If You're Struggling To Design A Life You Love, Try This!

Ever felt like you WANT that dream life but you just can't figure out how to get there? I'm here to guide you through the Mischief Movement, a lifestyle revolution that's all about saying 'yes' to the passions that set your soul ablaze. Forget about the conventional grind; it's time to unravel the secrets of a life less ordinary, where your inner badass takes the reins. In this episode, we'll meander through a four-stage approach that'll have you rediscovering joy in the little things, exploring new curiosities, and nurturing the talents that make your heart race – all without the pressure of turning hobbies into hustles. It's about crafting those 'hell, yeah' moments that punctuate life with pure, unadulterated bliss.

I'm not just building a community; we're fueling a movement with your help, one five-star rating at a time. So, let's link arms and charge into the week, hearts first, embracing every ounce of mischief and magic that comes our way. Because, let's face it, 'mediocre' isn't in our vocabulary...!

Transcript

Zoe Greenhalf: 0:00

Just because we start in one particular way, it doesn't mean that the path is fixed in one direction, and often it weaves and winds as we come up with new ideas or follow an interesting thread or discover a different way of doing things. Hello, it's Zoe mentor, creator and mischief maker behind the Mischief Movement podcast, your weekly inspo for people looking for more hell, yeah, in their life. I'm on a mission to help you rediscover that rebellious streak, find your confident inner badass and stop holding yourself back from the amazing life that you're dreaming of. Why? Because I know what it's like to wake up one day and think, wow, this isn't the life I'd imagined for myself. But I decided to bring the fun back, get curious about the things that made me feel alive and empower others to boldly rebel against the ordinary with me. And so the mischief movement was born. I've always loved the word mischief because it's cheeky, playful and a little bit rebellious, and that's exactly what I hope this podcast brings to the table. Now I'm daring you to jump in with me. Are you ready? Let's go. In case you haven't heard, you can now purchase Mischief Movement merch. It's all done through TeeMill, a UK print-on-demand platform offering global delivery, organic cotton and production powered by renewable energy. Not only can you now tell everyone you are a true mischief maker, but if you feel inspired to create your own t-shirts, stickers or mugs, you could also give tmail a try, because it's a great way to experiment your ideas and take fast action with low risk. You'll find the links in the show notes, so write yourself a little reminder for later. And let's get back to the episode. This week.

Zoe Greenhalf: 2:16

I'm talking to you if you are trying really hard to create your dream life but feel like you either don't know where to start or you're unsure where to head next. It's really easy to say things like you know, just start or get going, or you can design a life that you don't want to escape from. But sometimes it feels really heavy when you're unsure of the first or the next steps to take. So let's look at that today in four stages and see if we can't get you moving in some way. Now, if you've been in this little world of mischief for a while, you'll know that I love to encourage you to properly get stuck into the things that make you feel alive. You know, the ones that light you up and send you into a full on tailspin of joy and flow. Essentially, what I'm saying to you is lean in to what you love. So that's our first stage, right, lean in.

Zoe Greenhalf: 3:14

But what does that mean? It means don't be afraid to take that childhood passion that you used to have, or that hobby that you've been dying to develop, or the new thing you've still not had time to try, and bump it up the priority list. I won't say stick it at number one, because I understand that we have families, partners, other things that are taking up a lot of our time. But certainly elevate it from nice to do someday to a. I must get this in my calendar at least once next month. It needs to start featuring in your to-do list. It needs a little time dedicated to it, a bit of TLC.

Zoe Greenhalf: 3:58

Why, you might ask? Because I believe that every time we give our energy to something that makes us feel really good, we open a doorway to possibility. I know that that might sound a bit cheesy, dreamy and romantic, but hey, I am an unapologetic dreamer. It's kind of my speciality, because dreaming is fun and limitless and free. When you lean into the things that light you up, you give yourself permission to try something, to possibly fail or discover you're really good at it to meet different people, make new connections, understand yourself better, discover a creative side you never knew you had, explore a talent that had been hidden since high school. So if you're sat there listening to this thinking, damn, I want more from my life than this, or you're wondering how to expand on what you've got, then this is where I would start. Do something that makes you feel good. Allow yourself to try to discover and play without any pressure, but lean in to those things that excite you. Don't think about whether it makes logical sense. Don't talk yourself out of it because you're worried about how good you'll be, and definitely don't put it off yet again. Be intentional about how you use your time. Set yourself a teeny tiny goal. Find that thing and make a pact with yourself to give it a go.

