Let’s talk lifestyle. The actual word, I mean.

You’ve probably seen or heard a lot of references to the word “lifestyle” when it comes to everything from corporate mission statements and vacation promos, to marketing and branding. In fact, the term has become really trendy these days; it seems everybody wants to become a lifestyle brand. And why not? It’s not the traditional corporate speak. It sounds cool.

If you’ve been following me on social media, you’d have noticed my constant references to a “lifestyle revolution” that I’m on a mission to ignite this year. I believe the world desperately needs a complete shift in this category. And I hope to be a catalyst for that. 😀

So, what’s your definition of lifestyle?

If you can’t instantly nail the definition, you’re not alone. As everybody tries to fit their company, product or service into the lifestyle category these days, the actual meaning of the word has become vague. So, I’m going to make my own…

My definition of lifestyle is simple: Lifestyle is one’s quality of life.

To me, that’s it. It’s about quality. Which means it’s ultimately about the things that we enjoy or make us happy. And judging by all the seemingly unhappy and unfulfilled people in today’s world, improving or elevating our lifestyles is so needed right now.

A deep thought: I think lifestyle transcends most of the topics that we gravitate towards or want to learn about or aspire to be great in. Take success, for example. We’re infatuated with the idea of being successful. And, of course, success is a big part of our lifestyle. It’s definitely important, but it’s just a piece.

There’s other big pieces of lifestyle that people gravitate to, like happiness. Personal fulfillment. When we think of our quality of living, some of us will talk health. Relationships. Spirituality. They’re all important to how we live and why we live.

But, they’re all pieces of something much bigger. I think lifestyle sits above all of it. Our quality of life transcends any one piece. It’s a key concept to understand about life, for if we focus too much on one piece, we lose sight of the others. And over time, and without us even knowing, life becomes limited, unbalanced, and its quality reduced.

Lifestyle is not just sitting on a beach with palm trees in the back and sipping on an umbrella drink. It’s a cool moment, but I’m talking lifestyle as it transcends our quality of life across all buckets: health, relationships, experiences, finances, spirituality, etc.  It’s about living out our purpose, passion, potential.

We’re all guilty of focusing on the one or two things that we’re convinced will improve our quality of life. Growing up, I was obsessed with the end game of success and money. More money meant more nice things. And, there’s nothing wrong with that. I had modeled people who were great at business and making money. I’ll confess that I was a fanatic: I studied them all. I read their books. I listened to their CD’s (remember those?!). I sat in their events. I memorized their philosophies.

And then one day I started to realize that most of the thought leaders and influencers I admired were solely about the hustle in business. Grind, grind, grind. Work, work, work. Money, money, money. Business, business, business, 24/7.  And no disrespect, it worked for them.  And, I was one of them!

But as my awareness increased, I started asking myself questions, like: Where’s your family? Where’s your fun? Where’s your adventures? Where’s your faith? Where’s your health?

Now don’t get me wrong: financial security is paramount to creating freedom of mind and being able to elevate the things around us. But, should our lifestyle be about more than a number on our bank balance? I believe financial prosperity is a big piece – and most would say it is a mandatory piece in the world we live in today – but, it’s not everything. It’s a means, not the end game.

It’s why I’m passionate about elevating our vision for lifestyles to be about more. It should be about all the facets of our life we want to elevate. I used to model people who are crushing it in business. Now, I model people who are crushing it in life.

For me, when it comes to lifestyle (our quality of life), I’m talking potential. And here’s the great thing about potential: We all have it. Potential is what’s possible for us as people. I love the concept of potential. We all have the ability to have potential. But, we all have different types of potential based on our own unique gifts and talents.

So, here’s why I’ve added the word “revolution” to my mission. Revolution means movement. Turning towards something. Progress.

When it comes to creating a “lifestyle revolution,” it’s about elevating our quality of life by pursuing our potential. It’s the pursuit of what’s possible. It’s the end game: Becoming the person we’re meant to be so we can live the life we’re meant to live.

And that might mean radical change. It might require flipping our lens. Shifting our script. We might have to ditch all the conversations, the noise and assumptions of who we think we’re supposed to be and what we’re told we’re supposed to do. The very nature of “supposed to” means we didn’t create our path; somebody else gave it to us. As long as we’re following what others are telling us we’re supposed to be doing, we’re on somebody else’s path for us. And that means we’re not pursuing our own.

The more we try to become the person others think we’re supposed to be, the further we get away from the person we’re meant to be.

And so, I’m on a mission to ignite a lifestyle revolution that helps all of us move away from “supposed to” and move towards “meant to,” and daily and deliberately pursue our full potential, our purpose and the best version of ourselves. I’m here to create a radical shift in how we live and measure our lives.

Anyone want to help me create the shift…? 😉

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