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5 Ways To Transform Your Life In Less Than One Year

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5 Ways To Transform Your Life In Less Than One Year

Everybody wants to transform their lives and achieve all of their biggest dreams, but how many will actually stick to that idea and do everything possible to make it happen?

Below I have listed 5 Ways to do just that:

 

1. Quit your job

This may sound dramatic, but unless you are in a job you 100% want to be in for the next five years, you should quit immediately. There will always be 100 reasons to postpone. But no matter how long you wait, you’ll never feel ready. It will always be a leap of faith. There will always be unknowns.

Leaping before you look involves high risk. The bigger the risks you take, the more likely you’ll enter a state of flow—which is the optimal conscious state where you feel and perform at your highest level. When you take huge risks, you’re required to think in innovative ways because the consequences of failure are high.

Quitting your job will be the best thing you ever did. It will free up mass amounts of energy and time. You’ll be startled by the inflow of insight you’ll get almost immediately. By quitting your job, you’ll be making a personal proclamation that from now on, you’re going to live life on your own terms.

For example, Pat Flynn, a professional blogger on the topic of creating passive income was working a 9-5 job back in 2008. Then he got laid off. Although he loved his old job, he immediately started creating a business online. He was forced to think creatively as the bread-winner for his family. In a very short time, he was making more money in less time doing something he loved even more. Now, he makes millions of dollars online. This money is automated, meaning, he makes money whether he works or not.

What if he would have quit his job a few years earlier?

“We’ll never be ready if we keep waiting for the perfect time to come.” – Mat Kearney

2. Sell everything you don’t need

Most of the possessions you own, you don’t use. Most of the clothes in your closet you don’t wear. Get rid of them. They are sucking energy from your life. Also, they are dormant value waiting to be exchanged for dollars.

Getting rid of unutilized resources is like injecting motivation and clarity into your bloodstream. While all of that untapped energy gets removed, a new wave of positive energy comes into your life. You can use that energy in more useful and productive ways.

 

3. Uproot your current routine and get away

If you need a transformation in your life, it’s because you are not fully congruent. According to identity theory, before a person fully achieves their ideal identity, they need to spend a lot of time exploring. You need to see the world, meet new people, have new experiences, and experience new worldviews and ideologies.

Until you’ve challenged your current paradigm, you’ll never know if you really believe it. Without conviction and passion, you are without identity. Just a reflection of everything around you. There are several cheap ways to travel and experience the world. A primary difference between well-traveled people and non-traveled people is that well-traveled people are willing to go wherever is cheap at the present moment.

There are always incredible deals going on. You just need to be flexible. If you’re willing to go wherever is cheap, rather than an exact location, you’ll be able to see a lot. My wife and I were able to take a 20 day tour of China with airfare, hotels, food, and tours included for less than two grand each. China wasn’t exactly on our radar, but we saw an insane deal getting ready to close and jumped on it.

Another option is wwoof.net. Wwoof is an acronym standing for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. It’s a marvelous program that allows you to live and work on farms all over the world. Want to live in Hawaii for free? Work on a Pineapple farm 5 hours a day. Want to live in Greece, or Chili, or New Zealand for free? Work on a farm. Generally with wwoof, you get room and board. Also, depending on the farm, you can get weekends off to go explore.

My wife and I spent the entire summer after graduating college wwoofing in Ireland. We lived on a remote island called Cape Clear Island (officially known by its Irish name: Cléire) at a blind goat farmer’s house. We only worked like 3 hours a day. We milked and fed the goats. Then we led them to their grazing area. Our only other duty was to go get them at the end of the day and put them back in their pens.

So, we had all day to do whatever we wanted. We walked all over the island eating European gummies. Listened to 3 Ender’s Game audiobooks. Laid on the grass looking at the ocean and clouds. Read books, wrote blog posts. Whatever we wanted.

While on this trip, I had so many eye-opening experiences. I broke out of the shell I created during college. I was able to let go of all my prior pursuits and re-examine what I really wanted in life.

Go see the world, explore. It is necessary to eventually reinvent yourself and achieve your ideal identity.

