Three Ways to Design Your Life

When we sit down and think about where our lives can go, we tend to think there is a perfect answer. In reality, we are multi-faceted beings who have several different lives our single life can take on. That is why I am going to show you a way to ideate three different paths your life can go. It is important to remember that this is not plan good, ok, and worst, but simply three paths that you would be happy taking in your life.

Odyssey 1: The Beauty Boost

The first path in my life is continuing my internship with The Beauty Boost Cincinnati after I graduate college. I would work in Cincinnati when I graduated college and finish up my contract with the military. This plan is feasible, and I really like the internship I have.

My only drawback or con is that I wish it was something of my own. I love the idea and company, but I wish I had my own business. I wish I had full autonomy over my business decisions.

When you are making your plan it is important to draw out a timeline as well as certain dashboard gauges to measure how you really feel. It would look something like what is shown below...

This alternative to my life asks the question: What would happen if I stayed in Cincinnati after I graduate? What would happen if I stuck with something for a long time?

I think the benefits of this are the feasibility. This path makes the most sense for me in my professional and military career.

This also seems to be the path that I think my family would approve of the most. It seems to be the path of least resistance and the path that is maybe the safest.

When designing your life the first path should be the path that makes the most sense. So, I hope my first life path helps you discover the first pathway choice in your life.

Odyssey Plan #2: Pursuing Influencer Marketing

It may be helpful to mind map to truly understand what you really value in life. That is exactly what I did right before coming up with my second Odyssey Plan. Here is what mind mapping looks like and some sample prompts for you.

What do I value? When I mind mapped some values, some immediate things came to mind:

1. Financial Stability

2. Family

3. My Mental Health

4. Experience/Traveling

How does my second Odyssey align with my values? If I want to pursue influencing and social media, this means I will have plenty of time to be with my family. The idea behind influencing is entrepreneurship at its core. Being an entrepreneur means that you work when you want to, but the reward is also dictated by how much work you put in. So, if I want to spend time with my kids rather than work, I can do that. I may make less money, but that is my decision.

Influencing can lend me to a whole new world of experience and travel! I can also prioritize my mental health by creating healthy boundaries with me and my work life.

The final value that is checked is financial stability. I think that I could create a life of financial stability through influencing. I have read many articles and listened to podcasts about how it is totally possible. I just need to dedicate myself to the process!

How does my second Odyssey align with problems I want to solve?

I think that influencing would give me my own platform to speak about the things I am interested in, after all, that is the whole point of influencing. I can speak about the things I am passionate about. I can advocate for education and mental health and actually make a change.

How does my Odyssey energize me?

My Odyssey allows me to purue new goals, explore topics I have never explored, and create content through pictures and videos. These are all things my mind mapping has energized me to do!

How does my Odyssey utilize my skills?

My Odyssey utilizes my skills by allowing me to take picture and videos and create content. I also value my self-confidence and being a social entrepreneur requires me to be skill-full in my self-confidence.

How does my Odyssey reflect what I have learned?

I have pretty much learned that any job exists because we make it exist. After talking to all these women, I have realized they have created the career they want, so why can't I?

Basically, I took my classmate Amanda Hokr's advice, I am no longer setting standard timelines for myself, instead I am going to set basic goals about what I want in life from these mind maps. I hope that this resonates with you!

Odyssey 3: Following my heart and remaining open to opportunity

In the past week in San Francisco, we talked to so many amazing women in so many stages of their lives. Before I came on this trip, I thought that these women would give me the secret recipe to success. I believed these women would give me the blueprint for how to be a billionaire, how to be the CEO of your own start-up, or how to navigate the corporate world to find your passion and meaning. Instead, I learned something much more useful....

1. Life is not a ladder, but more like a web. We do not always have to be climbing up; instead, we can be climbing sideways, down, diagonal, or up just to explore and experience the wonderful things life has to offer.

2. When we set a goal, the path towards that goal is not linear. For many people, the path looked jagged with many ups and downs.

3. When you get denied from a position or an opportunity, it is not a bad thing, but rather an opportunity for something that you never could have imagined.

4. It is so important to surround yourself with the people who bring you joy. So, go for a job where you enjoy the people first and enjoy the work second.

5. Lastly, follow your heart. Jump at opportunities that bring you joy! Say no to things that are draining your energy.

All that being said, I want to take an abstract approach to my last Odyssey. In the beginning of this class, you can see that for Odyssey 1 I wrote a detailed outline of my next five years. I included my military obligations, which are still true. I included my potential job interest. I even included potential vacations. Then, for my second Odyssey I went more broad. I didn't create a strict timeline, but I did still stick to a strict career. For my last Odyssey, I want to go a different route.

For my last Odyssey, I want to take a much broader approach than even my second Odyssey...

For the next five years of my life, I want to be content, happy, and excited about waking up every day.

Content: I want to be content with the uncertainty that my future holds. I do not want to set plans or timelines or due dates on myself. Instead, I want to remain open to whatever the universe can give me.

Happy: I want to find joy in my life. I want to chase the things that make my heart happy. If that means some days I prioritize play, then I will prioritize play. If some days I want to grind out 10 hours of work, then I will grind out 10 hours of work. But, whatever I do, I want to follow what makes me joyful.

Excited: I want to fuel my inner fire. Whatever I do in the next 5 years, I want it to excite me and give me life. I can't know what I love until I experience it.

I hope this open-ended approach makes sense. Sometimes, we need to stop searching for the perfect fit. Instead, we should live in each moment and follow our intuition!