This is probably the easiest thing in the world to do, I know some of you are groaning, “I can’t be bothered getting up”, “I can’t find any paper”. Thats rubbish, grab any scrap of paper and start writing.

Now start writing down what you want. Write down anything you want, even if it sounds silly, even if you think you’ll never afford it, even if you thing you’ll never be able or in a position to own it or do it.

Lets start with some basic categories. We’re going to keep this simple…to make it an easy first step. Ideally we’d have dozens of categories for each area of our life that we’d like to design, but we’ll stick to a basic five for now. Feel free to add more if you wish.

1. Car

Seeing a new car is my biggest topic right now we’ll start with this. What kind of car would you like to have? Write it down! Write the model name, the colour you would like. Even better, search for a picture on the net and print it out and glue it on the paper.

This process starts to crystallise an image in your mind of exactly what you want. How will you get something, if you don’t know exactly what you want! Its not enough to say “I want a new car”, you must be specific, or you are like an unguided missile. If theres no target you can’t aim at it! You must attach an image of the exact thing you want so that it sticks in your mind. You must also attach emotion to the thing you desire. How will you feel when you own this car? Will you feel satisfaction that you have worked and saved especially to buy this car? If there is no emotion linked to it, there will be no connection made, and no real desire that will push you into making the wish a reality.

So write down, right now, the car you want. Colour, Make, Model etc.

For me: I want a Series 6 Mazda RX7, Black, 18″ Mags, manual, tints, lowered, Flip down stereo unit with ipod connection, subwoofer in the boot.

Remember, be specific. If you can be more specific that me even better!

Finished? You only need a line or two to start with. Later you can go into even more detail. Visulaise the car , and form a very clear picture in your mind of the car you desire. Once a clear image is in your mind, and emotion is attached to it, you unconsciously start to work at making the dream a reality.

Also write down an exact date. When would you like to own this car by? For me I want this car by 15 December 2008. This date adds urgency, and more weight to your desire, as there is a deadline to work to.

2. Income

Again, repeat the process. What income/salary would you like? And by when? Once you have this income how will you feel?

If you are employed: Will you feel proud that you are valued highly enough to earn this great salary?
If you are self-employed: Will you feel satisfaction that you have been able to generate this level of income on your own? Attach emotion to the income figure…what will it allow you to do that you aren’t doing now. Will you be able to enjoy life more?

For me: I would like to have $1000 per week coming in passive income. Which comes inwhther I work or not, whther I am in the country or not. I would like to achieve $2,000 per week by 15 April 2009. Once I have achieved this level of income I will feel satisfied that I have generated this from scratch. It will allow me to further improve my lifestyle.

3. House

For this section think about the kind of house you would like. A great way to get some ideas is to flick thru the local property newspaper. They have big colour inserts of nice houses. Hopefully you will see one that you would like to own. Cut it out and stick it to your sheet of paper. When would you like to own a house like this?

For me I’d like to own this style house:

Once I own it I will feel extremely satisfied that I have achieved what I set out to do.

I want to own it within 4 years, date being 5 July 2012.

4. Holidays

Again:

1. What do you want? Where do you want to go?
2. How will you feel when you are there? Relaxed, excited, etc
3. When would you like to travel there?

For me: I’d like to go to Fiji. I’d like to go to a secluded island and relax on the beach, in the warm sun, sipping a cocktail, on a lounge chair, with my feet dangling over the edge in the warm water – Really paint a picture! Once I am lying on the lounge chair I will feel so relaxed, the sun will be beating down, but it won’t be too hot. I’ll feel satisfied that I am finally there after visualising it from the begining. Attach emotion to being there.

I’d like to travel there in between 6 – 12 January 2009.

5. Lifestyle

1. What do you want? Where do you want to go? How will you spend your time?
2. How will you feel when you have achieved this lifestyle? Relaxed, excited, etc
3. When will you start enjoying this lifestyle?

For me:

I want to generate sufficient income from passive internet businesses. I want to be able to do a few hours of enjoyable work each day, and spend the rest of the day reading, relaxing, or outside enjoying the freedom that an internet income allows.

I want to be able to take friends out for expensive lunches whenever I feel like.

I want to have the freedom to take a holiday on a whim if I wish. I want to decide “I’m going to Fiji tomorrow for 3 days” and be able to pay for the airline ticket, and go the next day. And I want the freedom to decide “Oh I’ll actually stay another week now that I’m here” and be able to do that because I don’t have to rush back to a job. When I am able to do this I will feel so satisfied that I have designed and setup my lifestyle to make it possible. I’ll feel priviliged to be able to do that, and I’ll want to help others achieve the same thing. I want to have sufficient passive income to do this, and sufficient passive income to cover the normal household expenses without me having to worry while I’m away. I want to have this freedom by January 2012.

I hope this technique has been beneficial to readers! Please leave any comments, I’d love to hear some feedback

I want the freedom and money to be able to do this. Its something I both aspire too, and am actively working on. I’m trying to have money come in, whether I actively work for it or not. Passive income if you will. I’m not making much yet, its working slowly, I just need to increase it more. If you’d like to learn alongside me check out my new passive internet income blog here:

wordpressblog – coming soon

I’m basically starting from scratch on the internet like you, so I can break it down into easy to understand steps because I am heading on the journey as we speak. I am good at explaining things so they seem easy. In the end it’d be great to be able to hang out with like minded people who also have the same passive income lifestyle and can also “leave home on a whim” to go to Fiji and enjoy the beautiful surroundings, or anywhere else in the world. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to do that!? Thats what I’m focussing on. The way I see it you don’t need to be super rich to do this. All you need is enough income coming in to cover your expenses, and a little extra for spending.

