Let’s get something straight.

Can you hack life?

By hack, I mean finding a shortcut, a cheat code so to speak, to getting everything you want without doing the actual work. It sounds appealing, right?

Now let’s be real:

Technically, yes. You can find a “hack” here and there, but should you?  Absolutely not.

Why? Because these so-called “hacks” often take more time, energy, and intellectual contortions to discover than it would’ve taken to just show up and do the actual work.  Even if you manage to skip the line, chances are you’ll arrive unprepared. You’ll be at the table but not know how to eat.

So NO, you can’t hack life.
Actually… you can, but you shouldn’t.

Since shortcuts are off the table, the next best thing is working more efficiently.
Not avoiding the work, but making sure the work you do counts.

What’s the most efficient strategy I’ve found?

Work backwards.

Start with the end in mind. Reverse-engineer the life you want and use that clarity to guide your actions today.

Let’s break it down.

Whatever your goals are, financial, relationships, spiritual, working backwards helps you focus only on what matters. It eliminates the fluff, distractions, and dead ends that usually waste your time.

Here’s how this mindset shift looks in real life:

What do you see in your future spouse?
Someone with ambition, integrity, maybe a spiritual foundation, a shared sense of humor?

Then why waste your energy on people who clearly don’t check those boxes?

Picture the version of yourself that’s already “made it.”
Now picture the kind of person standing next to you in that vision.

That’s who you should be looking for now, not later.
Yes of course, that also means becoming the kind of person they’d want, too.

If you want to have kids “one day,” ask yourself: what are you waiting for?
The perfect moment? The right job? Enough money in the bank?

Spoiler: there’s no such thing as perfect timing. If they’re in the picture of your ideal future, start figuring out how to make that picture real now, because waiting for the “right time” is how people end up waiting forever.

Relationships and kids are nuanced, yes. I know my explanations above don’t do them real justice.  However, money?
Money is math, and math is what it is. It isn’t anything else, and it can be managed.

Here’s the step-by-step:

Look back over the past year.
Which month hit the hardest financially?

Maybe it was the month your car broke down, you had a surprise medical bill, and a last-minute flight to book. Whatever it was, calculate everything you spent in that month.

Got that number?
Cool.

This is your new short-term financial target.
Why 12 you ask? It’s 12 because you’re creating your “give me some time” money.  A one-year cushion that buys you breathing room if life flips the script on you.

Lose a job? Want to pivot careers? Need time to heal, build, or reset?

This is your insurance policy, fully funded by you, for you.

Now that you’ve got the number, your only focus should be hitting it.
Spend less. Save more. Make more. Do whatever you have to.

Once you hit that goal, you’ll have officially graduated into a new class of power:

The “I-Don’t-Have-To-Panic-Right-Now” class.

Which brings us to the real power move...

Now that you’ve handled the emergency cushion, it’s time to get strategic.

What’s the endgame?

Whatever it is, reverse-engineer it.

Think about what that version of you looks like.  How do they earn?  How do they invest?  How do they move? Start behaving like that now. Build the habits, the skills, and the mindset required to become that person. Your cushion gives you the room to do that without fear.

Let’s say you want to pivot careers, maybe become a UX designer, AI engineer, or launch your own creative agency. Maybe the move is more content-driven: starting a blog, launching a newsletter, or building a brand around what you know and love.

Cool.
Now ask yourself:

What does the future version of me already know how to do?

That future you doesn’t just have the title or the platform, they also have the reps.
They’ve put in the time. They’ve built the skills. They’ve worked through the cringe stage.

So what’s stopping you from starting that process now?

You already know the formula:
Start from the end and work backwards.

If you’re thinking,
“But I don’t have time to build all this while holding down my 9–5…”

That’s where the earlier steps come in.
If you’ve got your “give me some time” money saved up, you’ve already bought your most valuable asset: freedom to focus.

You’ve removed the biggest excuse of “I can’t afford to take the leap.”
Now the only thing left is to leap.

Build the skills. Launch the blog. Write the newsletter. Share your story.
No hack. Just strategy, consistency, and belief.

You can’t hack life. But you can outsmart the chaos.

Start with the end.
Work backwards.
Put in the work.
Most of all, stay focused on the version of yourself you’re becoming.