How to build your life project - Waterfall Revenue (2024)

Why you should have a life project

If you feel that you are not moving forward in your personal and / or professional life, you may not be sure you have found what makes you happy. If you're tired of letting yourself be carried away by the flow without knowing where you are going: take a break in your crazy race that takes you to nowhere and take a few moments to think about the construction of the project of your life. It's a great way to give meaning to your life and start going into a direction. But beware, once the life project is defined, it will be necessary just after to elaborate the plan to reach it and to take action, otherwise your situation will be worse than before: you will see your life scroll at full speed while keeping at a good distance from your ideal of life, like an unreachable Grail.

Here is the methodology that I applied personally and produced very good results.

Be convinced of the usefulness of building a life project

Whether or not you are satisfied with the path of life you came accross, you have to know that the ingredients and strategies that have contributed to your success until now, will not be the same than the ones you will need to reach a better future.

It is important to be aware of this and to define what will be the next steps in your life, what major projects are you ready to invest your time in? Which opportunities you will agree to take or not : new job opportunity with moving house, expatriation, starting a business, starting a family, etc..

Building your life project is making the promise that beyond a vision, you will implement actions to achieve your goals.

If right now you're just looking for a nice reading about personal development, as you've probably read so many others, that did not have the slightest concrete impact on your life, it is useless to go further: The Waterfall Revenue method to build a life project is not an internet content among others that revolves around the subject with beautiful words. It's the First concept of an effective way to succeed your personal life and professional career.

This is the solution to change your life.

This is the practical way to stop procrastinating. Maybe you're full of articles, Youtube channels, Instagram accounts or Facebook pages thay you follow to hopefully take control of your life. Have they really changed anything in your life? So stop giving yourself good conscience by consuming useful content, take a paper and a pencil and start acting now.

The Waterfall Revenue Method is above all the strategy I've successfully applied to succeed in the last 10 years of my life.

So if you're not ready now to take a paper and a pencil (or at the very least a note-taking application on your phone), it's a shame because you lose a rare opportunity to put back your life on the rails of success.

You must be convinced that if today you are in lack and suffering, or even if you already benefit from exceptional resources, without vision for your life, you are on an uncertain life trajectory that leads to nothing. You have to take your destiny into your own hands, not to put it back to luck, but by defining a vision for your life, then by planning the steps to move forward.

Before you start this challenge you must be convinced that you need a vision for your life, because:

• if you do not change something, in the long run you will not be fully satisfied with your life
• it is possible to achieve a better life when you give yourself the means to succeed

How to define your life project

Defining your life project is the first concept of the Waterfall Revenue Method.

This article is the most important, although regularly other articles are published and present other techniques to define a project of life, or methodologies adapted to particular situations (for example this article to define a project of life as a couple).

Together we will develop your life project in 7 steps.

First of all, you need serenity to define your life plan. Settle into a quiet and inspiring place where you will not be disturbed for at least two hours. Cut off all notifications from your phone.

As you read these lines, the conditions may not be met. You can still start brainstorming, but now plan a personal appointment in your agenda (evening or weekend) to synthesize your ideas in a peaceful and isolated place. You can schedule several sessions to go through the process.

If spending one, two, maybe even three hours on this exercise is not for you,

if you're not ready to spend a few hours to make sense of your life and get a direction where to go,

so I regret it, but you will not be among the 5% of people on Earth who succeed. The Waterfall Revenue method is not for you.

Step 1: brainstorming

Take the template of the Waterfall Revenue method and transcribe it on a large sheet of paper.

Fill in the boxes as ideas come to you. You can take the paper everywhere with you so that you can capture ideas later today or this week. It may be beneficial to give yourself a few days of thinking to allow time for deep aspirations to surface. You will be more comfortable dealing with some boxes than with others. It's normal. You have to force yourself to fill all the boxes in order to have a balanced number of item in all boxes.

• If you can not find inspiration, do this: project yourself in 3 years, 10 years or even 20 years in the future by visualizing what would be your perfect day, your ideal week, your year filled with happiness.
• You can also immerse yourself in your past (childhood, adolescence, etc.) by focusing on the moments of your life where you were very happy (or just those moments of carelessness, pure happiness). Search within these experiences what made you happy. Was it owning something? Was it the company of others? Was it not to worry? Was it to be in contact with nature? Etc. Continue on this path to find in you what makes you really happy, forgetting for some time the standards established by society and advertisers. Close your eyes and immerse yourself in these good moments using your 5 senses (sight, smell, taste, hearing and touch). This is how you can correctly fill the boxes of the Waterfall Revenue Matrix to build a vision for your life.

At this stage you define a vision. You do not write the plan yet to get there. This vision needs to be clear in outline, but not necessarily precise. For the more precise it is, the more unlikely it is to become reality. If you introduce elements that are too precise, you will limit the range of your possibilities, and miss out on some great opportunities. Do not limit yourself, think geographically the world, think socially as if you did not have a family, think financially as if you had no limits.

