How To Get Ahead of 99% Of People (in 2025)

If you can spend 5 days a week working for someone, you can definitely spend a few hours a week working on building something for yourself.

Because if you aren't working towards your ideal future, you're working towards someone else's.

If you’ve ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or like you’re just not moving forward fast enough towards your goals, this video is for you.

We’re going to break down exactly how you can change your life in just six months. And here’s the best part: it’s not about working harder or burning out.

It’s about dedicating just one focused hour a day to deep, meaningful work that moves you towards your ideal future.

1. How to Change Your Life: Defining Your Ideal Future

Let’s kick things off by talking about a really powerful mindset shift – getting started with our future goals right now and bringing your ideal future into the present.

Now, what do I mean by that? It’s a concept that completely changed the way I approach my daily life.

Think about your future self. Picture what you’d like your life to look like in, say, 5 or 10 years. What are you doing every day? What habits do you have? What kind of person are you becoming? How are the experiences in your current job contributing to your future success? Strategic thinking about your current position and future aspirations within a job can be crucial. Now, instead of waiting until everything’s “perfect” to start living that life, start bringing those future habits into your present routine, but on a smaller scale right now.

Let me give you an example. If your dream is to become a writer who spends 2 hours every morning crafting stories, don’t wait until you have the perfect schedule, the ideal environment, or tons of free time. Start today. Start with just 5 minutes of writing each morning, bringing your best effort to each session. Gradually, you’ll increase it to 15 minutes, then 30 minutes, and eventually, that 2-hour daily habit will feel effortless.

This approach is about consistency over intensity. If you wait for the “perfect time” to start, it might never happen. But if you start small and gradually build up, those small actions will compound over time and lead to massive results.

Here’s the key point: if you’re not already living parts of your ideal future today, it’s going to be much harder to shift into that life later. You’ve got to start acting like the future you right now, in small, manageable ways.

Whether it’s writing, coding, creating content, working out or starting a business—start with what you can handle and grow from there.

Understanding Your Current Reality

Understanding your current reality is crucial to getting ahead in life. It’s essential to take a step back and assess your current situation, including your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This self-awareness will help you identify areas for improvement and create a plan to achieve your goals. By understanding your current reality, you can make informed decisions about your life and career, and take deliberate actions to move forward. According to psychologists, we are each architects of our own reality, suggesting that our mindset significantly influences our success. By understanding your current reality, you can shape your own reality and create the experiences and outcomes you desire.

To gain a deeper understanding of your current reality, ask yourself questions like:

What are my strengths and weaknesses?
What are my goals and aspirations?
What are the opportunities and challenges in my current situation?
What are the things that I can control, and what are the things that are outside of my control?

By answering these questions, you can gain a clearer understanding of your current reality and create a plan to achieve your goals.

Setting a Positive Foundation

Setting a positive foundation is crucial for achieving success in your personal and professional life. It involves creating a mindset that is open to growth, learning, and self-improvement. By setting a positive foundation, you can overcome obstacles, build resilience, and develop a strong sense of self-awareness. This, in turn, can help you make better decisions, build stronger relationships, and achieve your goals.

To set a positive foundation, start by identifying your values and beliefs. What is most important to you in life? What do you stand for? What do you want to achieve? Once you have a clear understanding of your values and beliefs, you can begin to build a positive mindset. This can involve practicing gratitude, reframing negative thoughts, and focusing on the present moment.

Practicing gratitude can be as simple as taking a few minutes each day to reflect on the things you are thankful for. This helps shift your focus from what you lack to what you have, fostering a sense of contentment and positivity. Reframing negative thoughts involves challenging and changing unhelpful thought patterns. For example, instead of thinking, “I can’t do this,” try thinking, “I can learn how to do this.” Focusing on the present moment means being mindful and fully engaged in whatever you are doing, rather than worrying about the past or future.

By setting a positive foundation, you create a strong base for personal growth and success in your own life.

Defining Your Ideal Future

Defining your ideal future is a powerful way to clarify your goals and create a sense of direction in your life. It involves imagining what you want your life to look like in the future and creating a clear vision of what you want to achieve. By defining your ideal future, you can create a sense of purpose and motivation, which can help you stay focused and driven.

To define your ideal future, start by asking yourself some questions. What do you want your life to look like in five years? What kind of career do you want to have? What kind of relationships do you want to build? What kind of person do you want to become? Once you have a clear understanding of what you want, you can begin to create a plan to achieve it.

For instance, if you envision yourself as a successful entrepreneur, think about the steps you need to take to get there. This might include gaining relevant experience, building a network, and developing a business model. If you want to improve your personal relationships, consider what actions you can take to strengthen your connections with others. This could involve spending more quality time with loved ones, improving your communication skills, or being more supportive.

By defining your ideal future, you create a roadmap for your life. This vision serves as a guiding star, helping you make decisions and take actions that align with your long-term goals.

Taking Control of Your Life

Taking control of your life is essential for achieving success and happiness. It involves taking responsibility for your actions, your decisions, and your outcomes. By taking control of your life, you can create a sense of empowerment and confidence, which can help you overcome obstacles and achieve your goals.

