There have been a bunch of bloggers lately saying that lifestyle design is dead or questioning whether it’s relevant anymore. At first I thought what a load of bollocks. These kind of statements such as “Blogging is dead”, “God is dead”, “Rock is dead” come into vogue for a period of time and then die out themselves. I suspect it will be the same with the cry “Lifestyle design is dead!”
However, the fact that people are saying this is a cause for concern. The reason this has come about is because people have started stereotyping lifestyle design as something that’s only for people in their 20’s and 30’s, who try to work as little as possible, generating massive amounts of passive income while they spend their time traveling or at the beach.
There’s a growing feeling of resentment from some people that if you work a regular job, even if it’s your dream job and you’re very happy with your life, you’re still not considered to be a lifestyle designer even though that’s how you’ve chosen to design your life. Many people now feel excluded by the term lifestyle design, while others think that it’s a selfish and shallow concept.
After reading several posts over the past couple of weeks and then coming across J.D. Bentley’s post called Lifestyle Design Is Dead on Wage Slave Rebel, where he came to the conclusion that lifestyle design seemed dead, I decided to email him asking him if he’d want to work with me on redefining lifestyle design clearly and in a more positive way and “resurrect” it. He agreed and together we’ve come up with a draft definition.
In redefining lifestyle design we want to:
- Include people who are happy to have regular jobs while working for someone else along with those who want to be their own bosses and set up automated income streams.
- Include people who choose to stay in their native countries as well those who live a nomadic lifestyle or relocate to start life in a new country.
- Not only focus on entrepreneurship, freelancing, and generating passive income.
- Remove the stigma that lifestyle is only for young people who hate work and want to live a hedonistic or selfish lifestyle.
- Associate lifestyle design as living a life that is meaningful to each individual.
- Keep the positive aspects of lifestyle design such as of looking for systems and hacks to help you implement your lifestyle design and reach your goals.
Draft definition of lifestyle design.
Here is the draft definition of lifestyle design that J.D. Bentley and I have come up with so far:
“Lifestyle design is the process of anyone at any age exploring and defining one’s long term life goals, developing short term goals which contribute to the fulfillment of those long term goals, acquiring the skills by which those short term goals can be achieved, cultivating a healthy optimism regarding your ability to accomplish those goals, developing and using systems to help obtain one’s goals smoothly and efficiently, while continually aiming to live the most meaningful life one can possibly live, regardless of how one chooses to earn income.”
Help us redefine lifestyle design.
J.D. and I want you to help us improve our draft definition of lifestyle design. If you think we’ve forgotten something, tell us. If you can help improve the wording and make it clearer and smoother, please tell us in the comments section below. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Also, please, tweet this post by copying and posting the following:
Help us redefine the concept “lifestyle design” positively. http://tinyurl.com/yar3tvk via @KiwiGordie
Thank you in advance.
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G'day! I'm Gordie, founder and editor-in-chief of Lifestyle Design For You. I want to welcome you to the center of the universe when it comes to lifestyle design and personal development blogs. We're a team of ten writers providing you with articles to help nourish your mind and improve your life. Lifestyle design is about designing your life so you can do what you want when you want. 
{ 70 comments… read them below or add one }
Ok this is just a proposed re-write of what you guys already had.
I need to ponder what I can add to this definition.
“Lifestyle design is the process anyone may take to define their long term life goals.
It consists of :
- Developing short term goals which contribute to the fulfillment of those long term goals.
- Acquiring the skills by which those short term goals can be achieved.
- Cultivating a healthy optimism regarding your ability to accomplish those goals.
- Developing and using systems to help obtain one’s goals smoothly and efficiently.
All this is done while continually aiming to live the most meaningful life you can possibly live, regardless of how you chooses to earn income.”
Michael @ Monetize Your Life´s last blog ..If you best is not good enough do better
Your rewrite is much clearer. Cheers. Michael.
Let’s see what others have to say.
I love THAT list. The challenge of every person that wants to help people to live a “better life” is allowing people to define “better” within the confines of their passion and personal values.
