Some of this will sound goofy.
I don’t care.
It works for me.
I hope it’ll work for you.
The point isn’t to act on everything I suggest.
The point is to try what I suggest, see what works, and then drop it or stick with it.
After I saw that George Carlin special (it was “Jammin in New York,” BTW), I set an intention: I want to change careers and become a TV writer.
Setting an intention is no different than when you were a kid.
Remember how you would pick and choose all these different things you wanted to be “when you grow up”?
Well, today, you can make a plan for yourself and follow it.
How?
There are two steps.
First, you have to set an intention and understand why you want to do this thing.
You walk the path and achieve the thing you want to accomplish by first setting an intention:
I want to be _________________________________ <– Your intention goes here.
Then, you ask yourself why this is something you want to do.
If the why is good enough, you will stick with your plan.
If your why is weak, you’ll flake and never get anything done.
If you’ve ever stopped and started a project, this is why you flaked.
Your intention and reason for doing that project were not aligned.
So, I want to be _________________
Then, step two: Tell us why.
“I want to be __________________ because __________________________.
Here’s my answer:
I want to be a TV writer. TV is the only actual connective tissue I have with my family.
So, I want to make more of the shows we like because I want to watch them with my family.
Now it’s your turn.
Write down what you want to achieve, and then explain why you want that thing.