Confucius

4. Write down your one year, five year, and 25 year plan

The 25 year plan is basically your bucket list for life, your vision. The five year plan is far enough out that you can literally do anything you want in that time. The one year plan is right in front of you.

This is how you create your ideal vision for your life. One of Stephen R. Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is “Begin with the end in mind.” It is based on the principle that all things are created twice—there’s a mental creation and a physical creation to all things.

If you’re building a house you plan every detail with architects drawings, builders and landscapers according to what you want to create. Only then does the physical work begin. This is how we must live our lives. You’d be utterly shocked at how much your life can change in one year of intentional creation. You are the architect of your life. You get to design it.

Fill your days only with those things that build toward your ideal vision. Get rid of everything that pulls you away from that.

 

5. Start a blog or write a book

No matter who you are, you have something remarkable to say. There is someone out there who will resonate with your worldview and experiences. Even if no one reads your blog, the process of writing your ideas and experiences will transform you.

You don’t have to write your story if you don’t want. You could dive into a topic you are interested in or passionate about. You could become an expert about what you love.

Brian Tracy, one of the world’s leading experts on success, explains that in today’s world of business, books are now what business cards used to be. Everyone writes books now. We all have our unique stories to tell. The internet allows us to tell those stories, publish and market them.

This is the future of business in general. You need a platform. The internet isn’t going away. It’s only becoming more relevant and fundamental.

“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, and magic and power in it. Begin it now.” – Goethe

Conclusion and a few extra ideas

You absolutely can change your entire life in one year. You could be living in a different part of the world. You could be doing a completely different line of work. You could completely reinvent yourself. You could be a millionaire or a monk. Whatever you want.

A few extra ideas:

  1. Start Writing A Journal Daily
  2. Read One Book Per Week – this will change you
  3. Join New Social Groups
  4. Launch A Small Company Using Crowdfunding
  5. Move To A New Culture And Simultaneously Learn A New Language
  6. Sign Up For An Exercise Event And Get Into Amazing Shape
  7. Do A 20, 30, Or 60 Day Juice Cleanse – if you’re overweight, you won’t be for long
  8. Meet With Missionaries Or Ministers Of Different Faiths To Learn New Worldviews
  9. Get Really Good At Social Media And Learn How To Make Money Using It
  10. Decide Two Or Three Habits Your Really Want And Master Them – don’t do too many
Thank you for reading my article! Everybody will see things in their own way but I hope that everyone understands the main point. Transform your lives!

Benjamin Hardy is the foster parent of 3 children. He’s pursuing his Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology. He’s the author of Slipstream Time Hacking. You can connect with him on Twitter @BenjaminPHardy or visit his website: http://www.benjaminhardy.com/

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Life

How Learning the Skill of Hope Can Change Everything

Hope isn’t wishful thinking. It’s a state of being and a skill that has profound evidence of helping people achieve success in life

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Hope as a skill
Image Credit: Midjourney

Hope isn’t wishful thinking. It’s a state of being and a skill that has profound evidence of helping people achieve success in life.

Wishful thinking, on the other hand, is like having dreams in the sky without a ladder to climb, having a destination without a map, or trying to operate a jet-engine airplane without instructions. It sounds nice but is impossible to realize. You don’t have what you need to make it happen!

What Real Hope Is

Real hope is actionable, practical, and realistic. Better yet, it’s feasible and can be learned.

One popular approach is Hope Theory. This concept is used by colleges to study how hope impacts students’ academic performance. Researchers found that students with high levels of hope achieve better grades and are more likely to graduate compared to those with less hope.

Hope can be broken down into two components:

  1. Pathways – The “how to” of hope. This is where people think of and establish plans for achieving their goals.
  2. Agency – The “I can” of hope. This is the belief that the person can accomplish their goals.

Does Hope Really Work?

According to Webster’s Dictionary, hope as a noun is defined as: “desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment.”

As humans, we are wired to crave fulfillment. We have the ability to envision it and, through hope, make it a reality.