In our passion to “open” people’s minds to greater possibilities we become guilty of stereotyping lifestyle design …. unconsciously disregarding personal preferences and values.
It helps to know that not everyone wants an “Internet business”, not everyone wants to travel the world, not everyone is frustrated with their day job and PEOPLE DON’T HAVE TO LIVE LIKE WE DO TO EXPERIENCE GROWTH (we have experienced)
It is a difficult thing for every “teacher” to realize but posts like this one BRING PERSPECTIVE on the issue.
Thank you for your word!!
Christopher Kabamba´s last blog ..Why Commandments are NOT for Conscious and Intelligent Beings
Welcome, Christopher.
Yes, I think the concept lifestyle design can be so much more than what it’s being stereotyped as. It needs to be broadened enough to include more people and their different goals without being watered down to just something like “Live as you please.”
I really appreciate your input, Christopher. Thank you.
I agree with your idea of broadening the statement without watering it down. Like any definition, however I think there is a need for a long and a short version. The long version being an all inclusive broad definition while the short version should be more along the lines of an elevator speech or possibly the definition with personal meaning infused.
For example, the short version for me would be, “I want to live my life intentionally–not as a pebble carried along by the current, but as a pioneer exploring the outermost limits”.
What is your elevator speech?
I would be really interested to see the people that are saying this come here and explain.
I KNOW it’s not dead, this site, Karen’s even Ben’s site all prove that.
It’s headline grabbing saying things like this, people will always ALWAYS need advice and enrichment, you guys do an amazing job and the results are here to see that it’s here to stay, long live LifeStyleDesign!
TheInfoPreneur´s last blog ..When You Talk, Do People Smile or Listen?
Hey James,
I think in someways these bloggers raise valid points, but just give up too easy. A lot of these bloggers have have “lifestyle design” as keywords on their blogs just as I do. If we all just say lifestyle design is dead and look for another phrase or find another niche, then we become fad chasers. Why not acknowledge the problem and shortcomings and work on fixing them and turn something good into something great.
Gordie,
Your definition is broad and it would include different “lifestyles” experienced by people who would not consider themselves as “lifestyle designers”. I personally prefer just to live a meaningful life and I don’t care about those labels. Of course, if you have a blog called “Lifestyledesignforyou” then you should care….
All the best!
Boris´s last blog ..Be average!
Lol! Hey Boris, there’s no way I want to change my blog’s name again!
Seriously, I think the term “lifestyle design” does fill a void that existed in the English language. We have to thank Tim Ferriss and give credit where credit is due. Thanks, Tim!
Here is my own definition of lifestyle design:
Lifestyle design is the process of designing your life so that you can spend radically less time doing things you dislike and radically more time doing things you like.
Mark Cancellieri´s last blog ..The Week in Review
Hey Mark,
Yes, perhaps we could add a bit in there about spending less time doing the things that aren’t important to us. Cheers!
Gordie, I really miss your photo on the side and the Hello Gorgeous caption. I understand that it’s a multi writer blog but just like Mashable use Pete Cashmore, it’s probably better to have one figure head for the blog. Just my 2 cents…
Jörgen Sundberg´s last blog ..Linkedin Recommendations: How Many do you Need and How do you Get them?
Hey Jörgen,
Thanks for the feedback on the changes on this blog. I will consider putting my handsome face and the “G’day gorgeous” greeting back on the top right hand about box.
This is a great idea Gordie – well done with taking action with it.
If I can help in any way (I think you’ve included all of the points I would have already) then please don’t hesitate to give me a shout!
Ben Lumley´s last blog ..8 ways to make Valentines Day special this year?
Thanks, Ben. When J.D. and I finalize it, we may ask you to promote the new definition and be part revolutionizing lifestyle design.
Yup of course Gordie!
Ben Lumley´s last blog ..8 ways to make Valentines Day special this year?
Hi Gordie!
My blog at The Passionate Warrior is focused on lifestyle design for families – or, more specifically on people who have kids and want to design a lifestyle while bringing them closer together as a family.
