1. Premise
1.1. Designers love problems
1.2. a well designed life is a life that is generative - constantly creative, productive, changing, evolving and there is always the possibility of surprise
1.3. Find answers to problems by reframing questions
1.4. Start with empathy of the people using their products and craft to meet their needs
1.5. Instead of asking what you want to BE when you grow up, ask yourself what you want to grow into, because there is no perfect plan or single solution.
1.6. 5 Mindsets
1.6.1. Curiosity
1.6.2. Awareness
1.6.3. bias to action
1.6.4. reframing
1.6.5. radical collaboration
1.7. Are you trying to solve the RIGHT problem. Are you asking the Wrong questions?
2. Start where you are
2.1. Problems
2.1.1. Gravity
2.1.1.1. Can't be solved. So it's not a problem
2.2. Areas
2.2.1. Health
2.2.2. Work
2.2.2.1. more than the money
2.2.2.2. also the contribution and impact you make
2.2.3. Play
2.2.4. Love
2.3. Create a dashboard
3. Building a Compass
3.1. Keys
3.1.1. you dont have to have it all figured out, OR know where you're going, just need to know you're going in the right direction
3.1.2. Your view of work and life are your compass
3.1.3. You know you're close to destination when you find coherence in your philosophy
3.2. Goal is to create a life that connects who you are, what you believe and what you do
3.3. Activity
3.3.1. Work
3.3.1.1. in 250 words, write you view of work
3.3.1.1.1. what it means
3.3.1.1.2. what defines good work
3.3.1.1.3. how work fits into society
3.3.1.1.4. what money, growh and experience and fulfillment have to do with it.
3.3.1.1.5. look beyond the work you do and focus on the REASON you work
3.3.2. Life
3.3.2.1. in 250 words, write you view of work
3.3.2.1.1. why you're hre
3.3.2.1.2. what you believe is meaningful and purposeful
3.3.2.1.3. how you thiknk you fit into your family / community
3.3.2.1.4. your ideas of good and evil, the role of a higher power
3.3.3. Where do these views complement each other?
4. Wayfinding
4.1. Keys
4.1.1. Paying attention to the aspects of your work that keep you engaged and energized
4.2. Flow
4.2.1. clarity, calmness, ecstasy. form of play
4.3. Energy
4.3.1. which activities sustain you vs drain you?
4.4. Good Time Journal activity
4.4.1. Record where you feel engaged and energized
4.4.1.1. note trends, insights and surprises
4.4.2. 3 weeks
4.5. AIEOU method
4.5.1. Activities
4.5.2. Environment
4.5.3. Interactions
4.5.4. Objects
4.5.5. Users
5. Getting Unstuck
5.1. Keys
5.1.1. There is no single best ideas.
5.1.2. There are multiple lives you could live happily
5.1.3. Designers choose a better basket of several ideas... never their first idea
5.2. Don't force your first ideas to work
5.2.1. Designers know the 1st ideas is always bad.
5.3. You can't know what you want until you know what you might want, so you have to generate a lot of ideas and possibilities
5.4. Mindmapping
5.4.1. Use word association
5.4.2. pick a topic of interest, (from good time journal) that kept you engaged and energized
5.4.3. Now write 5-6 things related to the activity
5.4.4. Now three related to each of these.
5.4.5. Time Limit 3 - 5 minutes
5.4.6. Pick a few things from your OUTER circle and combine them to create a few concepts
5.5. Anchor Problems
5.5.1. stubborn issues that actually have solutions
5.5.2. Try reframing the solution to include other possibilities and alternatives
6. Odyssey Lives
6.1. Plan3 multiple versions of your life
6.2. lesson the risk of prematurely committing
6.3. Should be fundamentally different from each other
6.4. Life A:
6.4.1. You have it in mind or living it currently
6.5. Life B:
6.5.1. What you would do if what you do in Life A is over.
6.6. Life C:
6.6.1. What you would do if money or image were not a concern.
6.7. Write things you'd want to test or explore in each of the three alternative lives. Include a visual timeline and a list of personal events.
6.8. Ask
6.8.1. What will life look like if you implement it
6.8.2. what resources will you need
6.8.3. how much you like the plan
6.8.4. how confident you are about pulling it off
6.8.5. how well it is aligned to your workview and lifeview
6.9. These alternative lives are not answer to the life you seek, they are possiblities that you explore and prototype to find what you must do next
7. Prototyping
7.1. Keys
7.1.1. Prototypes help you fail fast and forward
7.1.2. Guard against inclination to overinvest in bad ideas
7.1.3. Brainstorming helps generate the ideas you need
7.1.4. About asking good questions, weeding out unconscious biases and creating the momentum you need to set on a course that is appealing.
7.1.5. Give you a feel of what each life might feel like.
7.2. Conversation
7.2.1. Easy way
7.2.2. How did the person get where he is?
7.2.3. what is his day to day life like?
7.2.4. what does he love and and hate about what he does?
7.3. Brainstorming Prototype experiences
7.3.1. start with: "How many ways can we think to...."
