[Photo Credit: danflo]
In a recent post, Corbett Barr of Free Pursuits posed a very important question: Is Lifestyle Design dead already? This post was in part inspired by a post of mine called “How to Find Your Core in a Shell of Ambiguity” and the comments that ensued there, particularly one brilliant comment written by Cath Duncan of Mine Your Resources. Eighty comments and several spin-off blog posts later, Corbett has worked up quite the controversy and, I would imagine, garnered quite a bit of traffic, but the debate continues on and will likely do so for the foreseeable future.
However, this is the official stance I’m taking with Wage Slave Rebel: Lifestyle Design is dead.
What the Term ‘Lifestyle Design’ Actually Means
To begin to define Lifestyle Design, first we should look at what these two words actually mean together. The Oxford American dictionary offers the following definitions:
Lifestyle – noun – The way in which a person lives. Design - noun – The art or action of conceiving of and producing a plan to show the look and function of an object before it is built.
The first thing that I think should be noted is that in the case of lifestyle, it is possible for a person to live in a manner which is either positive or negative, good or bad. For some people, their lifestyle is a very good and positive thing, but the definition most definitely does not preclude there being very bad and negative lifestyles. Likewise, the definition of design doesn’t require the conception or production of a good plan, just of a plan.
So, in short, you can have a healthy lifestyle or an unhealthy lifestyle, an optimistic lifestyle or a pessimistic lifestyle, a fulfilling lifestyle or a miserable lifestyle. You can design a healthy plan or an unhealthy plan, an optimistic plan or a pessimistic plan, a fulfilling plan or a miserable plan.
That is to say, the term Lifestyle Design in and of itself has no valuable meaning. Every choice you make in life is in some way or another a plan that helps produce your lifestyle. If you make poor decisions and end up having to deal with the adverse consequences of those poor decisions, you have still, in fact, designed your lifestyle. If you’re unhappy with the mess of a life you’ve got, deluding yourself into thinking that you didn’t shape that lifestyle for yourself (purposely or accidentally) is just a way of avoiding responsibility.
Judging by the requirements of the term itself without any concepts applied by the zealots who promote it, everyone who has ever lived is a lifestyle designer.
What People Think the Term ‘Lifestyle Design’ Actually Means
Lifestyle Design is the Barack Obama of phrases. A few highly positive but ambiguous ideas were attached to it (Freedom, Travel, Wealth) so that it could become a blank slate on which anyone could write all their positive aspirations, whatever they might be. So, while everyone is campaigning for this term, Lifestyle Design, no one is actually campaigning for the same thing.
The actual concepts people use to prop up Lifestyle Design are not what I believe to be dead. Your positive aspirations are most certainly not dead. If you want to write a novel or start a restaurant or run a location independent internet marketing firm or whatever else, that is what you should do. That doesn’t depend on an empty term.
What is dead is the idea that these two words somehow describe what we all want. Cath put it so eloquently when she commented on my original post.
“You know, to me [Lifestyle Design] just became another form of template-living, a new bunch of sheep to flock with.”
This echoes my opinion perfectly. Some people seem to be taking this completely ambiguous term and trying to impose a concrete meaning on the rest of us so that, at times, it can feel as if we aren’t doing as well as we should be or that we aren’t doing the sorts of things we should be. We start feeling more and more compelled to live lives that are actually farther from our aspirations than, say, a 9-to-5 job.
In his post, “Redefining ‘Lifestyle Design’ As You Know It“, Rob Blasko points out the direction the movement is going in.
“…In my experience, a typical “lifestyle designer” usually fits the following characteristics:
- Male, Age 21 – 40
- Location independent, with a penchant for travel to Thailand
- Practices some form of minimalism in regard to physical possessions
- Works as a freelance designer, developer or consultant, and/or sells eBooks online”
And this is most certainly a template that most young self-described lifestyle designers are subscribing to. Not that there’s anything wrong with this provided it’s actually what you want to be doing, but for most of us I’d say that’s not the case.
