Designing Your Life
by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans
Key Concepts
Dysfunctional Beliefs
Identify and reframe limiting beliefs about career and life possibilities.
Odyssey Plans
Create three vastly different 5-year life plans to explore diverse futures.
Prototyping
Test life ideas through small, low-risk experiments and conversations.
Build Your Compass
Define your Workview and Lifeview to guide your decision-making.
Wayfinding
Use engagement and energy to navigate your path forward, rather than rigid goals.
Action Items
Actively reframe problems as design challenges with multiple solutions.
Brainstorm three distinct 5-year 'Odyssey Plans' to broaden your future vision.
Conduct small, low-risk 'prototypes' like informational interviews or mini-projects to test ideas.
Keep a 'Good Time Journal' to identify activities that energize and engage you.
Build a 'Life Compass' by articulating your Workview and Lifeview.
Core Thesis
Apply design thinking principles to intentionally build a life you love, rather than waiting for it to happen.
Mindset Shift
Life design shifts from finding 'the one right answer' to iteratively prototyping and building multiple fulfilling lives.
Who Should Read This
Anyone feeling stuck or unfulfilled in their career or life, seeking a structured, actionable approach to personal and professional development.
Notable Quote
You are not stuck, you are just not designing.