Zoe Greenhalf: 5:34

In episode 45, I spoke about some of the ways that we hold ourselves back from pursuing the things we love, and one of those was not believing that it's possible for you, which often shows up in comments like, well, there's not much point and well, if I had more time or money or friends, etc. Then I could do it. I've come across a few friends now who acknowledge that they're really unhappy in their life or their job. They have some idea of what might be more fun, but they've bought into a belief that it's not possible for them to achieve anything with this interest that they want to spend their time on. To that I would say not everything you try has to be about turning it into a career. Don't assume that the end game here is to do something you love and then it will automatically become your job, because I genuinely don't think that that's how it works. Yeah, okay, sure, for some people it does, but I think for many of us it's more of a doorway to other things.

Zoe Greenhalf: 6:38

Just because we start in one particular way, it doesn't mean that the path is fixed in one direction, and often it weaves and winds as we come up with new ideas or follow an interesting thread or discover a different way of doing things. You've got to approach this with an open mind and let go of the idea that your passion must become your job. So that's stage two. Let go On paper, it often seems so cut and dry. Develop a hobby, get good at the hobby, monetise the hobby, and then the hobby becomes your job. No, let go of that idea. Try this one on instead, develop a hobby. Don't worry about whether you're good at it or not, but pursue it for as long as it sparks joy. The hobby becomes a springboard into other hobbies, other groups of people, other jobs or even other locations. More doors open and opportunities flow to you seemingly out of nowhere, until you land in a different place altogether, something that you could never have predicted, but that attracts money, connects you to the right people and brings you copious amounts of joy. It's really hard to let go of the outcome, because society tells us we need a goal and a plan and we make things happen. But letting go means still showing up for our dreams, just without all the pressure of having to arrive in a certain place at a certain time with a certain result. I feel like this is where that saying about enjoying the journey is especially true, and this approach lends itself to embracing the journey, so you can stop stressing about the destination and get on with living in the moment. If you're a small business doing things differently, an independent brand disrupting the status quo, or simply an unconventional, adventurous individual looking to make more of a positive impact, I'd love to hear from you so we can share your story or create some amazing sponsorship opportunities together. I'm always open to collaborations too, so DM me on Instagram at the Mischief Movement.

Zoe Greenhalf: 9:09

Stage three is planting seeds. I read an email last week by a guy named Ozan Varol. I don't know if I've pronounced that right, but he's the author of Awaken your Genius and Think Like a Rocket Scientist. I often read his blogs and emails because here is a guy who knows what he's talking about when it comes to designing a life you don't want to escape from. He literally started from the most humble beginnings as a boy growing up in Egypt dreaming of astronomy, and ended up with a career in the USA working for NASA. Now he writes about how to turn your dream life into your real life. It's really quite inspiring. Anyway, in this particular newsletter, he was talking about how, as a result of publishing his second book, someone then invited him to be a keynote speaker at their event. She then brought him back to speak at subsequent events that she ran and she also bought a thousand copies of the book for the attendees, which blew his mind, and he said the results I'm seeing now are because of the seeds I planted years, or sometimes decades ago, not months ago.

Zoe Greenhalf: 10:13

This realisation runs counter to the Amazon Prime culture we live in. We crave quick, tangible results delivered right to our doorsteps in two days or less. But reality dances to a different beat. There's no cause and immediate effect, it's not linear, it's messy and it's often invisible. The defining moments of our lives often result from the silent work we do, the connections we make without realising them, and the value we provide with no expectation of immediate rewards. Say you keep a journal of ideas, sparks of inspiration recorded in a personal notebook, and because you're constantly playing with new ideas, patterns will emerge and dots will connect. Two years from now, you'll stumble upon the idea for a major book that will be published five years from now. That will define your career as an author.

