Figuring out what to do with your life
Useful frameworks that can help you uncover your true values and design a meaningful, purposeful life.
Nobody has it all figured out.
Take comfort in the fact that finding your life's purpose is a journey, not a destination. Self-discovery is a continuous process that evolves as you grow. Give yourself permission to explore different paths without the pressure of immediate clarity.
I’m writing this to give you frameworks and templates that have helped me find some clarity, and I think they can help you too. I recommend you find one hour to do this at least once a year.
Grab the template and follow along.
First, Find out the values you care about
I modified personal values frameworks by Ali Abdal and Julian Shapiro to come up with this table:
Rank your Personal Values by Category & Tier
Category Ranking
Organize your values within different aspects of your life. For example:
Work: Knowledge & Growth > Exercising Talent > Money > Power
Relationships: Romance > Fame > Friends > Family
Health: Mind > Body > Adventure > Soul
Tier Ranking
Prioritize your values across all categories. For instance:
Tier 1: Knowledge & Growth, Romance, Mind
Tier 2: Exercising Talent, Fame, Body
Tier 3: Money, Friends, Adventure
Tier 4: Power, Family, Soul
What will you regret not doing when you’re 80 years old?
Ask yourself—what choices can I make today that will minimize the regret I’ll feel as an 80-year-old looking back on my life?
Look at the personal values table and make a few notes. You might end up with something like this:
Pursuing continuous learning, knowledge, and growth.
Acquiring valuable resources and connections.
Building an audience I can later leverage.
Spending quality time with the love of my life.
Making an outrageous amount of money.
Is Money at the top of the list?
If you are optimizing for money alone, you may find that that’s not enough reason to live.
There's an income ceiling beyond which earning more has extremely diminishing returns on increasing your happiness.
Studies have shown that while financial stability is crucial, once your basic needs and a reasonable level of comfort are met, additional income has little impact on your overall well-being and life satisfaction.
Focusing solely on accumulating wealth can lead to a neglect of other vital aspects of life, such as relationships, personal growth, and health. Money, in essence, should be viewed as a tool that facilitates the pursuit of your deeper values and aspirations, rather than the end goal itself.
Ask yourself—what would huge amounts of money ultimately do for me?
Here’s my answer:
It would help me fulfill more of the values I care about—knowledge, romance, mind, fame, body, adventure, etc.
Money frees me from doing the things I don't want to do.
Money removes anxiety over achieving financial stability for myself and the people I care about.
What does it mean to make the most out of life?
This question has many answers. Your definition of a fulfilling life will be unique to you, shaped by your experiences, desires, and the paths you choose to follow.
Below are some broad categories that highlight different approaches to making the most out of life:
Entrepreneurs: having the biggest impact on the world and getting rich while doing it.
Hustlers: exploiting resources to gain as much wealth, power, and fame as they can.
Academics: researching and experimenting to surface insights and advance understanding.
Artists and spiritualists: fully expressing themselves and connecting with people or nature as profoundly as they can.
Everyone else: finding a spouse, buying a home, securing a job, and raising kids—not more.
What “making the most out of life” means to me
Making the most out of life means a fulfilling journey of continuous learning, growth, and deep connections—with a healthy mind and body.
I am also:
An academic, because I value intellectual growth, making connections through my work (also achieving some fame in my field), and potentially having a positive impact on the world through my research, insights, and knowledge sharing.
An entrepreneur, because I leverage my knowledge and passion to build businesses and projects that allow me to make a living while pursuing my intellectual interests.
What am I currently doing?
For each project you're considering, or currently working on, place a checkmark next to the value that it has a high likelihood of fulfilling.
This is what it looks like for me:
Writing the MIA Newsletter
The MIA Newsletter is actually a big deal. Check it out.
Working at a Startup
Set SMART Goals
It's essential to set SMART goals—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. The OKRI framework can help you structure your goals effectively:
Objectives: High-level, qualitative goals that provide guidance.
Key Results: Specific, measurable, time-bound outcomes that indicate progress towards achieving the objective.
Initiatives: Specific tasks/activities that will help achieve the key results.
For example:
Work: Knowledge & Growth
Objective: Continuously enhance knowledge and skills through meaningful projects and learning opportunities.
Key Results:
Write and publish 10 MIA newsletter issues by the end of 2024.
Complete an MBA program by the end of 2025.
Initiatives:
Schedule monthly brainstorming sessions for newsletter topics.
Enroll in and attend MBA classes regularly, and complete assignments on time.
I hope this helps you gain clarity and direction as you navigate your personal and professional life. And if it leaves you with more questions than answers, you have some work to do.
Here are some definitions that may also help:
Core Values: Fundamental beliefs and principles that guide your behavior and decision-making.
Passions: Activities or subjects that you are intensely interested in and enjoy engaging with.
Impact: The influence or effect you have on other people or the world.
Lifestyle: The way you live your life, including your habits, attitudes, and standards.
Goals: Desired outcomes or achievements you aim to reach in the short-term or long-term.
Legacy: The lasting contributions or memories you leave behind after your life or career.
Purpose: The reason for which something is done or created, or for which you exist.
Fulfillment: A sense of satisfaction and achievement from pursuing meaningful activities.
Happiness: A state of well-being and contentment.
Nice wrap up James!