To take control of your life, start by identifying areas where you feel stuck or powerless. What are the things that are holding you back? What are the things that you want to change? Once you have identified these areas, you can begin to create a plan to take control. This can involve setting boundaries, making changes to your environment, and developing new habits and skills.

For example, if you feel overwhelmed by your workload, consider setting boundaries around your time. This might mean saying no to additional tasks or delegating responsibilities. If your environment is cluttered and distracting, take steps to organize and simplify your space. This can help you feel more focused and in control. Developing new habits and skills can also be a powerful way to take control of your life. This might involve learning time management techniques, improving your communication skills, or adopting a healthier lifestyle.

By taking control of your life, you can create a sense of agency and direction. This empowers you to make positive changes and move towards your goals with confidence.

2. The Power of Deep Work

Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It’s a valuable skill that can help you achieve your goals and get ahead in your career. Addressing your own problems is crucial in this process, as it allows you to take control of your life and focus on what truly matters. By eliminating distractions and minimizing multitasking, you can enter a state of flow and make significant progress on complex tasks.

To incorporate deep work into your daily routine, try the following strategies:

Schedule blocks of uninterrupted time to focus on important tasks
Eliminate distractions by turning off notifications and finding a quiet workspace
Use the Pomodoro Technique to work in focused 25-minute increments, followed by a 5-minute break
Prioritize your most important tasks and tackle them first

By incorporating deep work into your daily routine, you can make significant progress on complex tasks and achieve your goals.

You’ve probably heard this term before, but it’s more than just a buzzword. Deep work is undistracted, focused time that you dedicate to doing your most important tasks.

In a world filled with notifications, constant interruptions, and social media distractions, finding time for uninterrupted work can feel like an uphill battle. That’s why deep work is essential, because it’s the key to getting more done in less time.

Here’s what deep work does for you: it allows you to focus your mind on high-value tasks, the tasks that move the needle. You’re not just checking off low-level to-dos like responding to emails or scrolling through social media—you’re doing work that truly matters.

Cal Newport, who wrote the book Deep Work, talks about how our brains crave distraction, but to make progress on meaningful goals, we need to intentionally carve out time where we are fully immersed in a task. No multitasking, no bouncing between tabs. Just pure, focused effort.

The beauty of deep work is that it’s not about working longer hours; it’s about working smarter. Even just one hour of deep work every day can lead to monumental changes. For example, if you’re building a business, writing a book, or learning a new skill, that one focused hour compounds.

By answering these questions, you can gain a clearer understanding of your current reality and create a plan to achieve your goals. It may take time and effort to figure things out, but this process is essential for personal growth and achieving your aspirations.

If you’ve read Atomic Habits by James Clear

In six months, you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come compared to someone who spends their day distracted.

3. Building Momentum and Passion for Personal Growth

Something incredible happens when you start dedicating time to deep work—you start to build momentum. Think of it like this: every time you invest an hour into focused work, it’s like putting a deposit into a mental savings account. The more you invest, the more invested you feel. And the more invested you feel, the more you want to keep going.

Here’s a truth that often gets overlooked: passion isn’t something you find—it’s something you build. A lot of people think that passion just magically appears, that one day you’ll wake up excited and motivated to work on your goals. But in reality, passion grows over time through consistent action.

When you invest time into something, whether it’s a business, a creative project, or learning a new skill, you start to uncover new layers of interest. You find things you didn’t know you were excited about. That’s when passion starts to grow—it’s a byproduct of consistent effort.

Here’s what deep work does for you: it allows you to focus on tasks that truly matter. It doesn’t matter what your background is or the challenges you face; what counts is how you prioritize your time, set goals, and create opportunities that align with your ambitions.

And here’s the best part: once you’ve built momentum, it’s much harder to stop. You’ll start to feel like you’re wasting potential if you skip a day of deep work. That sense of “I don’t want to lose this momentum” is exactly what will keep you going when motivation is low.

Embracing a Growth Mindset

Embracing a growth mindset is essential for achieving success and happiness. It involves believing that your abilities and intelligence can be developed through hard work, dedication, and persistence. By embracing a growth mindset, you can create a sense of curiosity and openness, which can help you learn and grow.

To embrace a growth mindset, start by identifying areas where you feel stuck or limited. What are the things that you want to learn or improve? What are the things that you want to achieve? Once you have identified these areas, you can begin to create a plan to develop your skills and abilities. This can involve seeking out new challenges, learning from failures, and embracing feedback and criticism.

For instance, if you want to improve your public speaking skills, look for opportunities to practice and get feedback. This might involve joining a public speaking group, taking a course, or volunteering to give presentations. When you encounter setbacks or failures, view them as learning opportunities rather than as evidence of your limitations. Reflect on what you can learn from the experience and how you can improve in the future.

By embracing a growth mindset, you can cultivate a love of learning and a resilience that will help you overcome challenges and achieve your goals. This mindset is a key driver of personal growth and success in your own life.

4. Designing Your Day to Day Routine

Let’s dive into routine design. This is where the magic really happens. Having a structured routine is crucial if you want to consistently do deep work without burning out.