Thank you for this post! The greatest challenge that I always face is that people really do imagine the very idea of lifestyle design as a sort of game that 20 somethings play until they get married, have kids, and descend into their “real” life (for better or for worse!)
.
But I really do enjoy introducing (or re-introducing) these folks to the idea that their life is still theirs and they don’t need to sacrifice it for the sake of their family. Instead, now is when they really need to Live, and to teach their kids, by example, how to do the same!
Great post! And great blog!
All the best,
Hugh
Welcome, Hugh!
That’s a great point that lifestyle design can work well for family people too and should not exclude them.
Love your blog’s name, Hugh!
Huh, was lifestyle design ALIVE at some point?
Anyway… for me it’s simply: choosing how I want to live.
Antti Kokkonen´s last blog ..Give it Away for Free
Oh, Antti, how can a Scandanavian be so vague?
I don’t think you should change the blog name.
I do like Michael’s rewrite, BUT:
I wonder if part of the issue is the phrase “Lifestyle Design.” I always disliked it even when it was in vogue – it’s so Hollywood. And recently it’s moved to being a real cliche.
Anyone got any ideas for renaming Lifestyle Design for the new decade?
Mike CJ´s last blog ..Super secret tactic for optimizing old posts
Hey Mike,
I reckon it’s quite a simple term that seems self-explanatory, but gets stereotyped negatively partly by people promoting a narrow way of carrying it out. I think the name will stick.
Well done on contacting Mr Bentley (I am making the huge presumption that JD is a Mr) and working together on a new definition. I don’t see why LD should be the privilege of the young and many of the concepts apply just as easily to old farts like me who want to grow old disgracefully!
Kevinn Tea´s last blog ..Is GMail Morphing Into Google “Wavebook”?
Hey Kevin,
You’re doing a marvelous job growing disgracefully! Keep it up.
I don’t know what to add here. I think the problem with the LD niche is that there are many different aspects to it. It’s becoming much too complex to cover it all in one blog.
You and I have talked about this a bit.
Nathan Hangen´s last blog ..Understanding Desire
Yes, in someways you’re right, Nathan. Have you looked at the variety of stuff on Tim Ferriss’ blog? Lol! I think one thing that is a positive of LD is that it looks for ways and systems to streamline your life.
I have a confession to make: I’ve never really liked the term ‘Lifestyle Design’.
I like what it stands for, but for some reason the term itself has always irked me.
I think it’s because to me the word ‘design’ connotes a kind of detachment from the whole thing. You sit back and ponder which color swatch to use (interior design) or whether to use a liquid or fixed layout (web design). Lifestyle design to me makes it sound like making changes in your life is just as easy as picking a different set of curtains.
We know it’s not that easy, and there have certainly been plenty of good articles on this site which attest to that fact.
Also, the word ‘Lifestyle’ has certain associations that make me not like it. I don’t like it because I see the word on ever other cover issue of Good Housekeeping magazine. We know designing the life we want is important, but it’s certainly more than a pasta recipe and a new food dehydrator.
I would agree with you that the ideas behind Lifestyle design are not dead, but I’m not so sure about the term itself.
Kenji Crosland´s last blog ..Guest Post Giveaway
Hey Kenji,
Saying your don’t like the term “lifestyle design” is almost considered blasphemy on this site.
One thing that I get irked off a little at is that many people think that “lifestyle” and “lifestyle design” as the same. I think lifestyle design being so young has a long way to go to make itself distinguished.
What term would you suggest replace it?
Honestly the first time I saw the term ‘lifestyle design’ I thought it was related to the term ‘lifestyle’. I quickly saw that it wasn’t. However, if I, not knowing about the term, saw lifestyledesignforyou.com on a Google results page I’d probably gloss over it thinking that it had to do more with ‘Better homes and gardens’ than creating a better life for oneself.
The term does have a way to go before it reaches maturity. It needs to stretch past the confines of the personal development niche so that other people know exactly what it is. It needs to build up a cache that separates itself from ‘lifestyle’. That’ll take a lot of work.
