How to Create Your Ideal Life in 7 Minutes

2024-08-23 · Long video (solo, talking head or whiteboard) · Ali · recording, 7:39 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Goals, purpose and life design · mode: Explanation and tutorial

Late at night, Ali shares Kevin Dahlstrom's ideal end state exercise from Michael Karnjanaprakorn's podcast: make a specific bulleted list of your ideal life, then check whether your actions lead there; he reads out his own list, from four kids and a co-working space to a touring stage show.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Late at night after visiting his mum and grandma, Ali introduces the podcast with Kevin Dahlstrom

★ Ali records this video at 11.15pm after hearing the conversation on his way home from visiting his mum and grandma. — 00:00:00 · Ali Abdaal's mother
★★ Ali says the podcast host Michael Karnjanaprakorn is the ex-founder of Skillshare, who he thinks sold Skillshare for a very large amount of money. (hedged) — 00:00:13 · Skillshare
★★ Ali introduces Kevin Dahlstrom as a four-time founder, three-time chief marketing officer and investor in over 55 companies who climbs at an elite level while prioritising his family. — 00:00:27

00:00:42 — Kevin Dahlstrom explains the ideal end state exercise and the Porsche example

★★ Michael Karnjanaprakorn (quoted): Michael Karnjanaprakorn says Kevin Dahlstrom might be the most balanced person he has met, and that this is only possible because of Kevin's ideal end state exercise. (hedged) — 00:00:42 · ideal Tuesday
★★ Kevin Dahlstrom (quoted): Kevin Dahlstrom says he has done the ideal end state exercise with dozens of people, from college students to billionaire businesspeople. — 00:00:56
★★★ Kevin Dahlstrom (quoted): Kevin Dahlstrom's ideal end state exercise: make a bulleted list of what your ideal life would look like, very specific about what a day looks like, who you are around, what you do and how you feel. — 00:01:11 · ideal Tuesday

“you make a bulleted list of if you could have your ideal life, what would it look like?”
★★ Kevin Dahlstrom (quoted): Kevin Dahlstrom says that every time he does the ideal end state exercise with someone, it highlights often big inconsistencies between what they say they want and their actions. — 00:01:25 · ideal Tuesday
★★ Kevin Dahlstrom (quoted): Kevin Dahlstrom's example: a young person who buys a Porsche 911 although driving a fancy car is not on their ideal-life list is probably kept by it from the things they really want. (hedged) — 00:01:40
★★ Kevin Dahlstrom (quoted): Kevin Dahlstrom says people often go with the flow, following what society says although it is not really what they want. — 00:02:05

00:02:20 — Ali's own ideal end state list, recorded on VoicePal in the car

★★ Ali did the ideal end state exercise in the car, recording it on VoicePal, the app he and his business partner are building, which turns spoken stream of consciousness into a rough first draft. — 00:02:22
★★ Ali recommends viewers pause the video and actually do the ideal end state exercise, which he finds really helpful. — 00:02:36 · ideal Tuesday
★★ The first item on Ali's ideal end state list is freedom to do whatever work he wants, with whomever and whenever he wants. — 00:02:52
★★ Ali's ideal end state includes four kids and a big family home with an open door policy, friends and family always coming over, two to three guest rooms, a private chef and a housekeeper. — 00:03:01
★★ In Ali's ideal life he is in amazing shape, goes to the gym whenever he feels like it, plays sports with friends every day and goes on long walks. — 00:03:07
★★ Ali's ideal end state includes a deep, loving relationship with his future wife and relationship or couples retreats once or twice a year. — 00:03:14
★★ In Ali's ideal life he travels whenever he wants, always flying business or first class. — 00:03:20
★ Ali puts a private jet on his ideal list with a question mark: it is a level of wealth he suspects he will never have, though very rich people he knows praise the freedom of movement it gives. (hedged) — 00:03:24
★★ Ali's dream car at the moment is a Porsche Taycan. — 00:03:40
★★ Ali would like to write a book every few years whenever he wants to explore an interesting question, with a writing buddy, a low barrier to publishing and no stress about the books' marketing and performance. — 00:03:44
★★ Ali's ideal end state includes an office and co-working space within walking distance of home, with his team working together in person, a YouTube and podcast studio and an event space for students of his courses. — 00:03:56
★★ Ali would like to organise and pay for an annual ski trip, surf trip and maybe a cruise with friends and family, if he had enough money. — 00:04:13
★★ Ali's ideal life includes regular music jam sessions with friends, singing, songwriting and producing songs. — 00:04:20
★★ Ali wants to keep filming videos but only when he feels like it, like this one, which he shares without caring how it performs, hoping some people will do the exercise. — 00:04:25
★★ Ali's ideal end state includes a business holding company with a portfolio of small profitable businesses making 10 million plus profit a year. — 00:04:39
★★ Ali has recently taken the 10% Pledge for his business as well as personally, so the business donates 10% of its profits to effective charities every year, with a view to more philanthropy as he gets older. — 00:04:47
★★ Inspired by Tony Robbins's live events, Ali would love to host a productivity weekend seminar or a touring one-man stage show, like Jay Shetty's stage show meets Derren Brown, mixing magic, music and mentalism with personal development. — 00:05:00

