On the Origin of Me by Means of Lifestyle Design
Posted by Dan on October 10, 2009 in The Voyage
It is roughly a year since I first read Tim Ferris’ 4 Four Work Week. It’s a great book and has been a catalyst for a big change in how I view life and the world. While it’s not without its flaws the most important concept I think anyone can take from the book is Lifestyle Design.
Charles Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection was a revelation; 150 years since its publication we can see that. While early on the concept was used to condone racism and other abominations now we realize there are far better ways we can apply it to things like business and personal development.
I’m evolving, hopefully it’s more of an intelligent design type of evolution, I can guide my evolution in a way that will ensure an improved lifestyle with natural selection taking its turn later on. It’s amazing how much of the change actually takes place in your mindset, I’ve come to realize that although I am currently an employee I’ve shifted into a more entrepreneurial mindset. The changes in mindset are important and necessary but we also have to change the things we do. An entrepreneurial mindset is nothing without entrepreneurial action.
My Evolution is a process of eliminating the undesirable, capitalizing on beneficial skills and learning more new beneficial skills. By eliminating my debt, an income tied to time, capitalizing on my web mastering and development skills and learning new skills that will be advantageous in a nomadic lifestyle, I can become a digital nomad.
The more I create, the greater the chance that some of my creations will survive and prosper. With research and testing I improve their chances of survival. By split testing, adapting and applying the 80/20 principle I make sure I don’t waste time of projects that will not work and nurture those that will.
While I can do my best to test and evaluate if a creation is worth pursuing, ultimately once I drop it into a real life environment natural selection will take over. Some will die, some will thrive. This is especially true of my recent foray into Adsense sites. There is a lot I can do to increase my sites chances of survival but hypothesizing while useful doesn’t compare to conducting an actual experiment.
Hopefully I wont be eliminated from the gene pool and will find my place in the food chain. Anyone even aware of the concept of lifestyle design is at somewhat of an advantage, if lifestyle design is going mainstream we would do well to take advantage of that now.
Tiny URL for this post: http://tinyurl.com/2cd247z
I have no doubt that you’ve got the right combination of skills and talents to survive, buddy. Keep in mind, too, that the playing field you’re competing in is a bit more exclusive than most right now: you’re not passing advice back and for with someone who has little ambition and no desire for change…all of us want the same, and by leaning on one another as we stand, even if it still doesn’t happen right away, we’ll be much steadier when we’re all completely on our feet.
Hilarious illustration. I’m a big fan of Darwin, but quite possibly a bigger fan of funny references TO Darwin.
Heya Dan
I am still only 50% through Tim’s book and want to sit down and finish the rest, I’m loving his ideas!
It’s nice to hear you are still constantly evolving and improving, I love your picture you used for this post, totally saved that
Cheers!
Diggy
Hi Dan,
It’s cool that you’re “evolving”. I think most people with goals need to evolve.
I’ve also read The 4-Hour Work Week. I loved it.
Hey Dan,
Evolution.
That is what caught me in this post—evolution seems to be on the rise with everyone.
I think of the things/philosophies I’ve let go of through my process of evolution and I’m amazed how things have changed in such a short period of time.
Thanks!
Jill
Jill’s recent post: Romper Bomper Stomper Boo.
I think we all naturally evolve, that just the normal changes in ourselves that happen with experience and age. It’s stepping back and taking a bigger picture look at it that changes it from just something that happens into something that leads to real desired improvement.
[...] now and it turns out there is a whole group of awesome people out there blogging, teaching, living the principles of lifestyle design. I love reading about their lives and what they are doing with the [...]