Step 2: avoid life project mistakes

Here are some classic examples of mistakes in building a life project. In most cases, a simple rewording to something more general is enough.

• Mistake 1: your vision is to live in a very specific place, let's say in this paradise island where you once went on vacation. That's fine, but far too restrictive. In this case you have to go deeper into your mind to understand the original reasons for such a desire. Is it a need for sun, beach, nature, human warmth, festive atmosphere? A better wording could be I wish to live near water in a region where the weather is nice all year. By doing so, rather than fixing on a paradise island in the Bahamas, you will positively accept a professional opportunity in Hawaii.
• Mistake 2: wanting to work for a specific company, making it the ultimate goal of your professional career. Again, it's too restrictive. You must instead make an inventory of what you like in this company, then generalize. In addition, if some companies can be seen from the outside as very attractive, the internal professional life may be disappointing. Also, building your entire life around a single company is dangerous. If your application is systematically rejected, or if you access this company but lose your job, or if because of a conflict with your boss the atmosphere becomes untenable, you expose yourself to question your entire life. Whereas if in your life plan your professional aspirations are formulated in a more general way, you are free to switch to another experience that is compatible with your life project.
• We can draw a parallel with a similar error that consists in including the name of a person in your plan of life who has not yet been seduced, or with whom the relationship is stammering.
• Mistake 3: Make a catalog of things to buy. Firstly, anything that cost less than $ 10,000 has nothing to do with your life plan. The Waterfall Revenue method opens the door to financial prosperity where anything less than $ 10,000 can be purchased without credit, without saving for years. On the other hand, owning everything is expensive, and it is less and less financially attractive. Today with the uberization of services, it is possible to pay luxury goods just when you need them. Own a yacht, spend weekends cleaning it and managing bills? No thanks, I prefer to rent one few weekends in the year. Owning a vacation home to always spend holidays at the same place? No thanks, I rent a luxury villa for my holidays. If you are interested in these topics, you will discover that you can rent a lot of things. In fact all that is used occasionally should be rented.

Mistake 4: Design your life project to impress others. Lifestyle, materials goods, position in the company, social status... Is that really important for you? Or are you doing all that to impress someone? Or are you doing it because your family has strongly suggested it to you? Or because you want to have a bigger house than your neighbors, a nicer car than your brother-in-law? Or maybe to seduce the woman of your dreams? You have to tell yourself: if all these people disappeared, would that still be important to me?

For each element of your vision of life, check that it is really you who wants it, and not others who wish it for you. Be sure you are not buying things to impress others.

Take up all the elements of your life project to either generalize them (open up new horizons) or eliminate them (finally, deep inside me, I do not really need it). This simple check will:

• increase the probability of success because your scope of opportunities is expanded
• reduce the time to reach your ideal of life because you will have removed all that is superficial, all that would have made you waste a lot of time, energy and money.

Step 3: Write your vision of life

The initial sheet of paper must now be very rough. Take a new sheet, a computer file, or your diary, and write the outline of your vision of life. Summarize it in 3 to 5 sentences.

Example of a life project:

So that my children can have a good education, live in a developed country, away from big cities, pollution, in a socially favored neighborhood. Constantly improve the XXX skill and gradually work more and more at home. When my children will be autonomous, to spend summer in the mountains, and to spend the winter in a tropical country. Throughout my life, have the means to travel often and comfortably.

This example indicates imprecise geographical locations, and does not mention anything to acquire. This project of life as formulated has the advantage of being very flexible, and the probability is great to meet the opportunities that will make it achievable. In any case it will evolve: as you grow in maturity, as you have a deeper knowledge of yourself, your vision will gain clarity.

If you are single, expect deep changes in your vision of life as you engage with your partner. But the most important thing is that, no matter what path you take in your life, you do not compromise on your values or the deep aspirations of your vision of life.

The road to success is not always a straight line. Sometimes you have to make detours to get to your final destination faster.

If today, despite this method, you are struggling to clearly define your life project, do not draw the hasty conclusion that the method is not good, or that this kind of exercise is not for you. Maybe you're not relaxed enough. If you're young, maybe you're not mature enough, not experienced enough. Maybe you're not in the right place to connect with your future. Maybe you have not had enough true experiences to know what happiness is. If you are in this case, keep all your papers in a drawer, put this article in your favorites to find it easily, and resume this exercise a few weeks or months later: during your next vacation far from your home, or on the occasion of a sunny weekend. To successfully build your life project, I strongly advise to be perfectly relaxed in an unknown and pleasant environment in order to elaborate a project of life of a great clarity. You will realize then that during your brainstorming you did not focus on the right things, and that your vision of life was too much impregnated with your small daily problems.

To keep inspired, subscribe to the Waterfall Revenue YouTube channel to get in touch with inpiring strategies to succeed in your life.

Now that you have written on a sheet of paper the outlines of your life plan, we can move on to the next step together.

