There’s a famous expression that goes “ignorance is bliss” that I really want us to think about. Is it actually the best path forward, or is it one of those things that we’ve heard enough times that we believe it’s and never thought to challenge?

I’ve been thinking deeper about the question “Is ignorance bliss?” and I’ve got my answer: No, but sometimes kind of. Let me explain.

Ignorance can be bliss when there’s a problem in life that isn’t impacting you too much right now, but it would significantly impact you if you were aware of it. And I think that’s the intended meaning of the expression - "Ignorance is bliss" when it does more harm than good to worry about something that doesn’t need to be a cause for worry. This is often true for the things that are out of your control because if you can’t do anything about it then you’re not wasting energy on it.

However, the cost to the “ignorance is bliss” approach is that it could lead to bigger problems down the road. It may be easier to intervene on a situation today, but if you choose not to be aware of it then it’s at risk for becoming more difficult to manage in the future. Also when you take the position of non-awareness on something, it has the potential to dilute your overall experience. Things are good enough but they could be better… And choosing ignorance might cause you to miss out on the fullness of experience that life has to offer.

Which leads us to the alternative - “Ignorance is not bliss”. Built into the word ‘ignorance’ is ‘ignore’. As I see it, to ‘ignore’ is to willingly choose to not know about something or take action on something. To ignore something is to avoid it despite knowing that doing something about it is in your best interest. And that’s why to me, ignoring facets of your life is unhealthy, irresponsible, and undisciplined. 

My primary interest is to live with as much intentionality as possible, and that requires having awareness and discipline. Ignorance exists opposite to that. Does it serve you to not seek as much awareness and information as you possibly can? Is it better to be avoidant of the realities of your life? Largely, no. But sometimes when your awareness does more harm than good, sure.

But I’ve found those instances are few and far between. Even for those things that do add unnecessary worry or stress to your life, the healthier approach is to accept them rather than completely ignore them.

As we pursue our self-improvement and think about the positive changes we want to make to our lives, it’s natural to gravitate toward the extreme. We feel inspired to replace your unmotivated mornings with 5am daily workouts, an unhealthy diet to being fully gluten-free, or producing a lot of waste as a consumer to getting rid of all plastics in your life. We think to make major life-changes because those are the most significant, but that kind of radical approach often fails because it’s too disruptive to be sustainable.

I call this the ‘Strain and recovery’ cycle. You can choose to pursue personal transformation in a way that asks you to do thing that are radically different from how you’re doing them now… But it requires that you put in an effortful push to establish a new standard. Maybe you can stick with it in the short term, but it’s an unsustainable amount to take on and when you tire out, or life circumstances change, the follow through fades away.

The more manageable approach is the ‘Elevate and sustain cycle’, and what this does is it considers all of the milestones between where you’re at and where you want to be. By achieving micro-goals and locking in smaller changes, you don’t fatigue in the same way. This enables you to make consistent progress so that piece by piece, things get better. It’s a process of systematically raising your baseline one detail at a time in the direction of the ideal you have in mind. 

And this is how it plays out: Start waking up at 7am and going for a short walk in the morning before you attempt 5am workouts at the gym. First limit your midday snacking on crackers and chips before you make every meal gluten-free. You replace your personal hygiene products with brands that have compostable containers before you have a house that is rid of all plastics.

Rather than trying to create the ideal situation from the very beginning, ask yourself what ‘better’ looks like. What’s one thing you can do to have a better workout routine? What’s one thing you can do to incorporate a better diet? What’s one thing you can swap to be more environmentally conscious?

Fight that natural inclination to pursue the extreme, ideal, perfect version of improvement because it sets you up for failure and disappointment. Instead focus on doing one thing better, time and again, as you build up the life you see for yourself. 

This is what it means to get better every day. Small, meaningful, consistent improvements. And as the growth stacks on top of itself, you’ll find that you’ll reach new heights and have a strong foundation to support you the entire way. 

My process for getting better every day is I have a daily habit of completing my Self Improvement Scorecard. Check it out!