I mean if you kept earning your current income without physically having to work, you’d be able to quit your job, and start enjoying life! The internet can provide this without the need for a 9-5 job. That income can be coming in whether you are here or holidaying. Don’t believe me? I’ll show you ways it can and it being done by others, and how I am aiming to do this too.

Make sure you check out my passive internet income blog where I share how I am achieving this goal.

Lets not dream about it, lets make it happen!

I believe if you do not actively pursue an abundant state of mind, things rarely improve on their own. Everyone always says “One day we we’ll be able to travel overseas”, “One day I’ll be successful”, “One day I’ll be able to afford it”. Will that day ever come if you dont take active steps to fulfill it? And if it does eventually happen, do you really want to be too old to enjoy it?. You don’t just wake up one day, and feel successful from then on. You don’t wake up and go, oh I’m rich now, I can enjoy myself. You have to visualise yourself with that new car, the fat bank balance, the nice holidays whenever you want then, before they will happen.

I’m sick of having no furniture, a crap car, feeling unsuccessful. So I’m taking a different approach to “Live Large”. To spend money on myself while increasing my net worth. Not wasting resources on unnecessary things. When buying nice things it should motivate you and reward you, not cost you a lot in debt.

Living Large and having a great lifestyle dosen’t mean spending everything you earn. You should be saving at least 30% of your income for the future, for your retirement (early or not! With that remaining 70% you should be really enjoying yourself. But I don’t mean blowing it every weekend on booze. Spend it wisely on things that inspire you (like holidays) and reward yourself for diligent budgeting.

I couldn’t justify spending hundreds of dollars on repairs when the car was just a few hundred more. I would normally throw the car away and buy a new $1500 car! Luckily I’ve avoided needing any major repairs along the way that rendered a car undrivable. Although that has happened once now that I think of it.

So I’ve promised myself that for my first proper, half decent car I will spend $5,000. With New Zealands lax import laws you can buy something decent for $5000. Its a big step up for someone who dosen’t believe in wasting money on cars. But I have suffered long enough with breakdowns and embarassing things like windows not rolling down and oil steaming while driving.

I hope to upgrade every 6 months a further $5000 in value. Ie $5000 car now, $10,000 car in 6 months, $15,000 in 1 year. I see this as both an achievable, and sustainable goal that will motivate me to keep saving and increase my net worth. The way I see it, a car is a reward for increasing your net worth. I don’t believe in getting a loan to buy a car. Theres no logical reason to spend money on a nice car to make you look rich when you have borrowed every cent. Its just stupid and puts you in a worse financial position. Experiencing the good things in life, not waiting TOO long to obtain it. So you have to strike a balance between being a called “tightwad,” and spending all your money. Its about striking a balance.

All that aside, I’m hoping within 4 weeks I’ll have enough CASH to buy my new car. I will keep posting on my progress!

This place looks great! I’m going to have to book an island holiday soon. How can I be missing out on this!

You can view more great images of the Maldives here. They should provide you some inspiration

View great pics of the Maldives Islands

We see others enjoying great lifestyles.

We work hard, we want to improve work life balance.

We want to appreciate the good things in life and share them with others

We want to have more fun, enjoy life, inspire others

One main reason is that I am sick and tired of driving crap cars my whole life. My current car leaks oil profusely, I have to top up the oil every week. It dosen’t have a radio. Its a crap car.

I have always seemed to have crap cars, perhaps because I only buy cheap second hand cars? In the past I could never afford something decent.  I have always been against spending a lot of money on cars. Because they are not the greatest investments. You will lose money when you buy and sell a car. So now, I guess I am taking a stand! Life is short, too short to be stressed out driving useless cars. Too short to be missing out on the pleasure of driving a nice car I can be proud of. So I am no longer worrying about money spent on a decent car, when the benefit will outweigh any small financial loss over its life. I’m going to have nice cars from now on. And every 6 months I plan to sell and buy a new one/upgrade.

Now, I am not going to borrow money to do this. I’m going to save every dollar. A) You will lose money on a car so why lose twice with finance? B) Once you have saved hard for what you want, when you get it it will be more rewarding C) In the time it takes to save, you will have the time to decide whether you really want that particular model. If you buy on finance, you are impulse buying generally.

Its time to start enjoying life! This concept can be applied to any area of your life that you are unhappy about. What do you want to change in your life?

We all work hard, but we don’t take enough time to enjoy life. We get stuck in a rut, dead end job, we can’t afford nice things, or worse still we watch others enjoying a great lifestyle and think they are “lucky”, or “we couldn’t do that”. Most people can’t be bothered building a great lifestyle.

Material possesions are things to enjoy and are a great reward for achieving a goal. On a more holistic note we are about building and living an abudant lifestyle and sharing your experiences with others. Your lifestyle and enthusiam should inspire others!

We are against borrowing and taking out loans for comsumption – this is a false way to live. We are all about working smart, and designing the lifestyle you want to live. Because before you know it another year has past and you are still in the same place, you’re still driving the same crap car. You’re still miserable in your job. We encourage you to stay tuned to our blog. We’ll be highlighting ways to improve your lifestyle, we’ll inspire you to dream and create the lifestyle of your dreams. Because if you don’t do it, no one else will. Your life will never change unless you change it yourself, ask, and plan for what you want in life.

Join us in creating your own “lifestyle by design”. We’ll tell you how we are improving our lifestyle and hopefully this will give you some tips, and hopefully some ideas and direction for what you would like.

To your success!