Why You're Not Living Your Dream Life...Yet

When I was in high school, I played on the basketball team.

Our school was well known in British Columbia for being one of the top teams in the province every year.

We used to play 2 games a week then practice 3 times around our game schedule.

I vividly remember one practice where coach had us running lines because we were a little too casual during practice.

He was watching us closely as we ran, making sure we were touching the line on every suicide (a suicide is when you run back and forth on the basketball court and touch the baseline on each end).

I was drained this particular day.

I was hungry, not sleeping well from off the court stress, and overall, just lethargic.

On one of the suicides, I missed the line with my hand when I bent down.

Coach saw.

He blew his whistle and decided to let everyone else on the team know.

I was the starting point guard and captain of the team, so he wanted to make an example out of me.

He proceeded to tear into me in front of everybody.

While he was calling me out, he said something I’ll never forget:

“Guys, on this team we don’t take shortcuts.

One missed line here may seem insignificant, but it turns into one missed defensive assignment in game, which snowballs into other issues in other areas of your life.

We don’t take the easy road. What separates us from the other teams is we take responsibility for our own success.”

Now I remember this hitting me right in the face.

Like a huge punch from the elementary school bully.

Not because he called me out in front of the whole team (which in hindsight is fair because I was to be leading by example) but the weight of what he said.

I never thought about how one little shortcut here and there builds up these nasty little habits that trickle into all aspects of your life.

In the moment, all I could think about was how exhausted I was, and not the long-term effect of taking shortcuts.

When I got home after practice.

I took a long look at myself in the mirror with a very honest face.

I asked myself:

“How many shortcuts have I been taking? Not only in basketball training but in general?”

Then I thought:

“I wonder how many other people are doing the same?”

Especially since most of the other people I know aren’t where I want to be.

When you look at the masses objectively, you see a lot of differences.

There is 1 thing I see to be most common though…

Most people aren’t living their ideal life.

Most people wish they were doing something else for work, dating someone else, living somewhere else, the list goes on.

They’ve settled for “good enough” or “average”

It’s wild how common this is.

After they’ve made up their mind on settling, they’ll proceed to say:

“What’s wrong with living average? I pay my bills, pay my taxes, have a roof over my head”.

Which is fair, there’s nothing inherently bad about getting by.

Things could always be worse.

What’s dangerous though, is convincing yourself mediocrity is OK just because things could be worse.

You justify to yourself that where you’re at is good enough.

I’ve come to realize this mentality was built over time.

Shortcut after shortcut where you didn’t touch the line.

I’ve internalized this concept a lot over the years.

Which led to the conclusion…

 Most people love:

• Blaming others

• Instant gratification

• Taking the easy road

& most people hate:

• Taking responsibility

• Putting in the work

• Being patient

If you want to build a life that’s more than average, the key is to focus on doing the things most people hate.

There’s a reason they’re not where you want to be.

So how do we do this?

3 Practical Steps to Start Building Your Dream Life NOW

Step 1:

Take Responsibility For Yourself

Nobody is coming to save you.

Accept the fact that where you are now is 100% the result of your past:

•Choices

•Mindset

•Actions

If you aren’t where you want to be in your life, these 3 need to change.

This is the 1st step towards building your dream life.

Step 2:

Change Your Relationship With “Work”

Sure, work can be hard.

It can also be enjoyable when you know it’s building your future.

Internalize the fact it takes work to:

•Get fit

•Build a business

•Have a successful relationship

These are all things you want.

The only thing between you and them is “work”

Step 3:

Practice Patience

In our modern world, instant gratification is everywhere:

•Porn

•Netflix

•Alcohol

•Fast food

•Weight loss pills

The list goes much further than this.

We no longer have to wait for anything we think we want.

But nothing worth having comes quickly.

Think about it.

How long does it take to build a lean, healthy physique?

How long does it take to build a 7-figure business?

How long does it take to master a skill?

Nothing of real value is obtained easily.

These are the 1st steps to creating a life of purpose.

To finally stop living “average”

To build your own Utopia.

Quick Recap:

Step 1 - Take responsibility for yourself

Step 2 - Change your relationship with work

Step 3 - Practice patience

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I appreciate you reading this far, I’m having a blast diving deep into these concepts.

If you have any feedback, please feel free to respond to this newsletter and let me know what you think of Building Utopia so far.

If not,

see you next Thursday.