Honestly I wouldn’t know of a good term to replace it without spending hours brainstorming. I agree that right now that Lifestyle Design could be the best term that encapsulates all the tenets you’ve listed above. Given time and persistence, the term could most definitely mature.
Kenji Crosland´s last blog ..Guest Post Giveaway
Hi Kenji,
I think lifestyle design needs time and the fact that some people are giving up on it makes me question them more than I question lifestyle design. I will fight for lifestyle design.
Hey Gordie, good stuff on redefining Lifestyle Design…Overall I think you should work on cutting the definition down, it is way to long and bogged down. It should be cut down to a sentence or two I believe.
Basically, Tim Ferriss said lifestyle design was made up of two things:
1. Time
2. Mobility
that was it.
Here is how I look at Lifestyle Design – The experiences you want to have in life.
You want to experience the love and struggles of family life, then design your life to achieve that.
You want to experience climbing the tallest mountains in the world, then design your life to achieve that.
I think we are taking a simple concept and complicating it.
Tanner´s last blog ..Interview Series: Maren Kate of EscapingThe9To5.com
I also want to add, let the people think Lifestyle Design to be dead…Less competition in the niche.
Tanner´s last blog ..Interview Series: Maren Kate of EscapingThe9To5.com
Hey Tanner,
Yes, you and Lisis have good points that it’s too long. That was my feeling, too. But we thought leave it the way it was so far and let you guys gives us feedback on how to improve it.
Tim Ferriss said it’s pretty much about Time, mobility and money. That’s the core of his version.
Having three kids, two of whom are very young and a wife with a fixed hours job Lifestyle Design is an interesting concept. I cannot go off travelling all over the World or taking three month holidays while the biz ticks away in the background. However, unlike a few who have commented I do like the term as it defines the goal, to live a lifestyle by doing what you want to do rather than being dictated to by circumstance.
. It’s because I wanted kids because I like my kids.
I am currently dictated to by my own circumstances but guess what, I happen to like those circumstances because I have been into Lifestyle Design for over twenty years subconsciously.
Why do I live in Spain and not in my home town of Widnes? I would have thought it was pretty obvious but 55 thousand other people who stayed in a small town in the north west of England don’t think it is.
Why have I got three kids? It’s not because I am an inveterate shagger
Why do I work for myself? Obvious one isn’t it!
Entrepreneur Solo´s last blog ..The Dynamism of the Spanish Entrepreneur
Hi Graham,
It’s obvious that you’ve purposefully chosen to take the aspect of moving abroad as a form of designing your life. You focused on that area and that’s cool. You have kids, a job and you’re a lifestyle designer.
As my friend, Katja, says, Lifestyle Design is all about living life to the fullest.
I think each person has to define what “living life to the fullest” means to them. For some, it’s working for someone else, doing something they love. My husband was caught in a trap for 5 yrs, working for himself, doing what he loved, making good money; supposedly the good life. He was stressed, lonely, and anti-social. This year he went to work for a corporation, doing exactly the same thing, and he LOVES it. He has people in his office that understand and appreciate what he does. He is rewarded for his talents, and comes home every day excited about his job. Since this switch he’s had a completely renewed outlook on life. We’ve set goals and budgets together, we have more time for each other and our family, and we’re all happier.
Whatever it is that makes you happy, makes you tick, make sure you’re doing it! Purposeful Living – That is Lifestyle Design.
Erica Mueller´s last blog ..Blogging Outside Your Niche – The Outlet
Hi Erica,
That’s great your husband has found a new way to design his life that is more meaningful and makes him happy. People like him shouldn’t feel excluded from lifestyle design.
Hey, Gordie! I’m gonna have to agree with Tanner, in that the current definition is a bit long and convoluted. The problem with trying to define an abstract concept like Lifestyle Design, is that there is no “one-size-fits-all” definition. It means different things to different people.
The ambitious, energetic, single and childless types out there have a whole movement going towards all the things you mentioned (working less, playing more, constant travel, whatever.) All that is great for them. The 40 – 50 something crowd, with families, established careers and significant debts and commitments are drawn to a whole different lifestyle. And there are countless other “types” in between.
