what's holding you back is not lack of talent or opportunity.

I know it doesn't feel like it, but the modern world has more opportunity than you could dream of, it really does.

What's really, really difficult (so difficult that 99% of people will never manage it) is keeping life simple so you can focus on what matters.

It's why most Nobel Prize laureates and self-made multimillionaires are monomaniacally obsessed with what they do. It's a God-given shortcut to focus.

Well, what if you aren't built that way? I know I'm not.

The rest of us tolerate messiness in our personal spaces and in our relationships. We're plagued by health issues and endlessly occupied by things that, if we were harshly honest with ourselves, we could do without (or in the very least make much simpler.) Maybe our family demands so much time and attention that we're left emotionally exhausted. Whatever the reason, we feel like we're barely keeping up with the current demands of our life, let alone the pursuit something more.

Purging your life of complication is an exercise in ruthlessness.

Step 1: Note down what you spend the most time doing or thinking throughout the week.

Step 2: Challenge yourself to find a way to do it less. There are three ways to do this:

• streamlining: Examine all your systems and workflows. You'll find you can often get the same or better results with less time and effort. In my experience, the default way of doing almost anything is horribly inefficient.
• outsourcing: Figure out what an hour of your time is worth. It makes pure, rational sense for a freelancer who could make $250 an hour to pay someone any amount less than that to clean his house. As long as he makes good use of the time, he saves both money and - what is far more precious - headspace.
• eliminating: Some things you simply might not have to do: you won't know until you try. For example, I only eat one meal a day, which saves so much time cooking and cleaning. Plus intermittent fasting is crazy good for you - I have more focus and energy than ever before. I also decided I wasn't responsible for saving certain people from loneliness. Drawing boundaries is an unpleasant process when you aren't used to it but everything became so much better once I did.

Step 3: Rinse and repeat until you have a few hours every week in which you are well-rested and free of responsibilities. This is the time in which you can move your life forward.

Social media is a notorious time waster, but even things that feel very productive and satisfying might not actually help move your life forward.

Personally, I spent a lot of time maintaining my appearance, health, and my living space. I brought that down to a couple hours a week total using advice found on simpleskincarescience (some findings summarized here) and Marie Kondo's famous Bible on minimalism.

It's like peeling back an onion. You have to get rid of all the excuses to confront the real issue at hand.

Sometimes you might find that the "excuses" are actually incredibly meaningful, and whatever goal you've been disappointed in yourself for not pursuing is actually not worth it. Either way, you find a new, serene contentment with where things are going. And that's priceless.

Sincerely,

Divs

P.S. If something in your life feels like an impossible balancing act, reply and let me know! I might have some hacks I can share :)