251: Lifestyle Engineering – Friday Fundamentals

Lifestyle Engineering

When you were young, your parents probably told you when you grow up you can be anything you want to be and do anything you want to do. If you are anything like me, you dreamed of what that freedom would look like. For me, I was going to be an astronaut and explore space. I hung posters on my wall of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. I had memorabilia and toys. Eventually, those thoughts of being an astronaut faded and I moved on to other things.

Many people have their own versions of this story. Eventually, your childhood dreams get drowned out by homework, sports, middle school, then high school, eventually becoming just that – a childhood dream. Before you know it, you’re studying engineering or accounting, or culinary arts, or geography or something else at college. Next thing you know, you’re working a 9-5 for an employer living a life that you only halfway designed. What happened to that little kid with aspirations to go to the moon?

Now why am I telling you all of this? It’s because those same promises your parents made you when you were young are still true today. You can be anything you want. You can do anything you want. You just have to engineer that lifestyle. So many people get caught up living a life that someone else designed. Let’s look at some ways you can engineer the lifestyle you want.

How to Engineer Your Lifestyle

First, it all starts with accountability. You, and only you, are accountable for your successes and failures. Sure, there are at times external factors, but you have to take those on as your responsibility.

So when you set out to engineer a lifestyle you want, you have to have an idea of what that lifestyle looks like. Envision what your life will look like. Envision where you will live, what your day-to-day will look like, and even how you will define success. Once you know what it is you want, you can begin to create the blueprints of this lifestyle.

In all likelihood, you’ll need income to support this lifestyle. Whether that’s passive or active income, is up to you. Maybe you like working in your current field, but want less stress and demands, and would love to work remotely. If that’s the case, then start taking the steps now to be able to do just that. Tim Ferris wrote a book called The Four Hour Work Week that provides a ton of great advice on how to build a remote work environment.

Maybe you want to pursue something that inspires you but doesn’t pay the bills. In that case, you’ll need some passive income to support your lifestyle. Obviously here on The Real Estate Way to Wealth and Freedom, the preferred vehicle is through cash-flowing real estate. If this is your path, then start buying cash-flowing real estate that will allow you to live that life you want.

As appealing as drinking mojitos on the beach, or relaxing on the slopes of your favorite mountain every day may sound, this alone probably isn’t enough to drive you nor fulfill you. You need a purpose. For a lot of people, that purpose is spending more time with family, or traveling to new places, or helping other people however you can. If you have a purpose, a reason why then you are much more likely to take action and engineer that lifestyle.

This advice is only for those people out there who find themselves wanting something else. If you are perfectly happy with your life, then congrats! You have achieved what so many people long for. For everyone else, know that you have the ability to live a life you want.

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” – Maya Angelou

It’s never too late to engineer a lifestyle you want. Time is our most precious resource. You shouldn’t spend it doing things that don’t fulfill you and bring you joy. With the right mindset and massive action, you can engineer a lifestyle of your dreams.