Most people have misconceptions about success, believing it hinges on talent alone. However, passion is built through consistent effort.

Here’s a framework that I follow, which has transformed my productivity: I split my day into three parts—use your brain, fill your brain, and empty your brain.

Morning: This is the time to use your brain. Mornings are when your energy and focus are at their peak, so it’s the best time to work on creative tasks. This could be writing, coding, designing—anything that requires deep thought and focus.
For me, it’s often writing or creating content. You need this time to be distraction-free so you can produce your best work.
Afternoon: Use this time to fill your brain. This is when I read books, listen to podcasts, or engage in conversations.
Learning is a critical part of the process because it fuels creativity and innovation. You can’t create in a vacuum—you need new ideas and insights to push you forward.
Evening: The evening is for emptying your brain. Journaling, planning, or even meditation are great ways to clear out mental clutter. This also helps you wind down and prepare for the next day.
Emptying your mind before bed allows you to rest without those nagging thoughts that keep you awake.

That’s when passion starts to grow—it’s a byproduct of consistent effort. This consistent effort not only builds passion but also contributes significantly to your personal growth.

When you break your day down like this, it ensures that you’re making space for both creativity and recovery. You’re not just pushing forward blindly—you’re being intentional with your time.

5. The Priority Ladder in Your Own Life

Another essential part of deep work is knowing what to prioritize. This is where the Prioritization comes in. We have time to do anything but we shouldn’t try and do everything.

Instead of working on any task we need to prioritize those tasks that move us towards our goal the fastest and say no to pretty much everything else.

Let’s look at how this works in practice by considering our task list and something called an Eisenhower matrix:

Priority 1: This is the task that directly moves you toward your long-term goals. It’s the thing that, if you only had one hour to work today, you’d want to focus on. For me, this might be writing a chapter of my book or creating a video script. Whatever it is for you, it needs to be something that has the highest leverage.
Priority 2: These are tasks that are still important but don’t need as much focus. Things like responding to emails or planning content. You’re not using the same creative energy as you would in deep work, but they’re still essential to keeping your workflow moving.
Priority 3 and 4: As you move down the out list, the tasks get less critical and more administrative. This is where things like social media, checking messages, and other maintenance tasks go. The further down we go, the less focus these tasks require.

By structuring your day around our priorities we’re ensuring that your most important work gets done first, before distractions can take over.

Here’s a framework that I follow to ensure my routine helps me deliver the most value. When you break your day down like this, it ensures that your day-to-day activities make space for both creativity and recovery.

You’re protecting your deep work time and using your energy where it matters most.

6. The Importance of Rest and Experimentation

Rest is just as important as work. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that to achieve more, you need to grind non-stop. But here’s the truth: rest fuels productivity.

If you want to sustain deep work over the long term, you need to build in time for breaks and recovery. That might mean taking a 30-minute walk, going to the gym, or even taking a day off. These breaks aren’t wasted time—they’re essential for recharging your mental energy.

However, it's crucial to work hard to prioritize tasks that move you towards your goals.

Let’s look at how this works in practice by considering our task list and something called an Eisenhower matrix: You can also reverse engineer your career goals by analyzing the necessary steps and prioritizing tasks that align with those steps.

And while rest is important, so is experimentation. Don’t be afraid to tweak your routine. Try out new work environments, different times of day, or various techniques. The idea is to constantly refine what works best for you. Experimentation keeps things fresh and ensures you’re always optimizing your workflow.

7. Staying Consistent

Consistency is the secret sauce. Showing up every day, even when you don’t feel like it, is what separates the people who succeed from the people who stay stuck.

Individuals in Silicon Valley leverage their experiences to balance rest and work, emphasizing resilience, networking, and the supportive community that fosters entrepreneurial growth and career advancement.

Let’s be real—it’s not always going to feel easy. Some days, deep work will feel like a grind. But it’s on those days, the days when you push through the resistance, that you build true momentum.

The key is to create a system that makes it easy to be consistent. Block off that one hour each day and make it non-negotiable. It’s like brushing your teeth—you wouldn’t skip it just because you’re tired, right? Treat your deep work hour the same way. Over time, it becomes a habit, and habits are what drive long-term success.

These breaks aren’t wasted time—they’re essential for recharging your mental energy. Similarly, managing your money wisely is crucial for reducing stress and ensuring long-term success.

So, there you have it—a deep work routine that can transform your life in just six months. Remember, the key is to start small, stay consistent, and keep refining your process along the way.

8. Creating a Supportive Environment

Creating a supportive environment is essential to achieving your goals and getting ahead in life. By surrounding yourself with positive influences and eliminating negative distractions, you can stay motivated and focused on your objectives.

To create a supportive environment, try the following strategies:

Surround yourself with positive and supportive people who encourage and motivate you
Eliminate negative influences, such as toxic relationships or unhealthy habits
Create a comfortable and organized workspace that promotes productivity and focus
Establish a daily routine that includes time for self-care and relaxation

By creating a supportive environment, you can stay motivated and focused on your goals, and achieve success in your personal and professional life.