Sorry, but the future isn't real

For much of my youth, I was the guy teachers had to snap back into the room.

I was staring out the window, you see.

Daydreaming.

I was in my head, making plans, wishing I was somewhere else. I was time-traveling.

I spent a lot of time in my future.

I was ashamed for being regularly absent-minded as a kid, mainly because I believed the harsh words of teachers and other authority figures.

Since then, I’ve made peace with this part of me. I now understand this is a common trait of creative people, especially introverts like me.

I still daydream, but I do it unapologetically.

My favourite piece of advice for overwhelm is this:

Lie on your bed and stare at the ceiling.

The subtle art of ceiling-staring has brought me some of my best ideas, many of which I’ve turned into courses and products that have made me tens of thousands.

Envisioning a fantastic future is important.

But I also know that we must create a bridge if we want those futures to materialise. My successes began to accelerate when I figured out what this bridge was:

Systems.

When most people hear ‘systems,’ they picture complicated interfaces filled with dials, buttons and sliders.

But your system needn’t be complicated.

At the basic level, a system is, for example, showing up at a similar time each day to write 500 words.

The glorious future is a completed book.

Your bridge to this future is stringing eighty days together of writing.

That’s your basic system.

• Pick a life area that needs your attention.

• Choose one exciting objective.

• Design a system attached to this objective.

• Follow your system and be open to tweaking this system as you go.

Now you’re pulling your future into the present. Because, after all, the future doesn’t exist.

All we have is right now.

And systems make it happen.

When you upgrade to my Ember newsletter, you’ll receive free access to various upcoming mini-courses, including one on exactly how to pick and design your perfect system (or two).

This will take you from wandering sheep to laser-focused owl.

The upcoming course is called: The One System Method, and it will change your life when you follow it.

You can upgrade to Ember here.