FINDING

YOUR LIFE
PURPOSE

BY MARK MANSON
MARKMANSON.NET

© 2017

Mark Manson
 5 STEPS TO FIGURING OUT YOUR
LIFE PURPOSE
Let’s start things off with a simple question: “If you could do
anything without chance of failure, and without constraints of
time and money, what would you do?”

If the answer isn’t an immediate, “What I’m doing now,” then

something’s wrong.

This guide is designed to help you answer this question and ​take
action towards making it a reality.

This may seem a little daunting, but we’ll break it down into
more manageable parts so you’ll be able to work towards the
answer over the coming months and years.

And then a year from now, you’ll ask it again, re-evaluate, and
begin working towards it again. Hopefully each time you do this
exercise, you’ll be a step closer.

The system presented in this report can be done repeatedly over

a long period of time. I recommend doing it once a year. The first
day of each year is a great option, but you can do it whenever.

I’ve done some form of this exercise every year for eight years
now. When I started, I was broke, struggling with a new
business, living alone with a very unhealthy lifestyle. Now, eight
years later, I’m living the life of my dreams. In fact, I can

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unequivocally say that this is the first year ever in my life that I
answer the prime question with an immediate, “What I am doing
now.” And I think that’s a pretty astounding success.

This system is an adaptation of a similar exercise a good friend of

mine has done every year for well over a decade now. I’ve
modified it over the years and it’s been influenced by some other
goal-setting techniques​ I’ve come across. So you may recognize
parts of it. It’s not revolutionary by any means.

But it works. And that’s what’s important.

I will spare you all of the science and information behind

goal-setting techniques and why writing things down seems to
have a “magical” effect on your brain. I’m just going to tell you
flat out: Do these exercises in a quiet place without distractions.

Take your time, don’t rush through it.

Write everything down yourself and keep it. This is important.

Periodically check back and review your goals at the end of it
throughout the year.

I’ll be giving some brief examples of each step of the exercise but
will not complete them myself. This is just to give you some ideas
and help you get started.

STEP 1: BRAINSTORMING
The first step is the easiest and probably the most fun. Pull out a
blank sheet of paper and make sure you have a clock nearby.

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Take 20 minutes to yourself, and write down everything you
would like to do in your life before you die. Everything. No
matter how big or small, how trivial or important.

Just because you wrote it doesn’t mean you have to do it, the
point of this step is merely to get our mind exploring.

Write down anything that sounds even remotely cool, remotely

possible (or impossible). Anything that sounds like it’d make you
excited to wake up in the morning.

This should start out very easy but get harder as the time goes by.
Hold yourself to 20 minutes! Chances are the last 5-10 minutes
you’ll be straining your brain. But keep going anyway.

Example:

Things I’d like to do before I die...

Experience zero gravity in outer space

Get a graduate degree
Learn French
Complete a marathon
Live in China
Go to the north pole
Visit the pyramids
Play chess in the park
Take a trip somewhere nice with my mom
Have kids
Volunteer for underprivileged youth

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 ...

As you do this first exercise, you may feel yourself get

self-conscious or start judging some of your answers.

Stop doing this!

This list is just between you and yourself. There’s absolutely no

reason to be ashamed of anything you write. And if you do find
yourself hesitant to write too much down, perhaps you should
ask yourself why you’re so scared of accepting many of your own
impulses.

On the other hand, chances are, when you’re writing your list,
2-3 entries are going to pop out at you, like giant strobe lights on
your page. The specific entries may surprise you as well. This is
good.

If you have a lot of surprises on your list, or if a lot of your entries

have got you thinking or reconsidering some things already, even
better... In fact, if you feel like you’re already processing a lot,
you may want to put the pen and paper down before the second
step and take a break for a few hours.

STEP 2: IDEAL LIFE, LONG-TERM

Now that you’ve got your brainstorm list and you’ve come up
with more ideas of things to do than you’ll ever need, it’s time to
start honing in on what your ideal life should look like.

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This is where things start to get interesting—and a little bit real.
But you’ll still have to use your imagination quite a bit and tap
into some desires that you may not have known were there.

Take another sheet of paper and spend 20 minutes writing down

the following:

Describe your ideal life five years from now. Describe it in as

much detail as possible. Describe where you would live, what you
would do each day, what job you’d have, who you’d spend your
time with, what you’d spend your time doing. Take your time and
be as specific as possible.

Keep in mind, ​anything is possible with this exercise. We’re still

fantasizing here. Doesn’t matter how possible you feel this life is
or isn’t, write it down.

Example:

My ideal life in five years would be me living in California,

probably Los Angeles. I’d have my own place near the
beach. My ​work hours would be flexible​ so I could go
surfing often. I’d be focused much more on freelance coding
and programming rather than stuck to any individual firm,
so I’d have a lot more control over my workload and pay. I’d
have a couple kids who would go to a good school. I’d have
a lot of time to read and I’d be in the best physical health of
my life. I’d get back into painting, and do it from time to
time each week, maybe even sell a few of them. Etc....

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Chances are, once you finish this, your mind will already be
brainstorming ways to connect the dots from now to then. This is
good. We’ve now got your mind working actively on figuring out
ways to achieve ​your dreams​. This is a fundamental first step.
You’re now motivating yourself from your own desires and not
simply by pleasing others!

STEP 3: IDEAL LIFE, SHORT TERM

Now that you’ve got your brainstorm list and you’ve come up
with more ideas of things to do than you’ll ever need, it’s time to
start honing in on what your ideal life should look like.

