“Your life sounds like so much fun. You’re so lucky that you get to live an extraordinary life.”
That is something I’ve gotten pretty used to hearing as I travel full-time and get to be a digital nomad.
However, it’s not just luck.
Just a few years ago, I never thought that I would be living this life. I never thought I’d be my own boss or that I’d be traveling full-time. It’s funny how much can change in just a few short years!
For me, this is extraordinary, but everyone has a different version of what living an extraordinary life means.
And, no matter what your definition is, if you want to live an extraordinary life, you can do it!
Perhaps you want to travel, retire early, start your own business, have a homestead, volunteer more, or something else.
Having an extraordinary life can be whatever you want it to be.
All you have to do is aim for it!
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If you want to live your best life, here’s how you can start. Remember:
We have one precious life: do something extraordinary today, even if it’s tiny. A pebble starts the avalanche. ~K.A. Laity
How to live an extraordinary life:
Stop making excuses.
If you want to live an extraordinary life, then you need to stop making excuses.
These might be excuses for why things may not be going your way, excuses for why you think something isn’t possible, and so on.
Everyone is guilty of making excuses, and I know that people will continue to make them until they realize that excuses are just that- excuses.
Just think about the last time you said “That won’t work for me because (insert your excuse here).”
As a personal finance expert, I hear a lot of reasons for why a person can’t save money, pay off debt, reach retirement, and so on.
But, I also hear people making excuses for why they can’t live an extraordinary life, but this is just a disaster because you’re giving up before you’ve even begun!
There are plenty of legitimate reasons for setbacks, and sometimes the road to your dream life isn’t easy. However, before you say that something isn’t possible, you should stop and think about whether or not you are just making excuses.
Once you understand the excuses you are making, you should begin to take the steps needed in order to live an extraordinary life.
Go for your extraordinary life.
What makes you happy, excited, joyful, and motivated? That’s what you should be doing with your life! Well, as long as it’s legal.
Stop thinking about what other people want you to do and start listening to your heart. Who cares about what others think? If you spend all your time thinking about others, you will be wasting a ton of time!
- If you want to live a life of adventure – Go for it.
- If you want to start a family – Start planning one.
- If you want a better job – Get one.
- If you want to change the world – Do it.
Find what it is that you want from life and announce that dream to yourself. Making this step towards reaching your extraordinary life will help you stay focused and move that much closer to reaching your dream.
Forget about what people think.
I hear from a lot of people who think they can’t go for their dreams, such as traveling full-time, starting their own business, and more. Often, their biggest fear is that other people will judge them. Most of the time the judgements are just in the person’s head, and if they’re not, who cares what others think anyways?
I used to really care about what other people thought of me. Now that I’ve learned to let go of that, I couldn’t be happier.
Listening to the opinions and negativity of others can drag you down, control you, and affect your ability to reach your extraordinary life. Letting go and saying “Who cares!?” will help you learn to live a great life.
Just remember, everyone is different, all that should matter is what is right for you.
Welcome the unknown.
The path to your extraordinary life will probably have quite a few brand new experiences.
Some people try to avoid or ignore these experiences because they are afraid of change or fear the unknown. However, these unknowns and new experiences are usually the key to your future.
They may help shape your ideals, teach you valuable lessons, and strengthen your self confidence.
Even though these unknowns can bring about positive change, it’s important to prepare for them. This begins by making a realistic plan for what may happen once you start taking steps to reach your goal. Being prepared can take a lot of the stress out of confronting the unknown.
For example, if you are afraid of what might happen when you leave your job to try something else, you should first plan on having a well-funded emergency fund. This way, if it takes you a little longer to find your dream job or dream life, your emergency fund will be there to help ease some of the stress.
Step outside your comfort zone.
When was the last time you did something new? Living an extraordinary life means that you’ll probably have to step outside of your box and do new things.
So many people live inside their comfort zone when they actually need to branch out every now and then.
Yes, stepping outside of your box can be tough, but what if it completely opened your eyes and changed your whole outlook on life?
Wouldn’t that be amazing?
If you want to learn how to live an extraordinary life, this is something you need to do every now and then. You could even set a goal to try something new each day, each week, or each month.
Improve your confidence.
To live your extraordinary life, you will have to be more confident.
A lack of confidence may:
- Prevent you from believing in yourself.
- You may be too shy to do what you want or need.
- Force yourself to do things you hate.
- Cause you to ruin a meeting, job possibility, and so on.
- Lead to unhappiness.
On the flip side, confidence can open many doors for you.
It can lead to getting the job you want, making more money, reaching your dreams, meeting new people, networking, traveling the world, and more.
Success isn’t easy. If it were easy, then everyone would be extremely successful, meaning that word wouldn’t even exist.
To take control of your life and live it to the fullest, you need to start believing in yourself and stop making excuses.
Next time you think “That’s not possible for me because of (your excuse),” you should think about how you can make your goal a reality.
You need to admit that you are making excuses, and believe that you can accomplish your goals.
Yes, it may be a little difficult to change your mindset in the beginning, but as time passes, you’ll realize that your excuses were just a waste of time and thought. Because, if you really want something, you can find ways to make it a reality.
Read more at Be More Confident And Get What You Want In Life.
Failure is a part of life.