It’s a bit like defining Passion… you can’t, ’cause it’s different for everyone. I find that with abstract concepts like these, less is more. Instead of trying to include everything in one definition, boil it down to its barest essentials.
Lifestyle design (to me) means choosing and creating the life YOU want.
Lisis´s last blog ..One Skill Undermines Your Quest for Happiness
Hi Lisis,
Thanks for chipping in and helping by showing how abstract terms can be so hard to define. I think you’re right in that a shorter definition may mean more. Thank you.
Hi Gordie, great post, and wonderful idea! I agree with Lisis, that Lifestyle Design is about choosing the life you want, “designing” your life in a way that is meaningful and fulfilling, no matter what your goals are, or your current circumstances.
Sometimes lifestyle design can also mean making things work better how they are, rather than making big changes or constantly working on new goals… you know what I mean? If the term is not going to exclude people with families or established careers, or “regular jobs”, and people with children, then it should also include ways to design one’s life in accordance to one’s principles, in ways that make it more meaningful and fulfilling. I think this is one aspect the younger bloggers are hard at work on… younger people are discovering their own values and trying to design a life around those… but as for the others that may feel excluded some of those circumstances are already in place. But that doesn’t mean that improvements or changes in the design can’t yield benefits, it’s just that the two groups often have very different goals. One is trying to give a shape to their lives that is meaningful, and other groups’ lives are already, for the most part, shaped, but they, too, are trying to make their lives more meaningful and fulfilling as well.
I don’t know if any of this helps… What you’ve written is certainly timely and great food for thought. And I don’t think lifestyle design is dead by any means… just perhaps in need of being more inclusive…
Cheers,
Miche
Miche | Serenity Hacker´s last blog ..Making Big Changes: Energy and Resistance
Hi Miche.
I like that “in accordance with one’s principles”. That could mean those who prefer the family life and a more fixed location lifestyle. I think that many people have confused how Tim Ferrsiss lives lifestyle design as the only way. I’m sure that was never his intention. It’s almost feels as if the term has been hijacked.
Hey Gordie,
very thought provoking post. It is unfortunate that certain things in life take on a bit of a negative annotation, but that usually happens when success has been established. The LD niche has broadened out so much in recent years and I think taking a lead on redefining WHAT today’s model of LD is is a great undertaking. We are talking the re-education of people who have stereotyped the niche, as you’ve pointed out. Successfully recasting the LD image can be a huge boost to the person or group that pulls it off.
I like Michael’s definition, but would somehow add in a message that this is the NEW Lifestyle Design of tomorrow. This is not just the old beach boy who has gotten over on life, but a more robust, for all people style of reaching one’s dreams.
I think I’ll address this in my next post here.
Jimi Jones´s last blog ..What’s Your Take on Google Buzz?
That would be a great idea for your next post on here, Jimi.
Ok, the real problem here is that “Lifestyle Design” has two definitions.
Definition One: The definition via the words themselves, which simply imply the (deliberate) designing of a (positive) lifestyle.
Definition Two: The definition via the common usage of the words, which implies passive income, material minimalism, travel, not working 9-to-5, etc.
You’re trying to move “Lifestyle Design” from Definition Two to Definition One.
But, whatever definition we end up using for “Lifestyle Design”, we still have two separate ideas here, which necessitates two separate words or phrases.
To correspond to Definition Two, I propose “The Ferrisesque Lifestyle”, named after Tim Ferris.
Hey,
That’s an interesting thought about perhaps splitting lifestyle design into two schools which have different meanings. That’s something for us to consider. Thanks, man.
Don’t know if I would go for a long-winded explanation. To me lifestyle design simply means: “Living the life you want on your terms.” Don’t know if it’s the official one…but it’s how I look at it.
Steve Scott Site´s last blog ..Rapid Weight Loss Can Damage Your Metabolism + 3 More Videos
Hey Steve,
I hope we can shorten the definition. Your definition gets the point across.