Zoe Greenhalf: 11:02

Or say you give a friend a perspective on her relationship. She doesn't get the significance of your words at the time, but those words plant a seed. A year from now, that seed of insight blossoms and she decides to leave the relationship that's been holding her back. The converse is also true. The seeds you planted five years ago led you to your today. If you're not satisfied with your garden, change the seeds you're planting. He finishes with a challenge to the reader to plant seeds without knowing exactly when or how they will sprout, to trust the slow, invisible growth that's happening beneath the surface. In doing so, you open yourself up to the magic of unexpected outcomes, and years from now you'll be surprised by the flowers that blossom. How beautiful is that? I hope you won't mind me reading that email, but he just put into words so perfectly the concept of just allowing things to blossom on their own, which brings us to our final stage, number four, which is help them grow.

Zoe Greenhalf: 12:08

I always feel like in the self-development space, there's a very delicate balance between this idea of letting go and another idea of taking aligned or inspired action. So somehow we have to walk that fine line between guiding things into happening but then allowing them to develop without forcing them. Personally, I'm still working on this, but I think it makes a lot of sense. So often we try to push things because we want the result. That's what we're conditioned to believe that pushing and forcing and working even harder will get the desired outcome. But I'm questioning that a lot these days, because I don't know about you, but there are times when the harder I push myself, the more I feel like I'm just wading through treacle. And then the times when I'm really laid back about what happens. The process feels almost too easy, but the results are often better than I was expecting.

Zoe Greenhalf: 13:06

You want a real life example of this? Okay, well, just last week, I was invited to run a workshop at a dream event. I'd hoped it would happen, but I wasn't sure. So I took a little action and emailed them, and as I wrote and sent it, I reminded myself that things would all work out in the way they were supposed to, and not necessarily in the way I expected them to. I allowed myself to hope for the best, but I also prepared myself for a no and remained open minded about the outcome, knowing that, whatever it was, I could always still go to the event as a participant and, in any case, something else equally amazing could also come up. Instead, I'd been sowing seeds since 2021 by showing up, bringing my enthusiasm and delivering on my promises. In the end, I got not only a yes and a firm offer to lead a workshop this year, but was then contacted by someone else involved in it to do a separate talk for them.

Zoe Greenhalf: 14:01

To return to the seed analogy planting anything requires a little nurturing, and that can also be said of relationship building. Treat relationships like seedlings that need watering, that need a bit of sunlight and the right temperature. Plant them without too much expectation, help them grow and, with a little patience, you'll see the fruits of your labour. So if you're struggling and your idea of what life should look like doesn't quite match your reality yet, stick with it. Play the long game and remember the four phases I mentioned today. Lean in, let it go, plant the seeds and help them grow. In fact, download this episode and save it to your phone so you can remind yourself if you do find yourself wading through the treacle, like me.

Zoe Greenhalf: 14:49

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this one and feel free to let me know via Instagram if it resonated with you. I'll catch you next week, where I'll be sharing my latest conversation with a most unusual artist and his love of cars. I'll see you then. Well, I hope you loved today's episode and it made you think differently, or perhaps nudged you into changing something in your life that's not working for you. I'd love to give you a shout out right here on the podcast too, so let me know what you think, what you'd like to hear more of, or how you've been inspired to take bold action.

Zoe Greenhalf: 15:24

Let's keep in touch over on Instagram @ The Mischief Movement, or click the link in the show notes to sign up to my Mischief Mail newsletter, where you'll get exclusive insights on upcoming episodes and your chance to submit questions to future guests. But shh, don't tell anyone, it's our secret. Please keep spreading the word about the podcast. You're doing such an amazing job and I'm also super grateful for your five star ratings on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, which seriously help my mission to inspire and empower more people like us to choose mischief over mediocre. Have a great week and keep making mischief, ciao.