If you’re like me you think a LOT about building your dream life… but when it comes around to actually doing the damn thing, you get stuck.

This has been my problem for ages.

But I recently came across Jim Kwik’s Limitless Model. This is a framework for taking effective action in a way that massively resonated with me.

I learned about the Limitless Model from Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast where Jim Kwik came on as a guest. Jim Kwik is an American coach and thought leader who focuses on improving your ability to do basically anything: read, remember, focus, etc.

Jim’s Limitless Model can help you understand where you’re getting stuck on the things that you want to achieve… and, importantly, help you identify how to get unstuck!

You can map it out like this:

The three primary areas are Mindset, Motivation and Method.

Let’s break it down.

Mindset

Are you struggling with self-doubt? Fear of failure? Fear of judgment? Fear of embarrassment?

These are mindset challenges.

If you find yourself getting stuck here, don’t worry. You can change your mindset!

Jim describes mindset as the attitudes and assumptions about what you’re capable of and what you deserve.

What limiting beliefs do you hold? What are your beliefs about yourself? Your ability? The actions or maybe the challenges that you perceive you need to take on?

In short, do you believe that you have what it takes to reach your goals?

If you’re struggling with your mindset, try writing down your limiting beliefs first to identify what they are. Then practice flipping these thought patterns by rewriting them into affirmative beliefs that support your growth in the direction of your goals.

For example, here’s a belief that I struggle with:

“I don’t have the time to work on my blog as much as I want.”

But I can get in charge of myself and my circumstances by flipping it like so:

“I choose how to spend my time and can devote the time and energy I need to toward build my blog.”

Choose a mindset of empowerment and self-belief.

It may not come easily or naturally, but you CAN adopt this mindset through practices such as rewriting your limiting beliefs. The results are worth it!

Motivation

Do you find yourself struggling to get started? Once you’ve started, is it a challenge to keep going?

These are motivation challenges.

Motivation is defined by Jim Kwik with this formula:

P x E x S3

P = Purpose: How do you feel about something? Does it light you up with a sense of purpose that drives you?

E = Energy: Make sure you get enough rest, sleep, food and hydration. Protect your energy from being drained by your environment, people around you, and any other stressors. Basically, work on mitigating stress because any stress will impact your energy levels.

S3 = Small simple steps: These are the small actions you can take to move forward. Jim gives the example of a large step being reading a chapter in a book. If that’s too much for you to realistically do, break it down into a small simple step that you can easily achieve. This could be as small and simple and just opening the book! Get past the barrier to action by making the thing small and simple to do.

When you compound these three factors – purpose, energy, and small simple steps – you have the motivation to go after the thing you want.

Method

Do you find yourself excited to go after your goal but then find yourself lost when it comes time to take action?

You’re probably missing a solid method.

In order to achieve your goals, you’ll also have to consider the practical aspect of things. The method is the pathway to getting things done. You might call it the “how.”

For example if you want to cook healthier, learn some new recipes. If you want to start a blog but don’t know where to start, look up some articles or videos on how to start a blog. If you want to start exercising, learn some basic exercises.

The good news is that there is an abundance of information available on the Internet. If you’re reading this, you have access to the Internet. The Internet has blogs, videos, how-to’s, tutorials and more. If you have Internet access, you can look up how to do practically anything!

There are also tons of ways to find out how to do things outside of the Internet. You can read a book. Find a teacher. Take a class. Visit a specialty store and talk to the associates who will probably all know a lot about that store’s products. Go to an event where they’re talking about your interests. There are tons of ways to learn how to do something.

So if you find yourself uncertain of how to reach your goal, work on figuring out the method. Then implement the method to achieve your goals.

Overlaps

As you can see in the Limitless Model diagram, there are overlaps between each of the three main areas of Mindset, Motivation and Method. These overlaps are Inspiration, Implementation and Ideation.

Let’s look at these a little more closely.

(Here’s the Limitless Model diagram again as a refresher.)

Inspiration

Where Mindset and Motivation overlap, you have Inspiration.

Inspiration can feel great: you believe you can do it (mindset), and you feel like you can do it (motivation). So what’s lacking? The method that will actually enable you to do it!