The Real Reason People Become ‘Lifestyle Designers’
As I mentioned, Lifestyle Design became a retainer term for everyone’s most desired positive goals. It’s my personal belief that a good number of people using Lifestyle Design are just being lazy about defining what their actual dreams are. They know they like what Lifestyle Design stands for (Freedom, Travel, Wealth) and they are willing to follow whatever cookie-cutter method they can to get there.
But this isn’t what life is about at all.
Refer to my post on finding your core because that’s where you need to start. Your core. You need to learn who it is you actually are. What kind of man or woman are you? Give yourself an honest assessment. Are you kind? Cruel? Hopeless? Hopeful? Happy? Depressed? What values do you stand for? What would your friends have to say about you? What would your enemies have to say about you? Search deep in your soul and see what you find.
Then, use that knowledge to figure out what it is you want to do with your life. Don’t say ‘I want money’ or ‘I want to travel’. Those aren’t at all specific and they aren’t even things to do with your life. They are byproducts of whatever the thing is you want to do. Don’t ever start with the byproduct and work your way back. Start with the thing you are passionate about and work your way forward.
Every person’s dream will be different, but they should all have two things in common. First, everyone should be doing something they are absolutely passionate about. And second, this thing should be genuinely helping people, whether it’s healing them or entertaining them or nourishing them or educating them. Other people should benefit from the great things you do.
And that’s the whole purpose of life.
What you need to be doing can be summed up in two words and they aren’t Lifestyle Design. They are Passion and Care. And those words certainly have meaning.
Related posts
- Lifestyle Design is Still Alive
- The Beginner’s Guide to Lifestyle Design
- Lifestyle Design for Normal People: Four Baby Steps Toward Absolute Freedom
- Five Things Lifestyle Designers Should Be Thankful For Today
- Online Businesses You Can Start Today, Part One – Web Design
Hey, I'm JD. I'm a writer, web designer and contrarian entrepreneur. Wage Slave Rebel is a place where I (and others) explore alternative and ethical ways to earn a living apart from the corporate hierarchy. The goal of this site is to help people escape wage slavery and start reaping the full rewards of their skills and passions. 
“Blogging is dead”, God is dead” “Lifestyle design is dead” “Rock and Roll is dead”. These are easy to say but can be easily argued for or against with no right answer. It’s all totally subjective. I think the term lifestyle design filled a vocabulary gap in the English language quite nicely. It’s certainly can be a bit vague but it’s main idea that you design the life you want and think is meaningful to you is very much alive. “Passion and care” can’t replace lifestyle design, but can be used to compliment it. .-= Gordie´s last blog ..Carrots, Sticks And True Motivation. =-.
I agree completely that it’s subjective. My intention with this post isn’t to settle the debate once and for all (like I even have the authority to do that!), but just to announce my official stance and join the conversation. “Lifestyle Design” is an empty and easily replaced term for a blog called Wage Slave Rebel, much less so for one called Lifestyle Design for You. I feel like it’s possible to convey the same ideas with a more concrete terms (which wouldn’t be “Passion” or “Care” in and of themselves. I was just attempting to breakdown the underlying concepts of “Lifestyle Design” to their most basic foundations.)
As far as usefulness goes, the responsibility lies with the advocates to justify the widespread use of a purposely ambiguous term. I think such a justification would require a concrete definition, but that wouldn’t do much more than ruin the entire movement. To me it seems a lot like “Disco” or “Grunge” or “Emo”. By the time it has a concrete definition, no one will want to own it.
I really appreciate your comment, Gordie! I definitely see where you are coming from.
Lifestyle Design is a catch phrase. It sounds good, but if you ask people what it means, most won’t be able to define it.
I just try to live my life. I don’t need a phrase or words to describe it. Do what makes you happy – plain and simple.
Too many people are trying to do what others are doing. They aren’t really striving for their own goals. They haven’t taken the time to ‘find their core’ so they attach someone else’s core to themselves. Not a very satisfying way to live, in my opinion. .-= Heather Villa´s last blog ..Weekend Reading: My fav’s from this week: 2/5/10 =-.
I agree with you. I really do like this “plain and simple” approach to life. Often times we are too willing or desperate to attach labels to things without a proper reason. Instead we ought to just accept the good for good and the bad for bad and push through without regard to any sort of social movements or the expectations set by them.
