3 Steps to Achieve Your Big Dream — Like a Time Genius

In this episode of MarieTV, we do have some adult language. So if you do have little ones around, grab your headphones now.

Hey, it’s Marie Forleo, and welcome to another episode of MarieTV and The Marie Forleo Podcast. God, it feels good to be back in a studio. So look, if you’ve got a big idea that you want to bring to life, like a new book, a new program, a new revenue source, or some big part of your life, but you’re not sure how to find the time to make it happen, I think you’re going to get a lot out of today’s show because I’m taking you behind the scenes of my creative process.

You see, today, we are celebrating, oh, my goodness, the release of Time Genius, my brand new training experience which is designed for people who want to be more joyfully productive without the non-stop stress and the overwhelm and the burnout that is so prevalent these days. So obviously, I’m super excited, but I’m not just super excited to start working with people in Time Genius, I also want to share a little bit about how this entire project came to life because, honestly, the creation process itself was one of the most enjoyable that I’ve had in quite some time. So my hope is that some of what I learned can help and inspire you too.

Now, as the original multipassionate creative, you know I got a gajillion ideas in this head for training experiences and programs and books and all kinds of things that I want to create. Yes, I am that person who, literally, has hundreds and hundreds of domains, and I come up with new ideas for more almost every day. So step number one in bringing Time Genius to life was this, decide and commit. So I’ve actually been working on the idea for Time Genius since way back in 2019. Once I got back from the Everything is Figureoutable Tour in the fall, I immediately started cranking on this idea for a program that would help people transform their entire relationship with time.

I had this Google Doc with 50 pages of notes and ideas. Then, of course, the pandemic hit in 2020 and everything in my world got put on ice. So, cut to the fall, and, as many of you guys know, I learned I had to have this urgent hysterectomy. And then after I recovered, I was like, “Oh my goodness. Now I know I really need to create Time Genius now.” But then I wondered to myself, “Is this just me who feels like I am done with these crazy unrealistic expectations in terms of all the stuff that we’re supposed to be doing all the time? Am I the only one who feels like this 24/7 hustle culture is not only dumb but totally dangerous?”

Now, as you probably know, I’m very good at trusting my instincts. But before I was about to invest an enormous amount of my personal time and my personal energy, not to mention my team’s time and energy, creating this whole new comprehensive experience from scratch, I wanted to make sure that I was creating something that could genuinely make a difference to our people, which means you. I mean, were other people hungry for a new way to work and live? Was everybody as disillusioned with the culture of busyness as I was? So, we sent out this survey to find out. I asked, “What’s your single biggest struggle when it comes to productivity and getting things done?” And then I asked this, “If you could ask me any question about this topic, what would you ask?”

Now, check this out. In the first three days, we had over 7,000 incredible responses. I spent days and days and days reading through all the answers and, honestly, what people shared brought me to tears. It became crystal clear right away that this wasn’t just me. Right? There are, literally, thousands of you that are feeling like all this overwhelm and this busyness and this pressure is not only exhausting, but it’s unsustainable. Now, once we got that survey back, that’s when I knew. Right? That was my 100%, this is what I’m going to do, I am so clear. So the next step was for me to fully commit to the number one thing that I wanted to focus on for the rest of the year. And as I teach in Time Genius, clarity is key to accomplishing any big dream because it allows you to blissfully ignore the endless new opportunities that are going to keep coming your way.

So, once we got clear, we set a deadline for the fall which, of course, is essential for any big goal. Now, as an aside, I know most people know that deadlines are important, but you would be shocked at how many people do not put firm deadlines on big projects, and then wonder why the hell they never get done. Now, once we had clarity and a deadline, the next step was to actually create the thing. Then, after reading thousands of your responses, I know that sitting down to do the work is often where people get stuck. So here’s how I tackle that piece. Step number two, I organize my life around getting that thing done. So I learned this from writing Everything is Figureoutable, that the only way that I’m able to run a business, to have a life, and to generate something significant from nothing, is I got to wake up super early, usually before the sun, and devote those first few hours in the morning, almost exclusively, to writing.

Now, in order to do that, I had to change my morning routine. When I’m in a non-heavy creation kind of mode, I usually prioritize physical fitness. I love my workouts. It’s how I stay mentally sane. And honestly, when I’m doing my workout, sometimes I push myself really hard if I’m on Peloton or with some other workout where I feel really spent afterwards. I’m talking super spent, like I need an hour or so to shower and lay down and recover. But if creating Time Genius was really the number one goal for me, which it was, the smartest thing for me to do was to let go of those hardcore morning workouts and, instead, devote that precious time and that cognitive energy to writing.

