Spend 3 Minutes to Change the Next 30 Years of Your Life

Can you really change your life in just three minutes?

Today I want to share with you one of the most profound — yet ridiculously simple — concepts I’ve ever heard, something that could change the next 30, 50, or 100 years of your life.

But first, let’s try a very brief exercise.

A Simple Exercise

Do me a quick favor…

Picture yourself.

Like, seriously. In your mind, take a “third person” view of yourself.

What are you wearing? Where are you? How much money is in your bank account? How much freedom do you enjoy? How many great friends do you have?

Do you have that mental picture of who you are?

Now erase that image and replace it with an image of who you want to become. Imagine the perfect future you.

Think about how you want to look and feel. How do people perceive you? How much time do you spend traveling, volunteering, or hanging out with your family? What does your business look like? What about your investments?

Now tell me: What is the difference between the mental picture of the you today and the you of the future?

Ultimately, the difference between who you are and who you want to become comes down to one thing: your choices.

The choices you make each and every day going forward determine whether you are getting closer or further away from that person you want to become.

A 3-Minute Lesson to Change the Next 30 Years

This brings me to the concept that’s so simple yet so profound it will change your life and it’s this:

If you don’t like something, change it.

I’ll say that again and then I’ll explain what it means.

If you don’t like something, change it.

As human beings, we have the incredible power to choose almost everything.

Don’t like where you live? You can change it.

Don’t like what you look like? You can change it.

Don’t like how much money you have in your bank account or how much time you spend at work? Change it.

Now, of course, this is an obvious statement. We all “know” that life can be changed. But do we actually make those changes? Or do we just complain about it and go back to watching the next episode of our favorite television show?

Changing Your Life: 2 Stories

Take, for example, the guy working 50 hours a week at a desk job. He’s 40 pounds overweight, bored out of his mind, and watching the clock slowly tick, tick, tick his life away. He complains about his situation to his wife but does nothing to change his position.

He just shows up, day after day after day, wishing for more. He sees other people living incredible lives and thinks, “Boy, they sure are lucky.”

But then let’s talk about the single mother working two jobs to support herself and her three kids, but longing for something more.

She spends her time actively changing her situation. She listens to educational audiobooks and podcasts on her drive to work. She stays up late working on her side business after the kids go to sleep. She seeks out information that can help her change, and slowly, week after week, her life begins to change — and before you know it, she’s running a million-dollar-a-year business and changing the financial destiny of her entire family.

Was the woman in this story more lucky or intelligent than the man in the previous story?

Of course not. She just made the choice to change.

It’s Not Easy… But It’s Worth It

Now, am I telling you any of this is easy?

Of course not.

It takes wisdom to accept where you are today and recognize the need for change. It takes discipline to seek education rather than entertainment.

And it takes a lot of hard work to change the direction of a life.

But isn’t that better than the alternative?

Wouldn’t you rather trade a few years of discipline now to become the future, better version of yourself you pictured in your mind just a few moments ago?

The late, great author and speaker Jim John once said, “Life doesn’t get better by chance. It gets better by change.”

And the beautiful thing about change is that it happens in an instant.

So will you make the change in your life, right now, that will transform the next 30, 50, or 100 years of your life?

Now, if you believe in the words I’m telling you today, I ask three things of you:

Don’t keep it to yourself. Teach someone else this stuff today. The easiest way to do that is by sharing this post on your Facebook feed so your family and friends can change as well.
Second, click the “thumbs up” button on the video above — so the internet knows there is value in the video.
And third, go tell your parents, your kids, or your spouse that you love them. Because remember: Life is short, precious, and deeply rewarding.

Now go out and get ’em!

What areas are you actively working on changing in your life?

Let me know with a comment!

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.