I don't want to know the number of hours I spent worrying about my life.

Despite me not being even 30, it feels like thousands.

Besides some heartbreaks, the main reason was my career.

School and loved ones promised me a successful future, but all I got was scraps from the buffet from which others had already eaten.

This put immense pressure on me.

For years, I kept running and running toward something I didn't even know. Why? Because who defines "successful"?

You define it yourself, as I've learned.

Start with the right "what"

What would your ideal everyday life look like if money wasn't an issue?

It's an old but too often ignored question.

And ironically, it's less about relaxation than most think.

When busy, stressed, or even burned out, most people only want rest. But at some point, you'd get going again.

It's what I learned when traveling around Asia, doing nothing in 2018.

That's why an ideal day is always activity-based.

So, what would your ideal everyday life look like?

I'd add getting up, preparing a nice cup of coffee, and starting writing. At 11 a.m., I'd go work out outside, have lunch with my GF afterward, and continue writing until the afternoon.

Throw in some daily reading and occasional travels, and I'm good.

By defining your ideal everyday life, you know what you want to achieve.

And it's much more tangible than just "happiness."

As "Stumbling on Happiness" by Dan Gilbert shows:

We're inherently bad at predicting future happiness.

It's the reason why the new iPhone, iPad, and other devices won't make you as happy as you thought they would.

With a clear idea of your ideal day, you can define a winning strategy.

Bridge the gap between the now and how

If your ideal day is tangible, you can start working towards it.

It sounds so simple because it is.

Once you know what you want, you can start doing it.

First in your spare time, then to get paid for it.

Because there's a hidden truth, I've learned writing:

When you don't do it for the sake of it, you probably won't earn money from it.

The same goes for singing and many other things, too.

Otherwise, it'd be just another job you'd hate doing.

Once you define your ideal activity, you need to maximize your time doing it. This means spending as much time as possible on it to gain practical experience.

Yes, even before you start learning the theory.

I started learning the theory of writing years ago.

But it neither held me accountable nor did it help me progress.

All I did was get off on a new book on writing I had read.

That's not how it works.

Taking action is how it works.

What happens if you don't

I consider myself lucky.

At the beginning of my 20s, I learned I wanted to write for a living. Although I took many reroutes, tried to work "reasonable" jobs, and got blinded by the money of fancy careers, I kept coming back to writing.

Most lose their ideal activity somewhere along the way.

A good example is my friend's great-cousin.

He's a partner at German PwC.

Traditionally seen, he has made it. He earns multiple six figures (which is a huge feat in Germany) and has won the Monolopy of Life.

However, deep down, all he wants to do is landscape gardening.

Cutting trees, seeding plants, and working outside.

In reality, he doesn't even have time to enjoy his own garden.

He's miserable and sick, his wife hates him, and the children rarely see him. He pays for all the fancy stuff, has a reputable job, and is already plagued with huge regrets about how he lived his life.

We don't want that.

Sure, life isn't supposed to be easy.

But why would you hurt yourself like that? I don't understand it.

What I understand is, is that the fight won't be easy.

Most companies are mass graves of free souls

People go there, and with each check-in and minute worked, they sacrifice a small part of their soul and, even worse, hope.

Because once you get in the mills of reliable income and steady consumption, it's almost impossible to get out of it again.

You get addicted to it.

Then, material goals will be defined to justify them.

Not the other way around.

But we should start by defining what we want and then working towards attaining it. Every entrepreneur and sane person does this.

We should first consider what we want to do and then determine what we need to do. You'd be surprised at how little is required.

Getting back to my ideal day.

All I need is:

a roof over my head,
food on the table,
some clothing,
a laptop and
wifi

Depending on where I go, I might get WIFI for free...

If I want to splurge, I'd add a notebook and pen.

In practice, much less is needed than most imagine.

Of course, more would be nice.

But who says you can't get more if you get your ideal day right AND master whatever you want to do?

I'm convinced the best question to ask isn't:

"How much do I want to make and how can I achieve it?" but

"How does my ideal day look like and how can I achieve it?"

Because hidden behind figuring this out lies a life you can enjoy.

And it's often much closer than you think.

Thank you for reading.

What has helped you get clear on what you want?

Let me know in the comments.

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