Hiya lads,
Good piece. Is LD dead? Nah–Lifestyle Design can’t be dead unless lifestyle and quality of life are dead. If that’s the case, I’d rather be dead.
Happy Valentine’s Day (or almost)!
Tim
Is this the real Tim Ferriss? I tried to confirm on Twitter, but no reply.
It isn’t dead… if anything, today’s economy is an indicator that we collectively need this MORE now than ever before. Lifestyle design is about empowering people to be the best expressions of themselves at any age and under any circumstances.
Reiki´s last blog ..MANIFESTATION CRASH COURSE
Hi Reiki,
Yes, I also think that lifestyle design isn’t dead but just needs an image change. People need to remember they don’t own their jobs and at any moment can be taken away from them.
Hey Gordie,
Great approach with all of this. I was impressed with your choice to approach JD Bentley and work positively to reshape this issue.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how making these kind of lifestyle design changes require a more-than-daily choice to live better than our average. If we imagined our “performance” in life as a -10 to +10 scale, I think the average human operates between -3 and +3 most of the time.
That’s the range we’re comfortable in. We do our daily jobs, chores, and socializing in these ranges.
People who accomplish great things do so by making the decision to perform at a level just a little out of our comfort zone. They make this decision more than daily, and doing so expands that level of comfort into higher ranges of performance.
In a nutshell, I submit that lifestyle designers make an ongoing decision to perform a little better than they’re comfort zone allows.
Hey Carlos,
Great comment! I agree, that in order to make our lives special and do great things we need to live out of our comfort zones. We can get rusty and lazy if we don’t continually look for proper ways to stimulate us. At first what is uncomfortable can eventually come comfortable for us.
Really haven’t had an idea about lifestyle design until I’ve read this post. I agree that lifestyle design a key part in accomplishing goals. People think its dead because they dont set goals.
Hi Melvin,
I’m surprised you haven’t heard of lifestyle design before. I really encourage you to check it out. I’d start by reading “The 4-Hour Work Week.”
Doesn’t- Living your life they way you want to live it- cover it?
Only if you’re not a member of the underworld.
Honestly when I read some of those posts I just thought to myself “I don’t care”, it was inevitable these posts would come. I look to well known names in the LD niche and what they are doing, usually they are doing a variety of different things that fly in the face of the negative stigmas that have been coming up lately. I think the whole 20 something goes to Thailand has risen to a status beyond what it deserves, I think it will eventually just become another of the many options that are actually out there (Not knocking it, I plan to myself). Also I don’t see any problem in having LD and under it some categories that describes the lifestyle, Nomads (being popular). Also I understand the inclination to include people in traditional professions, I think LD has liberal roots, it’s about freedom after all. While sure a goal to have a passionate traditional career can be achieved using LD methodologies LD doesn’t have a monopoly on those methods. Defining something becomes very difficult when you try to include as much as possible, we shouldn’t feel bad about excluding those things that LD first rebelled against.
I’m going to ramble if I say any more so I’ll leave it there.
Cheers
Dan´s last blog ..11 Beautiful Images of Pakistan
Hey Dan,
I’m coming to the conclusion that any definition will probably have to be short.
I really appreciate the “ramble”.
Greetings Gordie.
Very interesting discussion. Why isn’t the definition of lifestyle design just ‘design your own lifestyle.’
It seems a little obfuscating to try to formulate definitions for things that more adventurous people have been doing for centuries. Do we need new terminology to say that we have, and have always had, the freedom to create any lifestyle we wish?
Look at how people are trying to redefine work. Telework, remote work, location independent work, work shifting, white collar work, outsourced work, blah, blah, blah. Work is work regardless of place or type. The worst offenders are those trying to sell the idea that if you love what you are doing it is no longer called ‘work.’
The problem with all of these definitions is that they are not being used to advance our collective understanding of the terms. They are being created to sell websites, ebooks, training or consulting services. They are marketing gimmicks for commonly understood ideas.