00:05:38 — Comparing your life with the ideal end state and changing the goal or the actions

★★ Ali has found the ideal Tuesday and ideal Sunday prompts helpful too, and likes all journaling prompts that ask what life you actually want and what would and would not be in it. — 00:05:38 · ideal Tuesday
★★★ After the ideal end state exercise, Ali says, compare your current life with the ideal end state and ask whether your actions lead there; if not, change either the goal or the actions, or you are only shafting yourself. — 00:05:55 · ideal Tuesday

00:06:22 — LifeNotes plug, request for emails, the three-part playlist and sign-off

★ Ali recommends listening to Michael Karnjanaprakorn's podcast episode with Kevin Dahlstrom. — 00:06:39

Threads in this video

restate · How do you design the life you want? — Kevin Dahlstrom's ideal end state exercise: make a bulleted list of what your ideal life would look like, very specific about what a day looks like, who you are around, what you do and how you feel. (00:01:11)
restate · How do you design the life you want? — Ali recommends viewers pause the video and actually do the ideal end state exercise, which he finds really helpful. (00:02:36)
refine · How do you design the life you want? — After the ideal end state exercise, Ali says, compare your current life with the ideal end state and ask whether your actions lead there; if not, change either the goal or the actions, or you are only shafting yourself. (00:05:55)
progress update · Ali pledges that his business will give 10% of its profits to effective charities every year (2024) — Ali has recently taken the 10% Pledge for his business as well as personally, so the business donates 10% of its profits to effective charities every year, with a view to more philanthropy as he gets older. (00:04:47)
progress update · Ali pledges to give 10% of his income to effective charities every year for the rest of his life or until he retires (2019) — Ali has recently taken the 10% Pledge for his business as well as personally, so the business donates 10% of its profits to effective charities every year, with a view to more philanthropy as he gets older. (00:04:47)
repeated · Ali dreams of his own co-working building with a team office, podcast and YouTube studio, coffee shop, library and gym within five to ten years (2024) — Ali's ideal end state includes an office and co-working space within walking distance of home, with his team working together in person, a YouTube and podcast studio and an event space for students of his courses. (00:03:56)

Where the stories that moved here went next

Ali pledges to give 10% of his income to effective charities every year for the rest of his life or until he retires (2019) — open (updates through 2024, not reported done); last: progress update, 2024-09-10
Ali pledges that his business will give 10% of its profits to effective charities every year (2024) — open (updates through 2024, not reported done); last: progress update, 2024-08-23

Mentioned

Central: ideal Tuesday · Kevin Dahlstrom

Also: People: Derren Brown · Jay Shetty · Michael Karnjanaprakorn · Tony Robbins

Organizations: Giving What We Can · Skillshare

Products: Porsche 911 · Porsche Taycan · VoicePal

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