Last weekend I had the privilege of meeting a billionaire. I’m choosing not to share who it was to maintain his privacy, but our conversation left a life-changing impression on me. In particular there were 5 takeaway lessons that I want you to know too.

Money Is Fake. Coming from someone who has amassed so much wealth, it was a perspective I didn’t expect to hear. Money is just a mutual understanding we all have that society has been built around, and there’s nothing permanent about that system.

Exceptional Reward Requires Exceptional Risk. He told the story about how he made his fortune, and the massive chance he took that enabled it. Essentially a new, risky opportunity came up and he put everything on the line for it. Fortunately for him, it turned out to be the the right bet to make.

Challenge The Way Things Are Done. If you want to do something really significant and meaningful, it needs to be disruptive. Things are done a certain way because people are choosing to solve the same problems with the same ideas, and working within the same constraints. He shared a famous Buckminster Fuller quote that says it perfectly: “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

Success Is About Everyone Else. Any time he reflected on his wins and successes, he gave credit to the other people around him that made it possible. And it’s not just humility, it’s a real example that we can achieve more and when we work together.

Give More To Get More. He shared a quick line that has been stuck in my head: “Have 5, give 6, get back 12. Don’t try to do the math.” When you come from a place of looking to contribute, and giving more than you take, all of that goodness seems to come back around in multiplied ways. It’s something that he’s lived by.

But honestly, what’s most inspiring about this opportunity to meet a billionaire is hearing more about what he’s choosing to do with his life now. This man can go anywhere, do anything, and meet anybody he wants... Yet he’s dedicating his life to helping others. He thinks that it’s unfair for a few people to keep everything to themselves, and he’s got a bigger vision for how he can use his resources, platform, and connections to change the world.

Outside of meeting him in his $40 million house, nothing about this man would have indicated the level of wealth he has amassed. He was present, passionate, humble, curious, and kind, and it was a gift to have met him.

One of the biggest stressors and complaints about life is the uncertainty of it. The human mind has evolved to view uncertainty as a threat and something to be avoided. But the truth of it is, life wouldn’t be as fun or interesting if everything was known and predetermined. It’s the novelty of our experience that gives life so much meaning. And importantly, on the other side of uncertainty is the ability to create. Our choices and actions shape our future, and our story is yet to be written. 

Our life trajectory becomes determined by two things: What we create and what’s created around us.

Many of us sit in the passenger seat and let society and other people set the direction. This is a life by default. But all of us are capable of taking the wheel and controlling our destiny. This is a life by design. And living a life by design has some serious implications. It means that what we do today matters, and in extreme cases, that what happens in a moment can forever alter the course of your life.

This becomes more obvious on the negative side of life change. One moment of being unfaithful to a spouse, stealing from a store, screaming at your boss, or getting too drunk at a party can permanently shift your life trajectory. Certain things can happen that cause life to never be the same, and in some cases, the wrong action can ruin your life. 

But on the positive side, it’s equally possible to positively shift the course of your life in a moment. People can make a phone call to get help about a substance abuse issue. People can put in their 2 week notice and officially begin being in business for themselves. People can apologize for a wrongdoing and start to rebuild a relationship. 

My friend Timmy Bishop has an expression that goes “Today could be the day! For what? You get to find out, that’s the best part!” I love it! Every day is a fresh opportunity to create more of what we want out of life. It’s just up to us to summon the courage to pursue it. 

Life is uncertain, but it’s also dynamic. It all can change in a moment. And when you realize how you can guide the direction of that change, you tap into your unlimited potential. That’s living by your design. And that’s what I want for you. Of course everyone is different, but If you want that for yourself, then description I’ll show you how I make the most out of life and it'll give you a great place to start!

Plain and simple, there’s no replacement for taking action. It’s only by taking action that you manipulate your environment so that you can generate new results.

But in order to achieve a certain outcome, taking action isn’t enough. You need to take the right actions, and that’s where I want to introduce you to a larger framework:

Goals, strategies, and tactics.

When my mentor Jim Bunch broke this down for me, it completely changed my life. For years I was busy taking action but I wasn’t getting anywhere with it, spinning my wheels knowing I was capable of more than I was achieving. That was until I started making an extra effort to connect my actions with a goal. It's this alignment of action that actually contributed to positively changing my life. 

