Your Dream Life Isn’t A Place — It’s A Series Of Systems & Questions

When you think back to a moment in time you were the happiest you’ve ever been, what comes to mind?

For me, it’s on top of Table Mountain, Cape Town, in late 2022.

This exact moment, right here:

I was watching the most spectacular sunset of my life unfold.

I was also making more money per month than I knew what to do with as a 26 year old. And I was getting to do it while traveling the world with someone I’d soon fall deeply in love with.

Man, what a time to be alive!

Yet only 6 months later, the cracks in a seemingly picturesque life started to show.

Business was seriously slowing down. Stress was mounting. Relationship trouble and overall anxiety started taking center stage.

No amount of money in the bank could fix what was breaking.

Traveling to new “dream destinations” couldn’t either.

Yet, I spent much of 2023 and 2024 booking one-way flights around the world, chasing the same sense of adventure and sheer energy that had once possessed my life and fueled me.

I even decided to climb Mount Kilimanjaro rather last minute over Christmas in 2024.

This was the hardest physical thing I’ve ever done. It took 6 days, and I got so sick coming down on summit day from the altitude, I was honestly surprised I made it back to basecamp.

But despite being challenging, this adventure didn’t do a single thing to improve my happiness and outlook on the future.

I’ve since had time to reflect on the last couple of years and all this aimlessness.

I can now confidently say that our problems, anxiety, and issues can’t be solved by climbing a mountain, or sipping Mai Tai’s on a beach somewhere.

This is because your dream life isn’t a single destination — there’s no grass-is-greener pasture that you’re magically going to stumble upon that brings you fulfillment and peace.

Instead, it’s a series of systems, routines, and questions you have to eventually answer to:

• Do you get to work on something purposeful to you every day?
• Do you get to help others and give back?
• Are your daily habits in-line with your core values?
• How do you and your partner greet each other in the morning and talk to each other before falling asleep?
• Are you grateful for the things you already have?
• Are you currently avoiding challenges or conversations that you know you should face?

I could go on and on with more “deep questions” to ask yourself, but that’s the gist. And you probably know the truth behind all these questions already and what you want to do about it.

The great news?

This means that your dream life isn’t collecting dust on a Pinterest vision board somewhere, out of reach until you “make it big.”

It’s actually waiting for you to install the systems and daily habits that make it real.

Start small.
Start boring.
Start now.

Even working on one side project that brings you purpose and excitement is a step in the right direction. Or, take an extra 5 minutes in the morning to drink your coffee in the sun with someone you care about.

Life can honestly suck when things go wrong, or when you’re stuck in a job that crushes you.

But running away from problems doesn’t fix anything. Changing your systems and routines does, even if it’s little by little, which is pretty encouraging when you think about it.

Jordan Peterson sums this up nicely too, I think: “Aim up. Pay attention. Fix what you can fix. Don’t be arrogant in your knowledge. Strive for humility.”

Personally, my life and career have been completely out of whack for the last few years. But I’m starting to ask and answer some of the questions above and take action. And you know what? A sense of excitement, purpose, and gratefulness have started returning.

Writing on Medium/Substack is a piece of all this. I haven’t been eager to create anything in a while. I’m looking forward to writing more about life, travel, and new opportunities out there that people can use to earn real WiFi Wealth.

Hopefully, you can get back on track too if that’s what you’re looking for.

Bit of a different post than usual. I’m done rambling now.

PS: If you’d like to chat about affiliate marketing, content strategy, digital nomadism, or whatever else really, let’s get in touch! 👉 https://pillar.io/tomblakefinance.