The goal is to live the life you want even if that means a 9-to-5 job and a mortgage. It’s not entrepreneurship and travel that’s non-conformist. Being a non-conformist means being happy, whatever shape that takes.
Thanks for the mention, JD and glad you found my comments useful. As I said before, I love that you’re exploring purpose and meaning in all this.
And a powerful, powerful question to ask after you’ve articulated what you want, to ensure that it’s what you really want, rather than a byproduct (loved that you raised that) is “for what purpose?” and keep asking at least five times, to get to the core.
When people say they want passive income, for what purpose? What will they do with that time then? And why can’t they already start doing that, even in a small way, right now? Most of the time they can have what they really want right now.
The other question that I like to ask myself and others, related to purpose, is, “what would be a good quality problem to have and to be involved in solving?” there are an infinite number of problems we can focus on. Knowing what constitutes a great quality problem for you is the gateway to spending your time doing interesting, inspiring, genius work that matters and makes you feel fulfilled (which is really just playtime then!)
A great book on how and why having a clear sense of a deeper, genuinely important (to you) purpose is important if you want to stay motivated and do genius creative work is Drive by Dan Pink. I interviewed him for the bottom-line bookclub and he really helped me get it. Might be preaching to the choir, but I think you’ll love it.
While I’m more clear on my purpose and my aspirations than ever before, I’d never taken this perspective on passive income. I never thought to ask what I’d do with the time it frees up, but it sticks out to me as a very vital question that anyone going through this type of transition ought to ask themselves. I’ll take quite a bit of time to reflect on that today and explore my aspirations even further.
I’m very happy to get a book recommendation! I’ll be checking it out soon.
That’s funny, especially because your idea of what most people who follow “lifestyle design” fall into. I also know that I’m personally into designing my lifestyle consciously… and I’m not male, not location independent (I love gardening too much!) but I do have an online business.
I think the concept is not dead but maybe we need to broaden our definition of it.
.-= Nathalie Lussier´s last blog ..Mindful Monday: Live Event was a Success =-.
The fact that you exist and completely break the typical mold is why I think Lifestyle Design as a term doesn’t work. It’s already really broad. It doesn’t mean anything. Everyone is designing their lifestyles, consciously or unconsciously (I love that you throw in ‘consciously’. Conscious Lifestyle Design is something I might rather support).
But being human, we crave labels and definitions and inevitably the people who will decide what “Lifestyle Design” is alienate a lot of other people who thought they were doing lifestyle design. This is why Rob’s observation that self-described Lifestyle Designers tend to be minimalist male freelancers who love Thailand is so important. Thailand doesn’t appeal to me, you’re not a male, it doesn’t apply to us, but this is the idea newcomers get from certain big blogs about lifestyle design.
So the problem seems to be either we keep the term so broad that it’s not particularly useful (that is, we can say “Lifestyle Design” and mean doing literally anything that will make us happy) or we can define it and exclude so many people that it stops being a movement.
I’m not really happy with either one and I feel like the term should be abandoned for the most part, which is why I don’t plan on perpetuating it’s use much longer. I’ll be looking for a more descriptive, less buzzword-ish term to replace it.
Anyway, really happy to have you stop by and I didn’t mean to exclude you from any sort of lifestyle design movement if that’s what you want to take part in! I hope you see my point about this ambiguity-versus-irrelevance debate.
I’ve had a passionate career in a cubicle and an unpassionate career as a self-employed individual. I’ve also been a passionate mentor to dozens of university grads in their own cubicles in their first real jobs out of school. The right cubicle existence gave me a work life of autonomy, mastery and purpose (a la Daniel Pink). I wish more people could understand that this kind of life can be found almost anywhere you currently are. It doesn’t mean you don’t want something else but it can be what you make of it. Wherever you go, there you are. If one can’t find anything to be passionate in a humdrum life, is it really possible for them to be passionate at all? Or do the planets have to align in some specific order for that to occur?
Check out Pink’s Ted talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html
As a former janitor, you might find Barry Schwartz’ talk on Ted interesting: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/barry_schwartz_on_our_loss_of_wisdom.html
Oh, and check out Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. It provides a good structure as a way of BEING in the world, not necessarily what you’re doing. .-= Jacqueline´s last blog ..The high cost of weight gain =-.
