Hey everybody,
Here’s another batch of actionable insights to start your week off right, so you can be more intentional with how you live, work, and create.
Let’s get started.
Insight 1: Blaze your own trail
Paul Millerd is an entrepreneur whose helping other entrepreneurs, creators, and everyone wrestling with how to escape the default path and choose what he calls, the Pathless Path.
The Pathless Path is one where we don’t have set rules or expectations like regular jobs give us (do X to get a raise, do Y to get a promotion, etc.).
The Pathless Path can be terrifying because it’s about blazing our own trail every day—experimenting with what content performs well, refining our personal branding, trying to describe what we do to our parents, and finding ways to make money doing meaningful work that resonates with us.
I recently went on Paul’s podcast, where we dove into my journey from hating being in therapy as a kid, becoming a therapist, then finally leaving the therapy world forever to carve my own pathless path as a writer, coach, and entrepreneur.
Paul’s one of the kindest, deepest thinkers I know, and I had a blast talking with him.
Check out the episode if you’re curious:
Also, check out Paul’s book, The Pathless Path if you’re at a crossroads in your life and looking for inspiration to take the leap to do your own thing. This isn’t sponsored. Paul’s just fucking awesome.
Insight 2: Treat your life like fiction
“What happens to your character?”
It’s a great question to see where our habits could take us.
In this article, Nat Eliason asks us to pretend our real life is fiction—meaning if your character was about to do something, how would the story play out?
If every year, your character claims they want to lose 10lbs, but never changes their lifestyle, what happens to them?
Or what happens to your character if they claim they dream about becoming a successful writer, and wake up every day and work on their novel for a few hours—what happens to them?
I love this framing because most of us see ourselves as the main character in our stories, but we don’t act like we’re the main character.
We complain but don’t change. We claim to want a better life but don’t go after it. We claim to have potential but refuse to tap into it.
So the next time you evaluate a goal or behavior, ask yourself: “What happens to my character?”
Insight 3: Learn from procrastination
Most people believe procrastination is a bad thing, but what if it wasn’t?
What if procrastination is a symptom our minds need something they’re not getting?
In this article, psychologist Nick Wignall breaks down why procrastination typically means our minds need more variety and feeling of progress and gives you concrete strategies to give your mind more of what it needs so you can get more done, including:
- Keeping a “to-done” list.
- Changing the context, not the content, of your work.
- Breaking up tasks to create more opportunities to celebrate small victories and maintain constant momentum.
It’s a sold quick read if you’re looking for specific strategies to beat procrastination.
Question for the Week
What’s one thing you’ve been wanting to do, but haven’t given yourself permission to try because it was scary, uncertain, or in some way success wasn’t guaranteed?
How can you start taking small steps toward making this “thing” a reality?
Coaching Corner
Today’s question comes from Derek:
“Do I take a new position where I have to hustle and have potential gain, or do a super easy job in a cushy spot where I am?”
Depends…
What do you want out of life and work?
If the new gig is something you could see yourself doing for years, you love the industry, and overall you feel it would enrich your life—maybe the new position is right for you.
If you’re only working a job to have money to pay the bills so you can have more time to work on side projects you’re more passionate about (either hobbies or side projects that could become lucrative down the line)—then the low-stress job could be the right choice.
Either way, look beyond the job (and paycheck) itself.
What life do you ultimately want to build, and which job best helps you get there?
No one lies on their deathbed and wishes they’d worked more.
They look back and wish they’d spent more time with the people they loved, doing work that resonated with them, and enjoying the journey along the way.
Whichever path gets you to that point—that’s probably the right one for you.
Hope that helps.
Got a question you want me to answer here?
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My goal is to help people be more intentional with how they live, work, and create.
So if you enjoy Building Blocks, I’ll be forever grateful if you help me spread these insights by sharing this issue with one other person you think would find it valuable.
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Until next time—memento mori,
Corey
