World Leading Life Coach: 3 Steps To Figuring Out ANYTHING You Want: Marie Forleo | E184

When facing a decision, ask: “Does saying yes feel expansive or contracted?” Expansive usually feels light, forward-leaning, a subtle sense of excitement even if you’re scared; contracted feels heavy, tight, and filled with dread. Practice this on small choices (what to eat, who to meet, which invitations to accept) and look back at past decisions where you ignored that inner nudge and paid a price – this builds a felt sense of your intuitive ‘signal’ distinct from anxious thoughts.

Forleo’s mantra is “Clarity comes from engagement, not thought.” If you hate your job but don’t know what you want, stop trying to think your way to a perfect answer. Instead, follow any genuine interest—take a class, volunteer, intern, or do a small side project. Doing, not daydreaming, reveals whether something should stay a hobby, become a career path, or be discarded, and often opens up unexpected opportunities (like Marie discovering life coaching via a random article at her desk).

“I don’t have time” is usually a cover for “it’s not a priority.” Track your time meticulously for seven days—every scroll, show, chat, and errand. You’ll see how many hours leak into low‑value activities and how little empty, unstructured time you leave for thinking, resting, or building new skills. Once you see the numbers, it’s far easier (and more honest) to say, “I’m choosing Netflix over my business idea” or “I won’t wake up early to work out,” instead of blaming time.

Forleo suggests mentally swapping “I can’t” with “I won’t” or “It’s not a priority right now.” This tiny language shift exposes where you are choosing not to act (learning a language, exercising, starting a side project) and stops you from casting yourself as powerless. Applied consistently, it clarifies which goals you truly care about and reduces self‑loathing about the ones you keep ‘failing’ at—very often, you simply don’t want them enough to pay the price.

Rule 1: All problems or dreams are figureoutable. Rule 2: If it’s not figureoutable, it’s probably a law of nature (death, maybe taxes). Rule 3: If you aren’t making progress, you may just not care enough—and that’s okay; pick something you do care about and return to rule 1. Rule 3 is crucial because it releases you from inherited or performative goals (like getting a six‑pack or becoming a DJ) that you “want to want,” but don’t actually value enough to pursue.