This is exactly the sort of thing I’m getting at and I’m glad you posted! Having a life that you love doesn’t mean traveling or working for yourself. It means doing what you love. So much of what we do is dependent on our perspectives and our attitudes. Positive people do positive things no matter what their circumstances. I agree entirely that if you aren’t happy where you’re at, you probably won’t be happy anywhere. In an upcoming book I’m in the process of writing, the dedication states:
“This one’s for the non-conformists. Be always content, but never satisfied.”
That’s the key, I think. Thanks for your great recommendations! I’ll be sure to check those out. I’ll definitely have to read that Dan Pink book now that it’s been recommended to me twice. Maybe a book review is in my future!
I am a designer and I spend my life designing environments for people. A few yeras ago I found my life at a crossroads and looked at what I wanted in my life and ‘designed’ the life I wanted to lead. I now live that life.
What I didn’t do was design a lifestyle. My life style is just what I happen to live. What I designed was the life I wanted to lead. I created a Vision for my life, I explored what I was passionate about, I looked at the people I spent time with.
I have ended up with a life of travel and work, but that is just me, and that I could never design.
Whether ‘Lifestyle Design’ is alive or dead, I will continue to live the life that is me and, because I am passionate about it, I will continue to tell people about it.
You have a simple philosophy and you spoke of it with an eloquent profundity. I think I’m with you on this one.
Mr.Bentley:
Thanks for this post. You have a remarkable blog. Over time, it has been a real pleasure to read your commentary. I appreciate your hard work and it shows. Please continue with the good work.
I am concerned about labels, categories and neat, little boxes we seem to be so fond of: lifestyle design, location independent, self-improvement…the list goes on…you name it. This is really sad. Maybe it is okay for the sake of convenience–well, sometimes–but let’s not take it any further.
These terms are fairly recent and probably have been invented by 20 something (or youngsters) mavericks in search of greener pastures. They would have us believe they have discovered new ground only because of the invention of the PC or other technological devices. It also seems like technology goes with the territory. And the message is certainly post-industrial, that is, having to do with the information age. Al Gore used the term, “information superhighway” if memory serves.
Those who are votaries of this way of thinking also seem to imply that such progress is a modern phenomenon. Almost as if the past does not matter and our ancestors were stuck in the dark ages, having to toil hard in the fields and do manual labor and other back-breaking work. Thus, history is to be neglected or overlooked: people from the past have nothing to contribute at all.
This is really odd, because when you read the travel accounts from pre-modern (ancient?) societies, you find innumerable people living non-conventional lifestyles. Even without the aid of democracy, secularism, etc. there were countless peoples living in other lands and cultures pursuing their bliss. The way they contributed to society was different from our notions of 9 to 5. If they didn’t have our technology, they had alternative technologies. Without conventional medicine, they relied on alternative medicine (Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, others). And in those days, the monarchy did fund and encourage iconoclasts like adventurers, explorers, scientists, artists and others too. Such people did not necessary have to report for duty as the clock struck a certain hour; nor were they necessarily accountable in the sense we understand accountability.
Although I do not claim to be a scholar or expert, I have read some of these accounts in the past. The memory, however, is blurry. So, we need not develop tunnel vision and ignore the past. And this is not just of mere academic interest. The way people lived in ancient or pre-modern times deserves to be explored. It is not just for our anthropologists and archaeologists and others of their ilk. Some of the case studies are fascinating and eye-opening accounts have been well-documented. It is just a matter of finding those rare books from the vintage collection and delving more deeply. Pre-modern societies were also quite open to lifestyle design and related issues (in certain cases), and many of them did have enlightened leaders and visionary patrons too
I agree entirely with what you seem to be implying, that lifestyle design as not only a term but also a movement, is mostly pursued by younger folks who have a high and mighty view of what they are doing. This is also one of the reasons I’m opposing what “Lifestyle Design” is becoming. These people speak of their lives very self-righteously, but don’t seem to have inherited any sort of wisdom.
