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Design Your Life:
- Why Planning Three Futures Might Be the Best Thing You Ever Do”
Imagine sitting down with a big blank canvas in front of you. Instead of drawing just one version of your future, you get to sketch three.
That’s the magic of the Odyssey Plan, developed by Stanford’s Design Lab—the same brilliant team behind Designing Your Life. It’s simple. It’s powerful. And it reminds you that life isn’t a straight line.
First, you map out what your life looks like if you keep going just as you are.
Second, you dream up a life based on a passion you’ve always been curious about.
Third, you create a wild version of your life—what you’d do if money, time, and opinions didn’t matter one bit.
The point isn’t to pick the “perfect” path. It’s to realize you have choices. Real ones. And every one of them starts when you give yourself permission to imagine more.
Forcast out 5 years – it is a magic number.
#Blogboost #VisionaryLeadership #ActThePart #AdvantaStrategies #StrategicThinking
Creating Connection: The overlooked power of eye contact
Eye contact is the designer’s secret to presence. It’s what transforms a presentation from mechanical to magnetic. Slides may show your ideas, but your eyes show your confidence and that’s what clients and audiences remember most.
Why Every Designer Should Practice Their Speech
In design, presentation is persuasion. When you practice speaking as much as sketching, you build trust, authority, and excitement around your ideas. A polished pitch can make the difference between a “maybe” and a “let’s do it.” Remember your voice is part of your professional toolkit. Use it well, and let it sell your vision as powerfully as your designs do.
NETWORKING …. WHAT HAPPENS AFTER
Networking is more about follow-up than first impressions.
Creating Connection: The overlooked power of eye contact
Eye contact is the designer’s secret to presence. It’s what transforms a presentation from mechanical to magnetic. Slides may show your ideas, but your eyes show your confidence and that’s what clients and audiences remember most.
Why Every Designer Should Practice Their Speech
In design, presentation is persuasion. When you practice speaking as much as sketching, you build trust, authority, and excitement around your ideas. A polished pitch can make the difference between a “maybe” and a “let’s do it.” Remember your voice is part of your professional toolkit. Use it well, and let it sell your vision as powerfully as your designs do.
NETWORKING …. WHAT HAPPENS AFTER
Networking is more about follow-up than first impressions.
Sound as Good as You Look
Trade shows can showcase your talent and brand but shouldn’t cost you your voice.
The Designer’s Elevator Pitch:
If you can’t explain your vision in a minute, you’ll lose the moment. In the world of design, opportunities often appear unexpectedly,a quick chat at a showroom, a brief meeting at a networking event, or a chance encounter with a potential...
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Advanta Strategies, LLC
814-360-1950
linda@advantastrategies.com
This is such a refreshing way to think about the future. I love the idea of giving yourself permission to dream without limits — it makes planning feel way more exciting and less stressful!
Thanks Barbara – I found the thinking to be a bit different and in doing some research I think it could be helpful for 17 yo or 80yo.
What a neat idea! I have 3 ideas for the middle one, with the devotion to a passion: singing, dancing or writing romance novels. The life where money is no object is a very familiar dream life visualization. And for the life where things continue as they have begun, I have plans for that to turn out well. So I really can’t lose. 🙂
Jeanine:
I doubt after reading more than one of your posts that you can never really lose. You are on top of your game. I love the singing and dancing. More of that in our lives.