Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast
Episode 248
How to Accomplish Anything You Want
Have you ever wondered why some people are successful and others are not? Why is it that some people appear to be living their dreams and others only complain about not achieving the same thing. Have you ever thought about being on your death bed, looking back over your entire life and admitting that you have no regrets?
Such a lifestyle is possible. But just like anything else, if you truly want to live in this way, it takes dedication, focus and, believe it not, a structured lifestyle. The best part, is that all of this can be accomplished while living sustainably and having very little impact on the planet.
If you want to find out just how you can make this possible then join me for E248 How to Accomplish Anything You Want.
Welcome back everyone to the Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast. This is your host Patrick and this is E248 which is called How to Accomplish Anything You Want.
Most of the time I try to produce episodes that give practical advice, a thoughtful point of view or even discuss practical skills that focus on sustainable living. On occasion, I like to put together something that provides a bit of motivation and encouragement for people to truly live the life they want. I like to encourage people to make some changes, get out of their daily grind and just do something different. But at the same time I focus on doing these things in a sustainable manner.
This is something I was thinking a lot about just the other day. Although I feel as if I have accomplished a lot of things for myself, I am also trying to make some further changes in my lifestyle. At the same time, I also want to stay on the path of living sustainably and having a slower pace in life that is packed with peace and quiet and time spent doing all the things I enjoy.
Good News Story of the Week
But before we get to that, let’s talk about the good news story of the week.
Mostly likely the heat island affect that is experienced in cities is no big surprise. All the asphalt and concrete tends to collect and emit heat making the inner cites hotter than ever.
But one developer has found an answer to that. A new planned community in Arizona is remarkably cooler due to a clever design that is makes it look more like a Greek island community instead of a place in Arizona.
In a Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Culdesac is a 17 acre mixed use neighborhood that has been designed as a 15 minute city. Buildings are tall, thick and totally white. Building are close together creating narrow streets and alleys that are almost always shaded and tend to channel and accelerate air flow, creating a cooling effect.
Building are also arranged to promote air flow from one to the other. No privately owned cars are allowed. Transportation is by electric biked, robotic mini taxis and a light rail. Consequently, ground temperatures are 50-60 degrees F lower compared to downtown Phoenix.
The architects inspiration came from places such as Italy, Greece and Coatia where town centers were designed prior to the use of motor vehicles and air conditioning. So, as you can see, it is possible to deal with climate change in creative ways and make our lives more sustainable.
So, with that said let’s move on to this week’s episode.
There have been several times in my adult life when people have asked me how it is I do the things I do and maintain my present lifestyle. People wonder if I ever color between the lines, meaning staying within line of common exceptions for our society. What most people do not realize is that my life is the result of some very deliberate actions. It is the result of forethought and planning. Perhaps on the exterior it appears that I walk around willy-nilly with this haphazard lifestyle with no plan at all. But the truth is the exact opposite.
If you truly want to accomplish something for yourself, it takes focus, careful planning and some very deliberate actions. What I want to do in this episode is to give you a structured plan for building the lifestyle of our choice. It’s sort of a roadmap to help you go from vision to planning to daily living. The best part is that this is adaptable whether you’re aiming for sustainability, self-sufficiency, financial independence, creative freedom, or a blend of all of the above.
When I think about such a plan I like to start asking myself a few questions. Top of my list is this:
What is the one thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary? In other words, what is the one thing if you accomplished it would change everything you do? So, this sets the stage for almost everything I am going to focus on in this episode.
What I want to do here is to break down this blueprint into defined manageable steps and then go through them one by one.
1. Define Your Vision
Now if you remember, this sounds a lot like something else I have talked about before: simplicity. The quickest and easiest way to simply your life is to first list the top 3 to 5 things that bring you value, that define who you are, what you do, where you go, how you work and how you live. Once you have that list, focus on that and eliminate everything else. Now that is clarity.
2. Identify Core Pillars of Your Lifestyle
Now that you have a vision of what you want your life to look like, it is time to break that vision into several categories. Think of these categories as the building blocks or the basic foundation of your overall lifestyle. This is where the underlying structure of your lifestyle comes into play.
Now I am going to suggest a few things but the reality is that these are going to be different for everyone. That said, I am going to suggest six different building blocks, or pillars that will round off your life.
