MJ DeMarco
I followed the science; all I found was money.
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Want 2024 to be the best year of your life? With many more to come?
The year everything changed??
The year Fastlane transformed from fantasy to reality?
Sometime in the mid-90s, I did something that unexpectedly changed my life: I spent 20 minutes visualizing my future and wrote it down in a journal. Years later, I stumbled upon that old visualization in a dusty crate while moving to a new home. You can read the entire story here.
Now it's your turn to transform your most ambitious dreams into reality.
Over the next few days, I will give you a complete online tutorial for making it happen. 2024 will be your year—the year everything changes.
Part 1: Start with a Bold Vision and Then Plan It Down to the Week. Then the Day.
"A fantastic dream without a fantastic plan is a fantastic fantasy." - MJIn The Great Rat Race Escape , I emphasized the importance of outlining your future to make good decisions.
Visualize it.
Reverse-engineer it.
Then task it daily.
Win the day. Win the week. And you'll win the year, followed by life.
In other words, start with the end in mind.
Suppose you're skeptical and think this is just fluff. Your loss.
Visualization and backwardization of goal-planning is endorsed by many iconic leaders and authors, myself included.
- In "The Great Rat Race Escape ," by MJ DeMarco (me!) I describe this engineering process as a 1/5/10 Strategy.
- In James Clear's "Atomic Habits," he talks about identity shifts: transforming from who you think you are to who you will become.
- In an extensive interview here, Sahil Bloom reflected on this "backwards" approach to setting and achieving goals.
- Here's another article on the backwardization of goal planning...
- In Maxwell Martz's "Psycho-Cybernetics," he emphasizes visualizing and redefining your self-image as the crucial foundation for life changes.
- In Stephen Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," he advocates for Starting with the End in Mind, which is Habit #2. This book has sold gazillions.
Moreover, setting a grander vision for the future can be transformative in these 3 key ways:
1. Backwardization of goals gifts you a decision-making framework.
In this forum, I often address decision-making questions with the same advice: Choose TODAY what aligns with your long-term vision TOMORROW and where you see yourself in 5 or 10 years.
2. Backwardization of goals reshapes your identity and self-image.
Envisioning your future self ensures that your current self makes choices in alignment with that vision, a concept echoed in both James Clear's and Maxwell Martz's works.
3. Backwardization of goals fuels grit and determination and fires your feedback loop.
Aligning your decisions with a greater purpose transforms tough choices into steps toward your ultimate goal. What might seem like thankless, challenging tasks today are actually integral parts of your journey. I was hired for a lot of shitty jobs. My future vision made these jobs tolerable and part of the process. They weren't failures, but steps.
So, how do you start planning for the future you dream of?
It begins with your system. As James Clear aptly put it, "You do not rise to the level of your goals; you rise to the level of your systems."
Dream it. Plan it. Task it. Habit it. Motivate it.
Here's how:
First, grab a free trial (no credit card needed) at GoalSumo.com.com. Yes, I'm pushing the system I use myself and co-founded. But don't worry— if you're more inclined towards traditional methods, you can download my 1/5/10 Planner for FREE.
Either way, you can follow along.
Second, watch the video posted above and follow the instructions for making your first goal.
Third, WATCH this thread as will update it continually.
Follow along and by next year you won't recognize yourself from last year.
And even better, the IDEA of even having a "New Years Resolution" will sound utterly stupid.
~ MJ DeMarco
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Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)
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