Okay, that may sound extremely negative, but it’s true. Instead of thinking of failure as an end, you should think of failure as a learning experience.
If you’re taking risks or trying new things, there is a chance that you may fail at the task you are attempting.
But, that’s completely okay!
You won’t know if something will work or not unless you try it, and sometimes failure is just a part of the learning process.
Part of living a great life is failing every now and then. Accept that fate now, and you’ll be better prepared when it happens again.
Don’t let life pass you by.
It can be really easy to let life pass you by. Before you know it, years or even decades may be gone.
Too many people have the mindset of “Oh, in 10 years life will be so much better because of such and such.” And then, they just let their lives go by without ever thinking about the present.
Well, what about now?!
10 years is a long time!
Reaching a goal is great, but you should always make sure you are living life to the fullest (on a realistic budget, of course).
Realize that you’ll have to make sacrifices.
To live an extraordinary life, you may have to make sacrifices. In fact, sacrifices are definitely something you will have to make.
You may have to work long hours, pay off debt, skip an expensive purchase, and more. However, if it’s truly a dream of yours, just keep your eye on the end goal! If your idea of an extraordinary life is worthwhile to you, then the sacrifices will be worthwhile as well.
Do you want to live an extraordinary life? What does an extraordinary life mean to you?
Leave a Reply
Letting go of what others think and embracing the fact that making sacrifices is inevitable is so key, Michelle. We all want things to be easy and fast. However, it’s doing certain little things on a daily basis and letting go of the petty things that hold us back that allow us to make giant leaps. That’s the “secret” that everybody searches for on Monday mornings when they have to begin another week at a soul-sucking job (myself included). Thanks for the awesome list!
Yes, definitely!
I really like #2 and #3 (Go for your extraordinary life and ignore what other people think). This is huge for me. My husband and I desire to set deep roots in our community and build to financial independence with our family. This means I’m not aiming to retire early and travel abroad, but I’m also not necessarily looking to a 40 year career. It will never look like anyone else’s life and others may not agree with our plan, but that’s ok because it is our plan, not their plan 😉
Yes, everyone’s plan SHOULD be different 🙂
Definitely.
I agree with the “making excuses,” and “forget about what people think” parts especially. People worry too much about what everyone else thinks.At the end of the day, you have to be the person that makes you happy.
And another big one, making excuses. Procrastinating falls right in line with that as well. It’s an easy concept to make excuses.
Yes, making excuses is something that many people do.
This is a good list. I think “forgetting about what people think” is a big one. This one can hold people back as well as set people up for failure, especially when it comes to money/finances.
Thank you!
Good morning Michelle,
See how blessed you are? You never imagined living this type of life because we’re not trained to live like this. We go to school for so many years, encouraged to go to college right after high school and get our degrees, go to work for a big name corporation for 30 to 40 years, and retire on only 30% (if that) or perhaps 25% of our salary for the rest of our lives. I have to agree with you that blogging is a beautiful struggle and worth holding out faithfully while pushing forward with quality content creation.
I forgot what people and especially my own jealous family members thought about me years ago. If I always sought the approval of people, I’d never get anywhere in life. People are never satisfied. This is why I choose to distance myself from fake friends in the real world and family members who claim they love me but jealous of my business and educational progress to press on and forge forward with my life and entrepreneurial dreams. I’m a firm believer that if you’re not working to make yourself rich and achieving your dreams, you’re making someone else’s dreams come true and making them richer.
I’m also humble enough to say I’ve failed countless times. Is there such a thing as “failing your way to success?” I feel like I’m falling upward and I just can’t stop falling upward bound no matter what. 🙂
Haha yes!
I love the quote “I’ve failed over and over again in my life, that is why I succeed” I find that so true! Success happens after many “failures” and even failures are a lesson learned. Thanks for a great post!
Thank you!
Awesome stuff!
I especially like “A pebble starts the avalanche.” Building a business on the side can be difficult when you already have a bunch of other responsibilities. i have to remind myself that if I can make at least a little progress each day I’ll keep getting closer and closer to my goals.
Yes, it’s a great quote!
Great list! Totally agree with not caring what other people think of you, stopped doing that a long time ago and it’s so liberating. I also agree with stepping out of your comfort zone, greatness never happened being comfortable 🙂
Thanks!
Awesome list, Michelle. I especially like the “stop making excuses and just go for it” sentiment.
Thanks!
Great post! I especially like “So many people live inside their comfort zone when they actually need to branch out every now and then.” You have to do this to grow and it’s needed for change. Well said!
🙂 Thanks!
Thanks!
Good job on starting the path 🙂
I still care what people think about me but a lot less than before – I guess it comes with age.
But I like to care sometimes because the jealousy is fun. You probably know this ecactly Michelle. Have you ever gotten flack for your success? I totally want that flack with success. That’s one driver I use for me to live an extraordinary life – if someone’s not hating you for something, you’re not pushing enough! Hehehe.
Haha, love this!
*exactly
Yes, definitely!
Great work Michelle, this is truly inspirational and motivational. I love the point of forgetting what people think. That’s a tough one for a lot of people I know, including myself. But you hit it spot on.
Keep up the great work! I also think I may enrol in your Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing Course. Your content is always great!
Thanks! 🙂