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I often asked myself: How do I build a million-dollar business?

When I got there, I knew I should have asked: How do you build a lifestyle business?

Don't search for million-dollar ideas.

I was asking myself how to build a million-dollar business when I started six years ago.

When I made my first million, everything came differently than I thought.

Ultimately, I learned that building a million-dollar business doesn't cut it.

I thought my life starts when I get rich.

What would I do with a million dollars?

This is when I stepped into the 9-5 retirement trap.

The 9-5 retirement dream says we must wait until we can live our dream life.

Why can't we live our dream life right now?

Because we're giving money too much value.

I had to understand that money is just a tool.

Money alone won't make me happy.

Waiting for that money wastes time I could have spent living happily already.

I noticed that I had never thought about what my dream life would look like.

And how could I start living that dream right now?

The answer was to build a lifestyle business.

I stopped asking how to build a business that makes a million dollars.

I started asking:

How to build a business I love working on for the next 40 years.

And how to build a business from which I don't need vacation.

How to Build a Lifestyle Business?

1. Dream of Your Dream Life

Everything starts with figuring out what you really want.

Money is not an answer here.

Let's find out what lies behind your wants.

I always use the 5 Why Method when I look at my wants.

I ask: Why do I want this right now?
Then I ask the same question about the answer I come up with.
I repeat this question five times until I reach a fundamental truth.

You will notice that many things you want cover up a much deeper need.

Most often, this deeper need can be fulfilled much more quickly.

Draw a vivid picture of your dream life.

This can be in text, image collage, video, or write a song.

Use the medium you like most and that creates the strongest connection for you.

2. Start Living Your Dream Life.

You know what you want now.

What you genuinely want and need.

Then start living your dream!

Of course, not all the experiences in your dream life at once.

If you live all of them right now, you have nothing left for later. 😉

What parts of your dream life can you start living right now?

Maybe it is a habit of sleeping in every morning.
Or it is exploring one new restaurant every week.
Or maybe it is living at a beach in Mexico.

You can do all these right now.

The only one holding you back is you.

So, what can you do right now to live your dream life?

3. Make a Map For Your Dream Life Journey.

Remember, at this point, you already started living your dream life.

Now, you only need to fill your dream life with meaningful experiences.

This is where you create a map.

I like to plot a path through my dream life.

This map does not tell me with which milestone the fun starts.

It shows me all the fun things I will experience along the journey.

Don't compromise on your health and fulfillment during your journey.

You're not a 9-5er; you're an entrepreneur!

We don't postpone the fun for hustling so we can live later.

We live right now and enjoy the journey.

If you're struggling to break out of your current trajectory, try the Ikigai method.

With the Ikigai method, you can re-invent your life and find the one that fulfills you most.

I created an Ikigai ChatGPT prompt that you can copy and use.

>>> Create your Ikigai with ChatGPT.

4. Live Your Dream Life.

All the planning is excellent, but you need to start doing it at some point.

Take your Dream Life Journey and start living it off.

It's as simple as that.

I get scared sometimes.

I'm unsure if the next step is correct and if this will bar me from other things in the future.

In these dark moments, I remind myself:

If it is scary, it is exactly what you should be doing right now.

You can use the fear-conquering exercise to overcome each of these fears.

Pull the bad outcomes from your mind into the light of reality.

Chances are that they're not that scary anymore when they're naked and exposed.

5. Rinse and Repeat

Revisit your dream life vision regularly and adjust it when it changes.

When your vision changes, your dream journey will also change.

Just take the next fork and continue living your dream life.

Embrace change. It is the only constant in life.

In the end, a lifestyle business is a system with the sole goal of you living your best life right now.

Money Mindset is Key

Did you notice I didn't speak about money once when telling you how to build a lifestyle business?

But Marcel, I need money to do all the cool things I want.

Yes, and that is all that money is, a tool.

Making money and living your dream life can be accomplished with the same activities.

You need to choose the right activities.

When you do something that you love, and it makes others happy too, you will never want for money.

If that sounds impossible to you, fix your money mindset.

Get over the 9-5 beliefs that hold you back.

You are The only person between you and your dream life.

Enough fortune cookies for today.

Marcel out.

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A Million-Dollar business won't make you rich