This exercise is exactly like the last one, except instead of

projecting your ideal life in five years, you are going to project it
for one year.

This time, make sure your choices are realistic and attainable,
but also that they are a step towards your answer for Step 2.

Example:

In a year, I will have started my freelance business and will

have saved $20k. I’ll have invested time and money into
getting back into my art and have completed at least three
paintings. I’ll also have a gym membership and will be
regularly going and working out. Etc.

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As you’ll notice, this projection is getting far more actionable. In
fact, after you’ve written it, it should be pretty obvious many of
the steps you can start taking towards it.

But wait, we’re not done yet…

STEP 4: PASSION/TIME RATIO

Now it’s time to really dig into your life and what you’re spending
your time doing and root out the ​activities that aren’t serving​ you
or moving you toward your ideal life.

This exercise is a three-parter and will probably take a bit longer

than the others.

1. On a clean sheet of paper, make three columns. In the first

column write down everything you spend your time doing
each day. Ignore the small things like brushing your teeth
or showering or sleeping. Focus on the big ones.

2. Once you can’t think of anything else, go back and in the

second column write down how many hours per week you
generally spend doing this activity. If it’s something larger
like traveling or seasonal like going to White Sox games or
something, then just specify that in this column — “two
weeks per year,” or “10 Saturdays per year,” or whatever.

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 3. Finally, in the last column, give each item a rating, from
1-10 based on how much fulfillment you get from that
activity. Basically how happy that activity makes you.

Example:

Activity Time Value

Watching TV 15 hrs/wk 4
Work/Commuting 50 hrs/wk 3
Watching Movies 4 hrs/wk 6
Hanging out with friends 5 hrs/wk 8
Browsing internet 20 hrs/wk 6

And so on...

Finally, once you’ve got your lists finished, go back through and
look at how the numbers line up. Activities which you spend a lot
of time doing should have high numbers. Activities you don’t
spend much time doing should have low numbers. What we’re
looking for are mismatches.

For instance, in the example above two big mismatches pop out
at you. The first is that this person really doesn’t enjoy their job
and they work long hours. That sucks. It’s hard to be happy and
motivated and confident when you’re dropping 50 weeks on
something you only value at a 3.

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The second mismatch is that they're spending two hours a day
watching television, but it doesn’t deliver much value.
Meanwhile, they're averaging less than an hour a day hanging
out with friends, something they really ​value and enjoy​.

The answer for this person is clear: ditch the TV to spend more
time with friends (or invite your friends over to watch TV with
you) and get the job situation figured out.

All this is just from a short, very basic list. Chances are your list
has a lot more going on in it.

STEP 5: ACTIONABLE GOALS

Finally, we’re at the last step — the step that you’re actually going
to use and apply to your life.

From the previous four steps, you should have developed a pretty
clear idea of what you need to be doing different, both in the
short-term and in the long-term. Hopefully you’ve been made
aware of things that you’d like to be a part of your life which
currently aren’t. And hopefully you’ve identified some things that
are part of your life, but you’d prefer they weren’t.

The final step is putting together a handful of goals for you to

accomplish.

A few things to remember about goals:

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 1. Goals need to be actionable; i.e., they require a certain
behavior to complete. For instance, “Feel more comfortable
in social situations” is not an actionable goal. It’s not
something that can be measured or counted. “Meet
someone new without getting nervous,” IS an actionable
goal. It can be measured and it’s clear once it’s been
accomplished.

2. Set goals that are realistic within the given timeframe.

Setting goals that are too unreasonable is the quickest way
to demotivate yourself.

3. Don’t set more than a few goals at a time. Another common

mistake is when people try to adapt multiple major life
changes simultaneously. Select a few important goals and
then focus on them ​one at a time.

OK, now for the exercise itself. It’s another two-parter.

1. Write down 3-5 actionable goals for you to complete within

the next year.

2. Write down one thing you can do ​TODAY​ that will move
you towards each goal.

Example:

Goal #1: Lose 15 pounds

Goal #2: Pass my CFA-I exam

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 Goal #3: Get a girlfriend/boyfriend

Actions for each goal: For goal #1, I can join a gym. For goal
#2 I can buy a study guide to start studying. And for goal
#3 I can join an internet dating site and engage in more
social activities like community classes, team sports
leagues, etc.

Once you have a solid list of clear actions that you can take, it’s
just a matter of getting out and ​doing something​—anything
really—to get you started.

And that’s it.

If you’ve completed everything in this guide, you now have a

clearer long-term vision of what you want your life to look like,
some definable, actionable goals to complete within the next
year, and you now have starting places to begin moving towards
those goals.

Like I said in the beginning, I recommend repeating this exercise

each year. In my experience, it’s normal to meet most, but not all
of the goals you set each year if you keep on top of them. Maybe
two out of three.

If you do these exercises consistently for a few years, you’ll

realize a couple things:

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 1. Your ​priorities change with time​, and what you may
consider very important today, may not seem as important
a year from now.

2. The more of your goals that you achieve, the easier it’ll
become to achieve subsequent goals.

Because that’s the beauty of all of this. Discipline is a skill. If you

exercise it, it gets stronger. Achieving goals based on your
internal desires and motivations builds self-esteem and increases
your motivation into the future.

Doing this sets off a chain reaction, that if you follow it long
enough, implementing change into your life will become easier
and easier. And one day, years from now, you’ll look back, and
maybe you won’t even recognize the person you are now.

And that’ll be a good thing...

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© 2017 - Mark Manson

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