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Take Control of Your Future

Take Control of Your Future

A Guide to Creating the Life You Want

Jay Yang
March 19, 2023

Hey — It’s Jay!

Last week, I said I’d be diving deep into one-person businesses as a whole. Well, this week’s newsletter is about lifestyle design (and it’s a longer one).

So stick with me, and hope you enjoy! :)

But before we begin... a message from a friend:

Growth In Reverse

• Ever wonder how some of the most popular creators grew their audiences?
• Each week Chenell reverse engineers how the top creators grow to 50k+
• You get the roadmap to replicate their growth

Okay, now on to today's piece.

If you don’t get excited when you think about your future,
something needs to change.

What exactly do you want in life? It’s a simple question, yet often difficult to answer. But it’s worth trying, it’s worth making the effort. Because the alternative is letting someone else decide for you, which often leads to mediocrity.

I believe we’ve never been in more need of intentionality than now. We’re drowning in pleasure, yet starving for purpose.

Why do we need purpose? Because purpose is intertwined with the human desire for progress. Our natural drive to rise above our circumstances and actualize our goals, our potential, and our highest self.

Anxiety comes from cognitive dissonance. Which is when your beliefs and actions don’t align, and your subconscious feels discomfort. You feel anxious because you don’t have anything to stretch towards. You feel uncertain because you don’t have a positive future to strive for.

Wake Up To Reality

Spirtuality means waking up. Most people, even though they don’t know it, are asleep. They’re born asleep, they live asleep, they marry in their sleep, they breed children in their sleep, they die in their sleep without ever waking up.

Anthony De Mello (Awareness)

Wake up. Commit yourself to a meaningful goal. Go all in. Pursue your highest self. Dive into the unknown. Embrace discomfort. Lean into your insecurities. Sacrifice comfort. Demand better from yourself. Because is there really any other way to live?

You won’t have all the answers. But that’s the point. The act of figuring it out is what makes this fun. It’s supposed to be challenging. The process of actualizing your goal releases dopamine (the happiness chemical) in your brain.

Simply put, Progress = Happiness.

Commit to a Mission

Your vision of where or who you want to be is the greatest asset you have. Without having a goal it’s difficult to score.

Paul Arden

The definition of power to me is the ability to close your eyes and imagine a world, and then open them and make that world a reality.

When you commit to something, I mean truly commit to something, you require your entire being to unite in a single direction. In Latin “Commit” means to “join” or to “put together”. You’re joining your entire being on a unified mission to actualize your vision.

Goals don’t just give us a direction to go, they give us an identity to become.

Since I’m striving for X, I’m the type of person who Y.

For me, that goal was to become the best possible basketball player I could be. That meaningful goal gave me the identity of a “basketball player”.

Every action I took from then on was to get me a little bit closer to turning that goal into a reality.

I’d dribble around in the basement for hours. I’d watch what I put in my body. And I’d pay attention in the classroom to practice mental toughness.

Why? Because that’s what I thought “basketball players” do.

I didn’t need motivation or discipline, I needed clarity.

Clarity comes from commitment. Commitment allows you to channel your attention. Commitment allows you to focus.

What do you commit to?

Commit to your future self. Or rather, commit to your highest self. Understand that you’re a lion in sheep’s clothing. That you have unlimited potential if you focus and channel that potential into a positive vehicle.

To “create” means to “bring into existence”. As a creator, you’re turning your dreams into reality.

And what’s more meaningful than creating the life you want to live?

For the past two years, I’ve been consciously attempting to live “The Good Life”. The Good Life is different for everyone, but how you get there largely remains the same: Perpetual Self-development.

Which brings me to what I call…

The Personal Project Method

The Personal Project Method is the path to living an intentional life. It was developed through trial-and-error. The projects you take on, the level of intensity that you build with, and your north star will be unique to you.

But this is the broad 5-step approach to creating the life you want to live:

1) Set a vision (or anti-vision)

You need a vision. A north star. A general direction for where you want your life to go. The clearer your vision, the easier it is to work toward it.

Write down exactly what you want your ideal future to look like:

• What does your ideal life look like?
• What does your ideal day look like?
• What does your ideal world look like?
• How do you feel? Who are you with?
• What do all those things NOT look like?

Grab a notebook. Write NORTH STAR and underline it. Then answer these questions. Sit and really think, “What do I truly want?” This is the first step to taking control of your future.

2) Commit to a meaningful project

Highly focused people do not leave their options open. They make choices. If you commit to nothing, you’ll be distracted by everything.

James Clear

If your vision is the north star that guides your direction, then personal projects are how you get there.

Personal projects are about experimenting, testing, and learning.

Engaging in projects allows you to explore. You quickly figure out what you like, don’t like, and what you’re naturally good at.

A few projects I’ve tested in the past:

• Building a YouTube channel
• Learning how to write
• Public speaking
• Visual design

If you don’t know what you want, you have to try new things. Because once you know what you don’t want, you better understand what you do want.

3) Design your day for progress

What actions do you need to take each day to make your project a success?

• Each night, write down 3 lever-moving tasks to complete the following day
• Each morning, dedicate 1 hour of focused work to knock out those tasks

For me, my current project is building my body (weightlifting). So each morning, the first thing I do (aside from drinking water) is train and lift.

Then I set reminders throughout the day reminding me to eat protein, drink more water, and avoid junk food.

Each week, I weigh myself and take a progress picture. This holds me accountable.

It’s as simple (and as complicated) as that. Make a little progress each day, each week, and each project.

4) Eliminate distractions

The greatest enemy to your highest self isn’t external circumstances, it’s YOU. It’s distraction.

You can’t entertain every thought or opportunity that’s presented to you. You have to learn to say no.

If the “opportunity” doesn’t align with your north star - it’s not an opportunity, it’s a distraction.

Everything you do either helps you actualize your vision, or hurts it.

• Scrolling on TikTok → Help or hurt?
• Staying up late → Help or hurt?
• Drinking soda → Help or hurt?

I’m not saying don’t enjoy yourself. But do so in moderation. And more importantly, be conscious about your decisions.

5) Self-reflect and realign

After building your project for 30 days, take a step back and self-reflect.

“Is this still what I want to be doing? Is this project still aligned to my greater vision? Am I learning, growing, and evolving? Am I enjoying this project?”

Yes? Keep going.
No? Pivot to a different project (or modify your current project).

Keep building and iterating on personal projects until it’s impossible not to create the life you desire.

Living with intention is hard. It requires effort. You’re constantly battling the invincible force of entropy. But isn’t that what makes life fun?

Isn’t that what we, as humans, are meant to do? To build & learn, experiment & explore, and live & love.

Jay “Take Control of Your Future” Yang

P.S. When you want to accelerate your progress, here's how I can help you:

1) Steal my proven system for content creation and audience growth to help you consistently create 12+ pieces of content every week.

2) Gain clarity on your niche, growth, and systems with a 1:1 Strategy Session.