Step 4: Estimate the resources required

Let's talk about serious things. The nice intentions, the immaterial dreams are very beautiful, but to concretize and live fully this project of life you will need resources.

For the money, we seek to finance a life, and it is at this scale that we must set financial goals:

• Long-term assets that do not depreciate or little, that once purchased, can be used for a lifetime (real estate, land, boat). But beware, after buying them, you have to think about maintenance, and ownership costs: periodic renovations, energy, insurance, maintenance, taxes, etc.). You need to correctly estimate these costs so that they are properly covered by cash flow.
• Consumer goods that are regularly renewed (subscriptions, services, car, home appliances, furniture)
• daily budget and leisure (food, energy, holidays, services, subscriptions etc.)

When you estimate the money you need for your life project, you have to classify the elements into two categories:

• Capital: the price to pay for buying assets and durable goods
• Cash flow: it's the monthly budget that will finance your lifestyle: the daily budget, money for leisure activities, the renewal of non-durable consumer goods

Step 5: Find your way to success

Now you know what you want: you have a vision of life. The vision will evolve over time. The more experience you have, the more you know yourself, the less your vision will change over time.

You need to develop a strategy and plan to get there. And most importantly, secure funding.

Contrary to the vision, your plan will not be fixed: it will evolve permanently according to the opportunities and obstacles that you will encounter.

Because life is full of uncertainties, filled with unforeseen events, you must always remain flexible.

So now take another sheet of paper (or an Excel type computer file), and take an hour (or several days if necessary) to write down all the ideas that come to your mind to reach the desired goal. From now on the financial elements must be present in your plan.

Money will allow you to reach your ideal, your freedom as you have defined it. Whether they are low or important, do not neglect the financial aspects of your life plan.

Do not stop brainstorming until you have at least 20 different ways to reach your goal. If you are lacking in inspiration, go out for a walk in the nature.

Do not write on your list immoral, illegal, or luck-based items such as winning at the casino, robbing a bank, waiting for an inheritance, suing someone, and so on.

To keep inspired, subscribe to the Waterfall Revenue YouTube channel to get in touch with inpiring strategies to succeed in your life.

Step 6: The best idea of the moment

The basic principle of the Waterfall Revenue method is to always work on the best idea of the moment. The first one will probably not be the best, but running it will allow you to earn skills. And especially the big advantage taking action on your best idea is to be in motion: this is how opportunities are unlocked. Inaction does not lead to success. Take action with the best plan you have today, until a better idea comes thru your way.

The world is full of riches available to those who challenge themselves to explore. To explore you must be in motion. It is not by consuming books and Internet content that you will become prosperous. It is by constantly trying new opportunities until you find your own way. And once you've found it, explore it thoroughly, and become one of the best in your field to create maximum value in the least amount of time.

Now that you have this long list of possibilities, add the following columns and put a note between 0 and 5:

• Efforts to implement
• Skills to acquire
• Total time it will take to reach the goal
• Probability of success

Now that you have evaluated all your ideas, classify them from the most relevant to the least relevant.

Take the first 3 ideas and analyze in more detail their probabilities of success. Among these 3 ideas, select the best and starts working on it thoroughly until it produces results. Then just move to the next best idea.

What is magic is that if you found challenging to have your first list of ideas, as soon as you are in motion working on an idea, many other ideas will come to you, and lots of opportunities will come out of nowhere. Stay focused on your first best idea, and write down all the new ideas you have on your list - you will utilize them once you've done with the first best idea of the moment.

Step 7: Planning

Now that you have identified the best idea of the moment, turns this idea into a multi-step action plan (ideally between 2 to 4 steps). The minimum duration of each stage must be one year. Inside each step, break down your plan into smaller intermediate periods (3, 4, 6 months).

Formulate each main step and each intermediate step as a goal to achieve. Then focus on the first step and break it down in weeks. Every week should have a goal to reach. Plan in detail only the next step. No need to waste time planning the other next steps because nothing will happen as planned.

At first you will fall into the classic trap of the beginner: you will undervalue the time and efforts required. In the context of a business creation, you will overestimate (and anticipate too much) the financial income.

The more experience you gain in personal project management, the more accurate your planning will become.

To read absolutely before executing your plan for life

To have a vision of life, represented by a life project, and put into action by a plan of life, is the best way to move forward in life and to be certain to achieve success.

Achieving your ideal of life will take several years. If you are under 60 and you think you can reach your ideal in less than a year, without having ever done anything, then you are underestimating your efforts, or your vision is too small. There is no quick method. The Waterfall Revenue method is not a method for achieving rapid results (I let others make that promise). It's the sure way to reach your ideal of life.

Having a project of life is about formulating what you want. It facilitates decision making when an opportunity arises (personal or professional): you can easily evaluate it by asking the question: Does this opportunity, decision, action bring me closer to or away from my ideal of life?

To go further the method to suceed your life, subscribe to the Waterfall Revenue YouTube channel to get in touch with inpiring strategies to succeed in your life.