In a conversation this morning I laid out to a young man the formula I’ve used to build what to me is a great life.

Bear in mind, this is just my formula, I’m not saying it’s for anyone else or telling anyone how to live.

It came down to four main things:

• Purposeful work

• Living in a great environment

• Prioritising important relationships

• Awareness of consciousness through meditation

However, I didn’t start by focussing on all these things. I layered them.

He asked me if knowing what I know now would I do it differently?

I didn’t hesitate in my answer; I wouldn’t.

Some people might be able to do them all at once, but for me I had to get to a point of mastery in one before I could add another.

I went all in on my purposeful work and it wasn’t until I took that to a certain level that I even started thinking about my environment. I also didn’t prioritise relationships until later, and it was way down the track before I became interested in the nature of consciousness.

Each of these delays comes with a cost, but they also come with an upside.

I guess we just have to be clear on what cost we are prepared to pay, for what upside.