We should most certainly respect the traditions of a non-conformist past, but even more we should embrace them. I think it is definitely a result of postmodernism that these people break down these established traditions and storied histories, discarding the good with the bad, and then placing themselves at the top of a mountain made of sand. It’s a kind of youthful arrogance that I completely distrust.
But what if Passion and Care become the tenets and ideals of many? Would you then proclaim that “Passion and Care are Dead?” I think we all risk being individualistic above all else, without considering what the ideal “flock of sheep” would look like. I dont think there are enough people even considering Lifestyle Design, and I wish more people actively constructed their own existences. I have countless college friends that just graduated straight into NYC-Corporate-World, and now they are wondering what the heck they did. Just like Deferred Life, Lifestyle Design can be a template if you let it. You need to be acutely aware of the impact your decisions have on your own life – and take control of them to design your life according to your own principles, values and priorities. For me that is the essence of Lifestyle Design.
I wrote this in response to Corbett’s post, and find it equally applicable here:
Mark Twain has several of my favorite quotes, the most popular of which is: “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.”
I have always been a hell-raiser, go-against-the-flow-just-for-the-sake-of-it guy. I usually look what other people are doing, and go in another direction. By default, I cannot stand things that are popular. However that is usually because what is popular is dumb. I would be all about a world of peace, a mentality of conservation of resources and the environment, a workforce of satisfied and happy people. If all of these wonderful things came to pass, I would not find myself nostalgic for the days of the military-industrial-complex and 80-hour workweeks.
Nonetheless, as lifestyle design becomes more popular, we must all stop and reflect. What does it mean to each of us? Who is espousing the LD philosophy just to make some cash (and therefore stand on the shoulders of others’ shoulders)? How is LD appropriate to my stage in life? Be real, focus on what fulfills you, and work towards personal goals that are consciously defined. The more of us that do this, the greater momentum we have to really change the path this world is on. Passion and Caring it is – even if it takes Lifestyle Design to get there.
I would argue that what you call the essence of lifestyle design is actually the full definition. If this is what people meant by it, and not creating a passive income or quitting a regular job or any other number of things that don’t apply to everyone, I’d be more than eager to use it.
Your last paragraph nailed it. Excellent advice!
You have half a point, JD, but frankly, your semantic argument is just silly.
Yes, I acknowledge that the words “Lifestyle Design” are rather vague, in and of themselves. What you seem to have missed – rather completely – is that the people at large have assigned a more specific definition to this otherwise vague phrase. Offhand, I would say that Lifestyle Design typically involves: 1. Passive Income (generating much money with little work, usually via an internet business) 2. Not working 9 to 5 3. Being Unconventional (points 2 and 3 combine to give us “Wage Slave Rebel”, eh?) 4. Some minimalism with regards to personal possessions 5. Travel (living in an “exotic” location, and/or moving around frequently) 6. Saving money, but not for it’s own sake (there’ no point of having a million dollars in your bank account just for the bragging rights. Money should be used to follow your dreams) 7. Doing what you’re passionate about (now that you have all that free time from completing point 1) 8. Having a good life
Granted, that’s still a little vague, but it’s a lot less vague than your Oxford American Dictionary approach. You even implied that Lifestyle Design says nothing about whether the life is good or bad. Come on, JD, do you seriously think that we’re trying to design bad lives? The words themselves say nothing about good vs. bad, but we’ve collectively defined the phrase to mean the good life, specifically.
What about this phrase: “The ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy” The words themselves are very vague. But, by convention, we all agree that “The ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy” refers to homosexuals in the United States military. The phrase itself doesn’t provide those extra details. But we have defined this phrase to include those details. Get it?
Furthermore, while I agree that it’s wrong to be overly vague, you’re taking this logic a step too far. What about “Success”, for instance? Isn’t that a really vague term?
Here, using your own logic: Success – noun – The achievement of one’s aim or goal. The definition of success doesn’t require the achievement of a good goal, just of a goal. The word “Success” in and of itself has no valuable meaning. Success is the Barack Obama of words. A few highly positive but ambiguous ideas were attached to it (Freedom, Travel, Wealth) so that it could become a blank slate on which anyone could write all their positive aspirations, whatever they might be. ergo: Success is Dead!