My Experience with Hope

For 13 years, I was a hopeless human. During my time working at a luxury hotel as a front desk agent earning $11.42 per hour, I felt the sting of hopelessness the most.

The regret of feeling my time was being stolen from me lingered every time I clocked in. Eventually, I decided to do something about it.

I gave myself permission to hope for something better. I began establishing pathways to success and regained agency by learning from self-help books and seeking mentorship.

Because I took action toward something I desired, I now feel more hope and joy than I ever felt hopelessness. Hope changed me.

Hope Actually Improves Your Life

Wishful thinking doesn’t work, and false hope is equally ineffective. Real hope, however, is directly tied to success in all areas of life.

Studies show that hopeful people tend to:

  • Demonstrate better problem-solving skills
  • Cultivate healthier relationships
  • Maintain stronger motivation to achieve goals
  • Exhibit better work ethic
  • Have a positive outlook on life

These benefits can impact work life, family life, habit-building, mental health, physical health, and spiritual practice. Imagine how much better your life could be by applying real hope to all these areas.

How to Develop the Skill to Hope

As acclaimed French writer Jean Giono wrote in The Man Who Planted Trees:
“There are also times in life when a person has to rush off in pursuit of hopefulness.”

If you are at one of those times, here are ways to develop the skill to hope:

1. Dream Again

To cultivate hope, you need to believe in its possibility. Start by:

  • Reflecting on what you’re passionate about, your values, and what you want to achieve.
  • Writing your dreams down, sharing them with someone encouraging, or saying them out loud.
  • Creating a vision board to make your dreams feel more tangible.

Dreams are the foundation of hope—they give you something meaningful to aspire toward.

2. Create an Environment of Hope

  • Set Goals: Write down your goals and create a plan to achieve them.
  • Visualize Success: Use inspirational quotes, photos, or tools like dumbbells or canvases to remind yourself of your goals.
  • Build a Resource Library: Collect books, eBooks, or audiobooks about hope and success to inspire you.

An environment that fosters hope will keep you motivated, resilient, and focused.

3. Face the Challenges

Don’t avoid challenges—overcoming them builds confidence. Participating in challenging activities, like strategic games, can enhance your problem-solving skills and reinforce hope.

4. Commit to Wisdom

Seek wisdom from those who have achieved what you aspire to. Whether through books, blogs, or social media platforms, learn from their journeys. Wisdom provides the foundation for real, actionable hope.

5. Take Note of Small Wins

Reflecting on past victories can fuel your hope for the future. Ask yourself:

  • What challenges have I already overcome?
  • How did I feel when I succeeded?

By remembering those feelings of happiness, relief, or satisfaction, your brain will naturally adopt a more hopeful mindset.

Conclusion

Hope is more than wishful thinking—it’s a powerful skill that can transform your life. By dreaming again, creating a hopeful environment, facing challenges, seeking wisdom, and celebrating small wins, you can develop the real hope necessary for success in all aspects of life.

Let hope guide you toward a brighter, more fulfilling future.

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Life

The 5 Stages of a Quarter-Life Crisis & What You Can Do

A quarter-life crisis isn’t a sign you’ve lost your way; it’s a sign you’re fighting for a life that’s truly yours.

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what is a quarter life crisis
Image Credit: Midjourney

The quarter-life crisis is a well-defined set of stages—Trapped, Checking Out, Separation, Exploration, Rebuilding—one goes through in breaking free from feelings of meaninglessness, lack of fulfillment, and misalignment with purpose. I detail the stages and interweave my story below. (more…)

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Life

Here’s The Thing About Learning, Unlearning, and Relearning

Stop hoarding and start sharing your knowledge and wealth for the benefit of humankind

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sharing your knowledge
Image Credit: Midjourney

Few people have the habit of hoarding their wealth without spending.  However, it limits their motivation as they tend to get into their comfort zones.  When people start spending money, then there will be depletion in their coffers. (more…)

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Life

3 Steps That’ll Help You Take Back Control of Your Life Immediately

The key to finding “enough” is recognizing that the root of the problem is a question of self-esteem and deservedness

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How to build self worth
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“It’s never enough.” (more…)

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