While it is all about action, the framework has to start with the goal (or desired outcome). It’s the inspiring result you want to bring into your reality. Once you’ve outlined that, then you determine the strategy that is most likely to bring you to achieving that outcome, and within that strategy you identify the action steps, or tactics, that help you execute the strategy. 

The impact tactics have on your life are determined by two things: The alignment they have toward your goals, and the clarity you have with what you need to execute. You generate the alignment by starting with the goals and strategies, and you create clarity by getting more detailed about what the actions are themselves:

The first criteria for high-quality tactics are they need to be specific. This means that you need to add more details and measurement around the action so that it cannot be interpreted incorrectly, rationalized, or compromised. The mind wants to take the path of least resistance. If you lack clarity or leave gray area, the mind will unconsciously fill it with excuses. So to be more effective, the action isn't just a commitment to reading more, but reading 10 pages of a nonfiction book. It’s not setting the intention to work out more, but doing 3 sets of your full body circuit. More specificity leads to more clarity.  

Specificity also requires that you’re clear on the frequency with which you do it. This helps you determine how often you’re going to be taking action and with what consistency. It’s not enough to do things once and expect a result, they need to be done repeatedly. This expands the action to reading 10 pages of a nonfiction book every day before bed, or  doing 3 sets of your full body circuit 5 times a week. It comes together to make up what you do.

What’s more important though is how you do it. It’s not enough to just say you’re committed and leave it at that. In order for tactics to work for you, you need to take reliable action. And that’s where the extra effort of putting together an action plan helps you to actually follow through on it.

You get clear on when you’re going to take action, and what will prompt or remind you to do it. You also find ways to optimize the systems around the action so that your environment supports you to follow through on the tactics. Like making your bed and putting your book on your pillow, or having a reading club you’re a part of that consistently checks in on your reading progress. Or having a specific exercise program written out, by you or by a coach, and making that program easily accessible on your phone.. And communicating with your partner that you have an intention to get to the gym and you want them to respect that.

Not all actions are made the same. When you reverse engineer them from goals and strategies (making them tactics), and have specificity and a system of execution behind them, you become much more likely to actually reach your goals!

I heard Pat Flynn say something recently that really resonated with me. He described that there’s two different types of information: ‘Just In Time’ information and ‘Just In Case’ information.

‘Just In Time’ information is something you learn that you can apply immediately to overcome a challenge you’re experiencing right now. It’s the new idea, approach, or perspective that will help you breakthrough whatever it is that’s holding you back. You seek out ‘Just In Time’ information to solve a specific problem. You find the Youtube video, Ted Talk, book, podcast, or leader that is likely to have what you need. And the idea is, once you learn it you can use it and make immediate progress.

‘Just In Case’ information is everything you’re learning that rounds out your knowledge. It’s not perfectly relevant right now, but it's something that might be useful in the future. But the problem is, many people invest so much of their time learning new things and think that it’s going to help them advance in their health, career, and life. But that’s not the case and they’re disappointed when they stay stuck where they’re at even though the feel like they’re putting the work in.

I know this too well. For years I was a ‘Personal Development Junkie’. I could list off life-changing principles, confidently state timeless quotes, and brag about how many books I was reading every year… But my life wasn't changing even close to as fast as it should given how much I knew. It wasn’t until I started applying what I was learning that I started reaching the next level of success, influence, impact, and fulfillment I knew was possible for myself.

And that’s exactly what prioritizing ‘Just In Time’ information is all about. Instead of wasting time learning things that you don’t need yet, you can pour that time into taking action toward the things that will most move the needle right now. Then once you get to that next level and hit your next roadblock, that’s when it’s time to go find the information you need to advance past it. 

A metaphor I like to use that relates to this is that of a car. Typically, when we consume more ‘Just In Case’ information we’re putting fuel in the gas tank. And we need gasd to go, but given how readily accessible information is these days, we all pretty much have a full tank. 