Tim Ferris sold the world on a ‘live like the new rich with only 4 hours of work a week’ definition of the phrase. That is the ugly part that is coming back to haunt us all. ‘Lifestyle design’ is a phrase to sell products to the majority of the population without the courage to design their own lifestyles. The rest of us will be happily choosing our own paths in life regardless what the snake oil salesmen are selling.
“Lifestyle design – design your own lifestyle.” Sounds pretty cool to me, John.
I like the concept of “lifestyle design,” and I’m comfortable with the definition you’ve proposed. I’m less enamoured of the term itself. Naturally, I bring my own biases, but “lifestyle design” strikes me as analogous to home-interiors design, as in moving your furniture around to achieve “immediate and amazing results!”
Nevertheless, the goal of living with meaning, with intention, and with purpose, is clearly worth achieving, and worth putting in the time and effort that’s required to do so. It’s also worth having a conversation about whether and how some people might see “lifestyle design” as exclusionary.
As to this last point, what I’ve yet to find online — and I’m curious since this is one of the areas you mention in your definition — is individuals in their 40s and 50s writing about and championing “lifestyle design.” This would go a ways to making the point that it’s more broad-based and that it’s sustainable (do-able and satisfying over periods of time that encompass years, not months and days). Am I missing these folks? If so, perhaps you and other readers can point me in the right direction. Oh, and I would exclude the rising crop of professional life coaches who seem to have recently emerged specifically to help people with lifestyle design.)
Thanks for getting the conversation going.
Hi Clara,
I think as John said, Tim Ferriss, who coined the term “lifestyle design” may have done it a disservice by focusing so strongly on such short work hours and the emphasis on travel. The is what I think may make many people feel excluded from it.
Love the definition. It seems as if lifestyle design is just a new name for an old area – personal growth, development, success, effectiveness or whatever you want to call it. Now if we and all the blog directories and bookshops out there could just agree on the name we’d be sorted!
Strange I didn’t see your post earlier but great minds must be thinking alike as I’ve written a similar post over on my blog this week called Warning: Is Lifestyle Design Making You Miserable? It’s here:
http://www.getinthehotspot.com/2010/02/15/warning-is-lifestyle-design-making-you-miserable/
Hope you don’t mind me putting the link here – just remove it if it bothers you.
So there we go, I think we’re all on the same wavelength:)
Hi Annabel,
Yes, in some ways lifestyle design is a branch of personal development. In fact I think personal developments should be the term used to cover all things such as lifestyle design, self-help, self-improvement, etc.
Lifestyle design offers us something new in the systems we can now use with the advancement of technology. It’s just a more highly evolved form of lifestyle design.
Gordie -
Great post. Lifestyle Design sounds like a pseudonym for leading a conscious life. Given that, I suggest that the definition includes something around enabling people to make active choices about how they lead their life. The criteria for success in this endeavour would seem to be a feeling of happiness and inner peace. Some of the best ways to do this are to develop sustainable skills around personal management through practice and hard work. I think these are some of the key definitions of Lifestyle Design. There are billions of people who would go mad just sitting on a beach all day with a lap-top – beauty is in the eye of the beholder here.
Thanks for a great post,
Phil
Phil Bolton´s last blog ..Viktor Frankl – Lessons from a Concentration Camp
Welcome, Phil!
Thanks for chipping in. Everyone’s idea of how they should design their life is different.
http://www.entrepreneursolo.com/entrepreneur-thoughts/subconscious-lifestyle-design-from-an-early-age Subconscious Lifestyle Design
Just quoted your post in my blog Gordie. Good stuff.
Entrepreneur Solo´s last blog ..The Dynamism of the Spanish Entrepreneur
Sounds like lifestyle design encompasses EVERYBODY. Is this the correct assumption?
I’m just looking to have fun in my full time job, make a decent amount of money, retire early, and have a ton of fun with my site.
Best, Sam
Financial Samurai´s last blog ..Conventional Wisdom Leaves Much to Luck
For me life-style design is choosing to live my life in a way that is fulfilling despite what cultural ‘norms’ may be….living life “out-side the box”. And I’m a married, piano-teaching mother….not exactly looking to live a hedonistic, selfish life ;o)