So here’s what I did. I simplified my morning routine down to just a little bit of journaling and some meditation and then got straight to writing. And let me be clear, I did not beat myself up or feel bad or weak that I wasn’t working out hardcore every single day. In fact, sometimes I burned up so much brain fuel writing that I felt like I worked out. I mean, maybe all I could manage on some days was a really easy walk around the neighborhood and that was 100% okay.

So the takeaway here, at least for me, doing all of my normal things in my life at a level 10 all the time, that’s not sustainable. It’s not possible, and I don’t believe it’s even wise to try. I think those impossible expectations just set people up to fail and feel terrible about ourselves. Instead, I want you to try this. If you’re in the midst of a big creation period, right, simplify other things in your life. Scale back. Make it easier on yourself to feel good and get the most important thing done.

Now, of course, there’s another big thing that I know can hold so many people back from putting their best work out in the world, and that other thing is other people. Right? We just don’t have our own schedules and desires to contend with. Most of us have a steady stream of requests and demands and expectations and obligations from our families and our kids and our partner and our teams. Which brings me to step number three, I only do meetings on Mondays. So here on Team Forleo, we are very, very collaborative. And depending on what’s going on with the business, interacting with members of my team is a fun and important part of my daily work. And it’s also true that I could not give birth to an entirely new program and do all those same things at the same time.

Once we were clear that Time Genius was coming to life and we had this deadline, I told my team, “Okay, for the next few months, while I create this program, I’m only going to take meetings in this very narrow window on Mondays from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. If anyone needs feedback, if there’s any kind of collaboration, if there’s decision making, you got a question, just book time in my calendar. I’m going to hold that time open every single week for anything that you need from me.” But then outside that window, right, everyone just needs to pretend, basically, that Marie is in the North Pole. That she’s gone poof, she just disappeared, and she is nowhere to be found.

So, that meant for me, from Tuesday through Friday, I was able to give 100% of my focus to the Time Genius program without any interruptions or distractions or guilt that somebody was waiting on me. And because I set that expectation beforehand, I had the time and space I needed to create, and my team knew exactly when I’d be available next so they could plan accordingly. And I got to say, that simple move, it worked like magic. I was able to create the entire program in just a few months. My team was able to move ahead on so many of their initiatives and projects without me just popping in with even more ideas for them to get done. And we had this great time on Mondays where we could all share progress and keep everything moving ahead.

Now, the result, a training experience that I have been dreaming of for years is finally done. And now, today, it is officially available. And I got to say, I am so proud of this program because I believe in my heart, it will change your life. I really know that Time Genius is one of the most transformative and, honestly, important things that I’ve ever created. Now, if you’re interested in becoming a Time Genius, you got to head on over to JoinTimeGenius.com. And I’m going to be teaching this extraordinary free class called the Three Toxic Lies That Keep You Overwhelmed, Overstretched, and Underearning – And How to Break Free, Starting Right Now. So if you’re interested, go to JoinTimeGenius.com, save your seat, and I will see you there.

Bottom line is this, when you decide and commit to the number one thing that matters, and you organize your life around getting it done, it is possible to bring a big project to life without enormous levels of stress or overwhelm or burnout.

Now I hope you enjoyed this little peek behind the scenes of my creative process. And if you want even more on how to make sure your most important projects come to life, you got to join me for Time Genius. Like always, it comes with 100% satisfaction guarantee so, honestly, you have nothing to lose, but your whole life to win. And with that, I say thank you so much for watching and, until next time, stay on your game and keep going for your big dreams because the world really does need that very special gift that only you have.

Thank you so much for watching, and I’ll catch you next time on MarieTV.

Hey! Are you tired of feeling overwhelmed and overcommitted? Like no matter how hard or how long you work — you never seem to get enough done?

The GOOD news? You do NOT have to keep living that way. Time Genius is my brand new, revolutionary training experience that’ll help you set the right priorities, double your creative output, and skyrocket your energy, joy, and profits.

Get ready to kiss overwhelm goodbye — FOREVER.

To learn more, go to JoinTimeGenius.com. That’s JoinTimeGenius.com. I’ll see you there.