Instead, what we need to do is upgrade the Self Improvement Engine that utilizes the fuel - that’s how we go faster and be better! And when it’s time to refuel the tank, make sure it’s the right type of ‘Just In Time’ information that’s going to be most helpful on the next phase of your journey.

If you need help making that transition, and start doing more with what you know so that you actually implement the changes you need to make that will generate the success you desire, I have a 3 week process that walks you through it.

In her studies and countless conversations with people on their deathbed, palliative care nurse Bronnie Ware found that the greatest regret of the dying is “I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.” It’s an insight we need to take seriously because it can help us choose a life that we’re proud of.

But one of the assumptions in this idea is that people know what they want, that they know what an authentic life looks like. But I’m not convinced that’s the case, and that many people are lost trying to figure out who they fundamentally are rather than living in fear of being that person.

That’s why I want to share a more nuanced perspective that also serves as an action plan: Seek your truth and speak your truth.

As individuals and as a society, we are constantly evolving. This means that knowing what we want, and living a fully authentic life is a moving target. This means we must always be seeking our truth through introspection, having others call out our blindspots, changing our environment to observe our patterns, and being the process of learning more about ourselves. The work is never done but that’s the best part! Life would be boring if we had it all figured out.

But that’s not to say that it’s acceptable to delay being yourself until you feel like you know who that is. Living authentically is a practice. And even if you feel like you have an incomplete understanding for who you are, you’re tasked to live in alignment with who you think you are.

And that’s easier said than done. We must fight through a lifetime of conditioning, the judgment and criticism from others, and our own preferences to live authentically. It takes courage to be your most fully-expressed version of yourself, and speak your truth. But when you do, it liberates you and attracts the life you want.

As I reflect on how I initiated positive change in every chapter of my life, it always involved me seeking and speaking my truth. Whether it was going from being an underperforming salesperson into a growth-oriented business professional, or a judgmental boyfriend into a supportive husband, I first needed to become aware of the details of my life that were out of alignment, have the courage to accept those things, and take action toward making them better.

My process for gaining that awareness and holding myself accountable to living more courageously is in my Self Improvement Scorecard. It's responsible for all of the success I've created in my life!

I recently got to see Lewis Howes speak live as a part of his tour to launch his new book “Make Money Easy”, and the core message in his talk was about embracing abundance.

Being abundant is different than being rich. Abundance is an energy that your needs are met and a willingness to contribute to the needs of others. It’s a faith that there’s more than enough for everyone. Being rich is just a financial result.

For the last few years, one of the things I’ve focused most on in my personal development is building my abundance mindset. To give what I can when I feel inspired to and without expectation, to ask for help and receive it without indebtedness, and to be a conduit that helps circulate more goodness in the world. I’ve been intentional about building that mindset by every day in my Self Improvement Scorecard reflecting on one thing that I did to help someone else, and one thing I did to receive help.

But Lewis Howes takes action on abundance a bit differently. He says “Gratitude and generosity are the gateway to abundance.”

Gratitude will change your life. As I understand it right now, there’s nothing that will more radically and positively change your life in 30 days than journaling three things you’re grateful for. It completely shifts the lens through which you see the world. And it connects to abundance because, “what you appreciate, appreciates”. The things you are grateful for multiply in the world. And that’s what abundance is, an energy of more than enough and unlimited access.

Generosity is more along the lines of what I was describing about having a willingness to give what you have freely. And what’s interesting is how generosity interfaces with the world. Materially, the fastest way to get something is to give it away. If you want love, give love. If you want connections, make connections for others. If you want money, give money. Generosity initiates reciprocity and one way or another, what you give returns to you in amplified ways. An online business leader named Pat Flynn was a special guest at this event and he has a life mantra that goes “serve first”. 

But immaterially, generosity offers something far greater. Every time you give, you reenforce the belief that you have what you need. That you are safe and cared for. This is how you cultivate the faith that everything will work out, and when you show up for life with that perspective, it attracts everything you’ll ever need and more.

Gratitude and generosity are the gateway to abundance. And when we talk about wanting bigger, richer, more impactful lives, this is really what we mean. And now you know the pathway!