World Leading Life Coach: 3 Steps To Figuring Out ANYTHING You Want: Marie Forleo

1. Adopt a Figureoutable Mindset

Embrace the “figureoutable” mindset by understanding three rules: 1) All problems/dreams are figureoutable, 2) If not, it’s a law of nature (e.g., death), and 3) If you don’t care enough to solve it, that’s okay—find something you genuinely care about and apply rule one. This helps you be honest about your true priorities.

2. Replace ‘Can’t’ with ‘Won’t’

Challenge your language by replacing “I can’t” with “I won’t” or “That’s not a priority for me right now.” “Can’t” often masks a lack of willingness or priority, while “won’t” empowers you to own your choices.

3. Prioritize Creation Over Consumption

Adopt the mantra “create before you consume,” especially when feeling insecure or uncertain. Engage in activities like mindset work, exercise, spending time in nature, or creative pursuits before defaulting to media consumption.

4. Seek Clarity Through Engagement

Don’t wait for perfect clarity; instead, take action and engage with areas of interest (e.g., intern, take a class, read a book). This will give you insight, open creative channels, and help you discover your true path.

5. Time Tracking for Value

Meticulously track your time for seven days to reveal how much time is wasted on low-value activities. Repurpose this time to create open, non-consuming periods for walking, resting, or exercising to foster creative thought and new ideas.

6. Listen to Your Inner Voice

Pay attention to the gentle, persistent inner nudges of your intuition, even if they contradict external expectations or social conditioning. This voice guides you toward your true path.

7. Use Body Sensations for Decisions

When making decisions, close your eyes and feel if the idea makes your body feel expansive (lightness, joy) or contracted (heavy, dread). This visceral sensation can indicate your intuition’s true guidance.

8. Redefine Success by Core Values

Step back and honestly ask yourself what truly matters most (e.g., love, connections, adventure). Redefine your definition of success to align with these core values, ensuring your actions reflect your deepest priorities.

9. Prioritize One Primary Project

Focus on one primary project at a time, making everything else secondary. This creates spaciousness, improves focus, and makes it easier to decline non-essential tasks.

10. Manage Risk When Transitioning

Understand your personal risk aversion and, when transitioning to a new venture, consider strategies like keeping a day job or side work to maintain financial stability. This significantly reduces the likelihood of failure.

11. Start Before You’re Ready

Overcome perfectionism and procrastination by starting before you feel completely ready. Taking imperfect action provides valuable experience and propels you forward.

12. Embrace Multi-Passionate Pursuits

Allow yourself to pursue multiple passions and interests simultaneously, even if it means slower growth in one area. The joy and fulfillment from diverse expression can outweigh singular focus.

13. Heal Childhood Wounds in Relationships

Recognize that you often choose partners who trigger your childhood wounds (e.g., desire for freedom vs. fear of abandonment). Use this dynamic as an opportunity to heal those underlying issues within the relationship.

14. Practice Structured Relationship Dialogue

Utilize structured dialogue tools, such as those from Imago therapy (Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt), to have healing conversations with loved ones. This fosters deeper connection, understanding, and mutual support.

15. Limit Social Media for Well-being

Consciously limit or eliminate social media use if it leads to comparison, self-doubt, or feelings of inadequacy. Reducing consumption can significantly improve mental health, creativity, and overall happiness.

16. Customize Social Media for Health

Be intentional about your social media consumption by curating your feed, muting accounts, or turning off metrics like likes. This avoids populating your “digital library” with “junk values” that lead to comparison and negatively impact your mental health.

17. Meditate and Exercise for Focus

If you have an overactive brain or ADHD, incorporate meditation and exercise into your routine. These practices help reduce mental noise and create space for clearer thinking and intuition.

18. Develop Quitting as a Skill

Recognize that quitting is as important a skill as starting; embrace the idea of “continuing to quit” things that no longer serve you. This reframes quitting as a necessary step for progress, not a failure.

19. Distinguish Wanting from Wanting

Honestly assess whether you genuinely desire a goal or if you merely “want to want it” because you feel you should. Recognizing this distinction prevents self-blame and helps align with true priorities.

20. Embrace Experimentation and Learning

Give yourself permission to experiment and try new things, understanding that not everything will work. Each attempt will provide valuable learning and discovery.

21. Use the 10-Year Regret Test

Apply the “10-year test” by asking yourself if you will regret not pursuing a particular interest or dream a decade from now. A strong “yes” indicates it’s worth pursuing.

22. Leverage Diverse Experiences for Uniqueness

Recognize that seemingly unrelated experiences and passions can converge to create a unique and richer personal brand or business. This provides a distinct advantage and creative edge.

23. Exercise Personal Choice in Life

Recognize and exercise your right to choose your own destiny, whether it includes marriage, children, or other life paths. Do not feel pressured to conform to societal or familial prescriptions.

24. Drive Action by Desire

Shift your motivation from being driven by fear (e.g., fear of losing success) to being driven by desire, fun, and creativity. Say “yes” only to opportunities that elicit a “full body yes.”

25. Design Your Environment for Focus

Intentionally design your physical and technological environment to support your thriving. Minimize interruptions and distractions to enhance focus and productivity.

26. Build Systems, Not Motivation

Create systems and structures that ensure follow-through on tasks, rather than depending on fleeting motivation. Motivation is an unreliable driver for consistent action.

27. Practice Self-Kindness Amidst Doubt

When self-critical voices arise, consciously practice kindness and reassurance towards yourself. Acknowledge your efforts and progress, understanding that self-doubt is common.

28. Cultivate Inner Stillness for Answers

Develop an intimate relationship with yourself by seeking stillness and quiet. Trust that a higher wisdom is within you and will reveal answers when you are courageous enough to listen.

29. Fight for Important Relationships

In moments of relationship crisis, listen to your deeper inner voice that urges you to fight for the relationship with humility and love. Do not succumb to egoic defensiveness or fear.

30. Reflect on Past Intuition Overrides

Review past situations where you ignored your inner voice in favor of ego or external pressure. Note the negative consequences to better recognize and trust your intuition in the future.

31. Practice Intuition in Small Decisions

Hone your intuitive discernment by paying attention to the subtle inner guidance in small, everyday decisions, like what to order or minor personal choices. This practice strengthens your ability to hear it in bigger moments.

32. Cultivate Financial Independence

Strive for financial independence and avoid letting anyone control your money. This provides a foundational sense of safety and autonomy.

33. Balance Contentment with Curiosity

Cultivate a dynamic sense of being where you are fully joyful and grateful for your current achievements. Simultaneously maintain curiosity and excitement for future creations and endeavors, rather than operating from a place of lack.

34. Acknowledge Imposter Syndrome

Understand that imposter syndrome, or feeling like a fake, is common even among high achievers. Acknowledging this internal struggle is a crucial step toward self-compassion and moving past it.