This seems to imply that success isn’t something we should care about. Likewise, I could say “Passion is Dead”, or “Care is Dead”
Well, that covers the semantic end of it.
You said “We start feeling more and more compelled to live lives that are actually farther from our aspirations than, say, a 9-to-5 job.” I find it pretty hard to picture someone who would rather work 9-to-5 than live off of passive income so they can do what they please. But maybe that’s just me.
“It’s my personal belief that a good number of people using Lifestyle Design are just being lazy about defining what their actual dreams are” Alright, I’ll grant that possibility. I’m not quite sure of it, but I kinda see your point.
“Don’t say ‘I want money’ or ‘I want to travel’. Those aren’t at all specific and they aren’t even things to do with your life. They are byproducts of whatever the thing is you want to do.” They’re not just byproducts, they can also be tools. Once you have passive income, you have more time to do whatever you really want to do. And I’m willing to bet that, whatever it is that you really want to do, it requires time.
To me, what you’re trying to do, being a wage slave rebel, selling digital products, intending to travel, be debt-free, etc., to me that stuff is Lifestyle Design, more or less. It doesn’t seem like you’ve digressed from the idea of it; you just have a problem with the literal words themselves. Odd.
Anyway, keep up the Lifest- er…whatever it is that you like to call it. Passion and Care, I guess. Keep doing that.
Your definition of what constitutes lifestyle design (passive income, minimalism, travel, not working a 9-to-5) is the point of what I’m saying. Those things aren’t inherent in designing a life which you want to live. There are people, as we’ve seen in these comments, who actually enjoy working at a 9-to-5. There are others who don’t care so much about traveling. Still there are others who don’t care if they own 20 things or 2000 things. And yet it’s possible or them to live the lives they want to live. Would they not also be lifestyle designers?
As for your “Success” example, I also don’t use it to describe anything. It’s just a vaguely positive term that can mean literally anything to anyone. So, in a way, yes “Success is dead.” However, at least “success” has a universally understood positive connotation. Lifestyle Design has no such universal understanding and most people have never even heard the phrase. Maybe one day that will change and “lifestyle design” will be on par with “success”, but it will still be useless. Just universally positive.
Gordie at LifestyleDesignForYou.com and myself have decided to try and “resurrect” the term lifestyle design by trying to develop a more concrete and useful definition. Feel free to take part in the conversation. http://lifestyledesignforyou.com/2010/02/lifestyle-design-not-dead/
As for the people who find that their 9-to-5 jobs are more fulfilling than the Tim Ferris approach, that’s fine by me. Obviously, we’re all unique, and everyone should do what’s right for them.
With regards to these people, you said: “Would they not also be lifestyle designers?”
There we go with semantics again. By the definition of the words themselves, then yes, the happy 9-to-5 people would qualify as lifestyle designers. But by the common accepted definition of Lifestyle Design, then no, these people would not qualify.
Look, I do see your point, to a degree. Maybe we should invent a new phrase, which means the same thing as Lifestyle Design, but with the added benefit that the words themselves are more specific. We could call it: The “passive income, minimalism, travel, not working 9-to-5″ Lifestyle, or “The Ferrisesque Lifestyle” or something. Then we could stop worrying about semantics.
With regards to “Success”: “at least ‘success’ has a universally understood positive connotation” Thus, it does have some value as a word, even if that value is pretty low.
“Lifestyle Design has no such universal understanding and most people have never even heard the phrase.” Well, most people have never heard of Jeet Kun Do, but that doesn’t mean it’s meaningless or dead. And among those who have heard about Lifestyle Design, there is a universally-understood positive connotation! Find 100 random people who claim to understand Lifestyle Design. Then ask these people weather LD is supposed to be positive, negative, or neutral. I guarantee that almost everyone will identify LD as positive. That’s not to say that the LD lifestyle (or “Ferrisesque Lifestyle”, or whatever) is necessarily the ideal for all people, but nevertheless it’s supposed to be positive for at least some people. Thus, the term “Lifestyle Design” does indeed imply the living of a positive life.
And alright, I’ll concede that you don’t use the word “Success”. But you did say this: “Passion and Care [...] those words certainly have meaning.”