Maybe you find yourself getting all jazzed up to work on your dream project every night, but when the time comes around for you to finally get cracking on that thing you find yourself lost. You don’t know what you should actually be spending your time doing, so you find yourself going through the motions but you aren’t really sure if what you’re doing is “right.” You inevitably wind up not feeling good about the result. It feels like you don’t have anything to show for the time you spent on that thing and you didn’t end up doing what you thought you’d be doing. In the end, you feel like another day’s been wasted.

Well lucky for you, the solution is right in front of you! You can turn to the Internet to find the steps you need to help you do what you want to do. Research the method and see how other people have achieved what you want to achieve. Chances are, there’s a road map out there that you can learn from.

You don’t have to follow someone else’s path exactly, but it can be a huge help to see what other people have done to figure out what you want to do for yourself. And sometimes it will help to follow someone else’s road map – that’s why there’s such a booming business for online courses teaching people how to make money doing various things. But don’t feel like you have to pay for information – there is an abundance of free information on practically any topic available to us on the Internet.

Once you start diving into defining your method, you’ll have a much easier time moving beyond Inspiration and into effective action.

Implementation

Where Motivation and Method overlap, you have Implementation.

This means you have the drive to reach your goal (motivation) and the means to get there (method). With these two elements you are able to implement a plan of action, but you’re likely struggling with your mindset.

What does this look like? Well, maybe you know exactly what to do and why you want to do it, but your self-doubt is stopping you from taking the first step. This is your mindset getting in your way.

If you are struggling with mindset issues, first work on identifying your limiting beliefs. Realize that these are thought patterns that you hold deeply, but they are not objectively true. And work on rewriting these beliefs into positive, constructive beliefs that will help you move into who you want to become, or what you want to achieve.

For example, maybe you believe that you aren’t qualified to talk about something you love. Recognize that this is a thought you have. And recognize that this is not necessarily true! You can choose to think differently. And it starts with simply allowing another thought to arise: You ARE qualified to talk about this thing you love. Try this thought on for a while. You can think one thought as much as you can think another, with practice. Make a point of flipping limiting beliefs and work on adopting healthier, more constructive beliefs that serve you and your growth. This is how you adopt a new mindset of what is possible for you.

When you add a strong mindset to your ability to implementation the tools of success (motivation + method), you have the elements for achieving your goals! By this point you will be actively creating your reality 😉

Ideation

There’s one more overlap. Where Mindset and Method overlap, you have Ideation.

Ideation is hands down my favorite stage.

I absolutely love coming up with ideas for this blog. I have an endless doc in my Notes app with ideas and thoughts and half-baked outlines that I intend to use for this blog, yet never do.

I know it can turn all of this information into something valuable and helpful (mindset) and while I have a lot to learn, I generally know how to build a blog (method).

What I lack is the motivation to do the work when it’s required of me. Until I bring my abstract ideas into concrete deliverables through action, nothing is actually happening.

So if motivation is the sum of Purpose, Energy, and Small Simple Steps, here’s what I can do:

Purpose: Remind myself of my purpose every day, every time I sit down to work on this blog. I’ll write a short blurb of my mission statement and vision that I read every day and before every creative session.

Energy: I know without a doubt that I need to sleep more and take better care of my health so that I have more energy to bring to my work. This includes sleeping enough, hydrating more, eating healthier, and not snacking late at night. I can definitely improve here.

Small, simple steps: This kind of ties in to Method, doesn’t it? But I need to break blogging down into small simple steps for me to even be able to approach it. For now, I’m going to set it to 10 minutes of working on the blog every day. It’s better than what I’m doing now! If /i can make these small daily chunks of progress, it will add up. I’ll be showing myself that I can do it, which will in turn motivate me more to keep at it. And if I fall off, that’s ok – as long as I make a point of getting back to it again as soon as I can.

Conclusion

And that’s Jim Kwik’s Limitless Model! A framework for success that brings Mindset, Motivation and Method together.

Where do you find yourself struggling within this model? Identify at least 2 things you can do to work on this TODAY, then do those things. You’ve got this!

To hear Jim Kwik talk about the Limitless Model himself, check out his interview on the Jay Shetty podcast: