone you already know to see how much you enjoy it.

Trying ideas on for size gives you the gift of self-awareness in what you like and don’t like, and lets you immerse in the experience so you can make a conscious decision.

Give Yourself Exposure Therapy

One of the fastest way to change your fears and mindset around doing something different with your life?

Start real conversations with real people who do what you dream to do.

We as humans are so impacted by stories and connection.  When we are able to meet others who share our values and can validate for us that it’s very possible to achieve great things, all of a sudden, it becomes real and possible.

When I was working my 9-5 job, I didn’t have anyone around me that was doing anything different except to work harder and climb that corporate ladder.

The only location independent business owners I knew about were coders and programmers.

It wasn’t until I met a marketing specialist from Germany on a rocky boat ride in Malaysia, who shared with me his story of running a completely remote business, that it all then clicked for me that it was possible.

He was my age, a solopreneur (also hates managing people – me too!), service-based, and had advisory skills as I did.  Something I thought wasn’t ‘tangible’ enough to be one of the cool kids to create remote work.

That supercharged me to confidently explore and create my life out of the cubicle.

My big questions about how families and parents can travel and work with their kids were also top of mind before I left for Bali 6 years ago.

I made a conscious effort to speak to moms who were entrepreneurs, people with families, and picked their brain on how it all works on the unconventional path.

Doing that SO helped me realize it is really possible to have kids and live the life I want to have. 

This is big!  If you had spoken to me years ago, I would’ve thought I had to choose between my lifestyle choice and having a family.

But, because I gave myself the exposure therapy I needed, the unconventional family raising idea is my new normal now!

Get my newsletter!

Every month, I share real advice on career transitions, creating meaningful work, and designing a lifestyle business you love.

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.

4 Keys to Launch a Business You Love

Watch my Free Workshop to learn how to build a business with your existing skills, knowledge, and experience.

2 thoughts on “How to Plan Your Dream Life (Even If You’re Not Living It Right Now)”

  1. Hey Lydia,

    As you know i just got sabotaged at work and in March though i had an job opportunity. I didn’t felt right to leave the organisation yet though the increment was good. I decided to stay on with GSK until my new manager sabotaged me. So its a time for to really reflect what i want to do next and impact others. Coaching might be something i like to try out first

    • It’s certainly not a nice feeling to feel that you can’t trust your colleagues. But I’m glad you’re taking the time to reflect on what you want to do next and how you want to impact others!

      Mentorship is always a great way to get support on piecing together your plan and getting accountability to move forward. Let me know if you ever have any questions about 1:1 coaching 🙂

Comments are closed.

Binge watch me on YouTube!

Watch weekly video episodes at #ScrewTheCubicleTV, where I start real and raw conversations around creating meaningful work with your business.

Watch now