This article is inspired by a post I recently read at The Middle Finger Project. It was a guest post written by Andrew MacPherson of Rules Optional. Both Ash, who runs The Middle Finger Project, and Andrew are brilliant writers. If you’re not following them already, I encourage you to do so.

Andrew wrote about travel as being the ‘be all, end all’ (my interpretation, not his) goal of lifestyle design and it got me thinking. I won’t cover what he wrote here, but what I do want to do is examine the whole concept of lifestyle design.

Lifestyle Design is Not a Formula

It’s occurred to me that there seems to be this prescribed path out there being given for lifestyle design. It goes something like this:

• Create some sort of presence online, whether it be a blog, video blog, or creating a product
• Generate income from that online presence/business
• Lead a location independent lifestyle full of travel

Yes, the above is oversimplified, but it does cover the main tenants of lifestyle design. I see one issue with the above and it’s a big one. There’s not one prescribed path you need to take to live your life. People get so drawn to paths and ideas and this is just another one. It doesn’t seem so different than going into your high school or college guidance counselor’s office and he or she telling you, ‘ok, so you should really take up a specific major…and next you should get involved in group activities and the community around your major…then you should network with people so you can get interviews at top companies…then once you get a job you should work your way up the corporate ladder.’

In both cases, they’re formulas related to someone else’s idea of what an ideal life is. Honestly, I don’t necessarily see anything wrong with either path. What’s important here, and this is a big point, is that you’re choosing the path you want to choose. It concerns me that there are these two overly simplified paths:

Path A: Follow the corporate route, get a job, save money and work for 40 years path.
Path B: Follow the lifestyle design path, build your own business and travel the world.

Furthermore, these paths have become demonized or put on a pedestal. With the corporate route, you hear terms like ’slave,’ ‘corporate drone,’ ‘prisoner,’ and ‘deferred life plan.’ With the lifestyle design route, you hear terms like ‘freedom,’ ‘escape,’ ‘flexibility,’ and ‘more time.’

It’s just not that black and white. Yes, there are countless people out there who are in jobs they hate, whether it’s in the corporate world or even in an entrepreneurial setting. It’s also true that these people might not be entirely aware of the other possibilities out there for what they can do with their lives, so they almost feel trapped. Hell, I even fall into that category and am still working on figuring it out.

At the same time, there are countless others who are incredibly happy in their careers and who are passionate about what they’re doing. It’s a bit unfair to categorize all of these people as living a ‘deferred lifestyle plan.’ What’s deferred about waking up every day and doing something you love even if that means being employed by someone else or working in a fixed location and not traveling the world? It’s better to say that a person who follows a path that is not their own, whatever that path may be, is living a deferred lifestyle plan. As long as you enjoy what you do more days than not, you challenge yourself, whether that be through personal endeavors or career endeavors, and you follow your own path, you are good to go.

Don’t Chase Someone Else’s Dream of What an Ideal Life Is

Are you quick to idolize someone you read about? Tim Ferriss and Gary Vaynerchuk come to mind when I think of people that others have recently idolized. I actually find both individuals quite impressive and they both have their unique lessons to share. I even shared my thoughts on whether or not people actually get the The Four Hour Work Week.

While both of these guys are impressive and offer their unique lessons on living life, what I find more impressive and what I respect the most, is that they are living their lives in true alignment with who they are as an individual. They’re both totally in tune with their DNA. Just because they’ve both had success, doesn’t mean you should chase after their model of living and expect to get the same results. If you do that, you’re just chasing someone else’s dream.  I see so many people talking about ‘hustle,’ which is a Vaynerchuk term, or how you need to work your ass off to be successful.

I have absolutely nothing against that as all, but here’s what you should ask yourself when you read this kind of stuff: Why? Is that what you really want? How about this one: What does success mean to you?

Does working your ass off and hustling = success to you? If so, you better damn well know why. For many, success might mean leading a much more simplified life. It could mean quitting your six-figure job to work at Starbucks, like this guy.

So, I urge you to continually question your motives and assumptions. I urge you to constantly address your fears and experiment with new ways of thinking and doing things if you’re not happy with your current situation. But, please, be ever cognizant of all of the noise out there and always, without exception, make sure you’re following your own path and not someone else’s idea of what an ideal life should look like.

Photo Credit: catbagan