I agree that we should pursue our Passions, and we should Care for others. But if you’re going to dismiss all terms that seem vague, you’ll end up dismissing your own terms.
Look here: Passion – noun – Any great, powerful emotion, especially love or hate. (also: fervor, determination) The definition of passion doesn’t require a good emotion, just an emotion. The word “Passion” in and of itself has no valuable meaning. Passion is the Barack Obama of words. A few highly positive but ambiguous ideas were attached to it (Goals, Freedom, Travel, Dreams, Art) so that it could become a blank slate on which anyone could write all their positive aspirations, whatever they might be. ergo: Passion is Dead!
See how that works?
Again, I kindof see what you’re saying. But you should have phrased your argument as “Not everyone finds joy with the LD lifestyle (i.e. the Tim Ferris lifestyle)”, rather than “Lifestyle Design is meaningless, because it’s too vague”. .-= Sonicsuns´s last blog ..Have less stuff =-.
Sonicsuns, by your definition I would be a “lifestyle designer”, yet I don’t feel that I am by the Tim Ferriss definition – perhaps because I don’t have an internet business that generates that passive income (yet technically I am and LD’er if LD = time + mobility). I don’t know that I think that Tim F. has the time aspect, since he doesn’t define work as work as long as he enjoys it. I’ve seen his interview at Zen Habits where he discusses the breakdown of his schedule and he works A LOT.
So would someone like Jacob at Early Retirement Extreme be considered a “Lifestyle Designer”? Or is he not a designer because he doesn’t like to travel and makes most of his money off passive investment in the stock market like I do?
http://earlyretirementextreme.com/2009/06/my-4-hour-work-week.html
I guess what I find confusing is that the people who are the most gung-ho about ‘lifestyle design’ (the Tim version) don’t seem to actually be DOING it – yet. They don’t seem to be making a passive income, some aren’t traveling, some are actually in debt or willing to carry debt to fund the dream. .-= Jacqueline´s last blog ..What’s a foot in the door worth? =-.
Very compelling. The problem as i see it, is inherent in words. They don’t mean anything (but can mean something). Sometimes they are not very effective in communicate “truth”. But that’s all we have at times…. the challenge is to become better at using them.
Thanks. .-= Christopher Kabamba´s last blog ..Why Commandments are NOT for Conscious and Intelligent Beings =-.
You’re most certainly right. The title is a bit sensationalistic and, once I was approached by Gordie at LifestyleDesignForYou about trying to give a more useful definition to Lifestyle Design, I started backpedaling on my position. I’d really like to see lifestyle design come into wider use, but without any sort of narrow definition. Everyone has a lifestyle and everyone has the ability to design it, so I think it does a disservice to the term to assume that lifestyle designers are all young, nomadic, freelancing minimalists. And by finding a broader definition that most of us can agree on, I think it’s probably our best shot at “becoming better at using” it.
Thanks for stopping by!
Here’s my take: it’s just a new name for that old chestnut, personal improvement which has been around since 2500BC and as such it ain’t goling anywhere:) I just wrote about Lifestyle Design too here: http://www.getinthehotspot.com/2010/02/15/warning-is-lifestyle-design-making-you-miserable/ Have included the link as CommentLuv doesn’t work for me so hope that’s okay. I think your phrase Wage Slave Rebel sums it up nicely too:)
Love this conversation, but I won’t beat it to death here. Thanks for stating your stance though, THAT is appreciated.
This reminds me of how I see “location independents” trying to define what that means and how they are the epitome of lifestyle design.
I personally believe there are definitive phases of what the term stands for but the definition is but not definitive personality types of goals. These phases or explanations are tied to a much higher set of ideals than quit your job, or travel a lot. (I’m with you in bringing this to awareness with Gordie…lets hammer home a spot for this definition? Wikipedia? ehh?)
The implications of the term fall more in line with setting goals, living on your own terms, living intelligently and with awareness…becoming financially free or in control to continue living your dreams.
Thanks for stirring this up JD and for taking all the heat it’s bringing…good conversation! .-= Robert´s last blog ..Helping Alan – Mac Tools and Tech for Freelancers =-.