Striving Towards Excellence

-Karthik Gurumurthy

Let’s be real—there’s never a perfect moment to sit down and think about what you actually want to do with your life. We’re all busy, and even when we’re not, binge watching and scrolling through internet usually sound way better than life planning.

But do it today anyway. Seriously, it’ll take maybe 10 or 20 minutes, and it could change everything. It’s not even that hard. You probably already know what you want deep down—you just haven’t written it down. Or maybe you did this years ago and haven’t updated it since. Either way, now’s the time.

Here’s How to Do It:

1. Start with Your Funeral (Stay with Me Here)

This idea comes from Stephen Covey’s book—imagine you’re at the end of your life looking back. What would you want people to say about you at your funeral? What would you have wanted to accomplish? What kind of person would you have wanted to be?

Now here’s the important part: start living that way now so you actually become that person.

2. Brain Dump Your Life Goals

Write down some things you’d like to accomplish before you die. Think about different areas like: career, education, family, spirituality, travel, hobbies, community work, charity—whatever matters to you. You don’t need goals in every category. Just jot down whatever comes to mind.

3. Clean It Up (or Dream Bigger)

Look at your list. Maybe trim it down if it’s too much. Or maybe add more—sometimes it’s fun to dream really big and see what happens.

4. Break It Down into Bite-Sized Pieces

For each goal, ask yourself: What needs to happen in the next 10 years? 5 years? 2 years? 1 year? This month?

Once you’ve mapped it out like this, you’ve got yourself a real plan.

5. Actually Do Something About It

Take your monthly goals and turn them into a to-do list for this week. What’s one thing you can do today to move closer to your dreams? If you can knock out even one thing, you’ve made real progress.

Bottom Line

Take a step toward your dreams today by writing them down and making a plan. That’s it. Just start.