In other words, take care of your body. Eat whole minimally processed foods. Getting regular exercise build energy, confidence and resilience. You should prioritize sleep because it strengthens your memory, your focus and your emotions. Build some balance into your life. Limit alcohol, smoking, eating junk food and other habits that drain your energy.
So, the bottom line to all of this is that you truly need to know yourself. You need to ask yourself what matters the most to you, personal freedom, financial independence, relationships and family, travel, sustainability, self sufficiency. Then take some time to understand your strengths and weaknesses, your passions, what really motivates you. Then set you vision. What kind of person do you want to be 5 to 10 years from now? What do you want to be doing this time next year?
Up-to-date summary
So, at this point you should identified the top 5 principles that are going to be your guide for everything else that you do. Based on that, you should have simplified your life so that you have few if any distractions. Then beyond that you should have outlined and defined the pillars that will form the foundation of your life. The examples I used were health and wellness, work and income, home and environment, relationships and community, growth and creativity, and finally time and personal freedom.
3. Set Clear Goals
The next step here is that for each of the pillars, or foundational building blocks that you have defined, set some clear goals.
For each of these pillars:
For example, on the health pillar:
If you want to learn about gardening and start growing some of your own food, a short-term goal may be to start with 3 vegetables this season and track your harvest. A medium term goal could be to build a small raised-bed garden and learn about food preservation. A long-term goal may be to grow 70% of your own food.
Time and personal freedom pillar:
Another example is for the time and personal freedom pillar, a short-term goal may be to limit your personal commitments in order to free up some of your time. Then take one day a week and focus only on what the most for you. A medium-term goal may be to take a nice trip somewhere once every 6 months. A long-term goal may be to work remotely so that you can within reason do whatever you want.
At any rate, you should start seeing a pattern here.
4. Build a Practical Action Plan
This is actually a good time to bring up something else that will be very helpful when it comes to goals. It is always important to begin with the end in mind. What do you want to achieve? To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you are going so you have a clearer understanding of where you are now so that the steps you take are always in the right direction. When you think of it this way, you realize that what you do now will affect your quality of life 5 years from now. When you know what is deeply important to you and keep that picture in mind, you manage yourself each day to be and to do what really matters most and this will hasten the accomplishment of your goals.
5. Design Your Environment
Designing your environment means surrounding yourself with people and things that are going to help build your success. For example, if your passion is music, then you want to surround yourself with people who appreciate that sort of goal and have similar passions. If you want to live a sustainable eco-friendly lifestyle then surround yourself with people who feel the same way. In both cases, these are people you can learn from, gain inspiration, and maybe even be exposed to new ideas.
6. Build Resilience & Flexibility
7. Track, Measure, and Adjust
Each person is different on how they do this.
8. Live the Lifestyle Now (in Small Ways)
Don’t wait until you’ve “arrived.” Start sampling pieces of your lifestyle today:
The key thing to remember here is that you can build any lifestyle you want. However, it is not going to happen overnight. It happens through consistent, intentional actions. It is about self awareness, growth, and living a life that is true to your personal values.
It is not about perfection. It is about living with purpose. It is well known that when you live with purpose promote happiness, improves your mental health, makes for stronger relationships and just may make you live longer.
Many years ago I quit what was at the time the best paying job I had ever had in my life. I had job security, excellent benefits, an 6 to 8 weeks off per year. But, I was unhappy. I left that job with the intention of going to veterinary school. Everyone I worked with laughed at me. But, 6 years later I graduated with my doctorate. All of this happened because I had a vision, a clearly defined goal, and I lived with purpose.
In essence, you can accomplish anything you want if you clearly define your goal, build a structured plan, take consistent daily action, and stay aligned with your purpose. If you do that then years from now someone will be asking you how it is you live the way you do.
And to close out this episode I have included in the transcript a brief outline that is a step-by-step guide to success that will summarize what I have presented. It will help you develop a clear vision for anything you want to accomplish.
I hope you enjoy this and I also hope you will join me again next week. Until then, this is your host Patrick signing off. Always remember to live sustainably because this is how we build a better future.
🌟 Success Blueprint: Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Define Your Success
Daily Actions (Micro-success habits)
These keep you moving steadily forward.
Weekly Actions (Momentum builders)
Monthly / Long-Term Actions (Direction & growth)
Long-Term Actions (Yearly and Beyond)
✅ In essence: Success is built on clarity, consistent daily effort, weekly reflection, and long-term persistence. Follow this blueprint, and any dream becomes less overwhelming and more achievable.