7.3.2. 3-6 people
7.3.3. Group into categories
7.3.3.1. most exciting
7.3.3.2. ideas that won't work
7.3.3.3. ideas you wish you could pursue
7.3.3.4. ideas likely to lead to the life you envision
7.3.3.5. cast silent votes
8. Choosing Happiness
8.1. Process that involves making the most ideal choices and living them well
8.2. letting go of alternatives that don't serve you
8.3. Too many options overwhem you.
8.4. Wehn in doubt, DO something.
8.5. 4 Steps
8.5.1. Gather and create as many options as possible
8.5.2. pick top alternatives from among the options
8.5.3. Choose the best alternative
8.5.4. Let go of other alternatives
8.6. Finding it difficult?
8.6.1. Not as much about the quality of your research as your relationship with the options you have.
9. Designing Dream Job
9.1. Focus on the needs of the hiring manager, not your own and present yourself as the ideal fit for the job in question
9.2. You don't find a dream job, you design it
10. Failure Immunity
10.1. keys
10.1.1. fail at the small learning experiences and make real progress in areas that really matter.
10.1.2. Types of Failure
10.1.2.1. Screw Ups
10.1.2.1.1. simple mistake, nothing to learn, move on
10.1.2.2. Weaknesses
10.1.2.2.1. familiar failings you can improve or accept
10.1.2.3. Growth Opportunities
10.1.2.3.1. unexpected failings whose cause is known and solution is workable
11. Building a Team
11.1. Radical Collaboration
11.2. Supporters
11.2.1. Encourage you on your journey
11.3. Players
11.3.1. engage with you in your projects
11.4. Intimates
11.4.1. Most effected by your choices
12. Ultimate Goal
12.1. not to live a perfect life, but an evenly balanced one.
12.2. Live with meaning and purpose
12.3. Matter to those close to him
12.4. leave a mark
12.5. have fun
12.6. It does NOT
12.6.1. change you into a different person
12.6.2. it brings out the best in you and makes you more like you.
12.7. To work, you must
12.7.1. nurture curiosity
12.7.2. try things out
12.7.3. reframe your problems
12.7.4. understand it's a process so you don't give up
12.7.5. ask for help from others
12.7.6. And articulate your Workview and Lifeview so you're ready to answer when you ask yourself how your life is going.
13. Summary of Activities
13.1. health/work/life dashboard
13.1.1. zero to full
13.1.2. a few sentences about how it's going
13.1.3. Ask yourself "Is there a design problem I would like to tackle?"
13.1.3.1. If Yes, is it a Gravity problem?
13.2. Workview & Lifeview
13.2.1. 250 words
13.2.2. where complement?
13.2.3. where clash?
13.2.4. does one drive the other?
13.3. Good Time Journal
13.3.1. Log Activities for 3 weeks minimum
13.3.2. When engaged and enegergized
13.3.3. End of week jot down reflections
13.3.3.1. Any surprises?
13.3.3.2. zoom in
13.3.3.3. Use AEIOU method
13.4. Mindmapping
13.4.1. Review Good Time Journal for areas in flow, engaged or energized
13.4.2. Create 3 mindmaps for each area above
13.4.3. Look for something that brought you into flow
13.4.4. Word association
13.4.5. Look at outter rings
13.4.5.1. Pick 3 things and create a job description
13.4.5.2. Create a role for each description
13.5. Odyssey Plans
13.5.1. Create 3 alternative 5-year plans
13.5.2. Give each a 6 word title
13.5.3. 3 Questions that arise from each
13.5.4. Dashboard Guages
13.5.4.1. Resources
13.5.4.2. Likability
13.5.4.3. Confidence
13.5.4.4. Coherence
13.5.5. Present plan to a colloborator
13.6. Prototyping
13.6.1. Note the questions from the Odyssey plans
13.6.2. List any prototype conversations that would help me answer these questions
13.6.3. Seek out conversations and experiences to explore.
13.6.4. Brainstorming
13.6.4.1. 1. Frame a Good question
13.6.4.1.1. how many ways can we think of to....
13.6.4.1.2. Dont include the solution in your question
13.6.4.2. 2. Warm up
13.6.4.2.1. Use playdoh
13.6.4.3. 3. Braintstorming Rules
13.6.4.3.1. Quantity > Quality
13.6.4.3.2. Defer judgement, no censoring
13.6.4.3.3. Build off ideas of others
13.6.4.3.4. Encourage Wild Ideas
13.6.4.4. Naming and Framing the Outcomes
13.6.4.4.1. Group similar ideas into categories
13.6.4.4.2. Frame results with reference to orig question
13.6.4.4.3. Every category gets description and funny name
13.6.4.4.4. Vote
13.7. Reframing Failure
13.7.1. Log failures over the past week OR month OR year.
13.7.2. Label as screwups, weaknesses or growth opportunities
13.7.3. Identify your growth insights
13.7.4. Build a habit of converting failures to growth opportunities by doing this once per month.
13.8. Team Building
13.8.1. List 3-5 people
13.8.2. Make sure all have copy of book or framework
13.8.3. Meet regularly