Life Blueprints: Why You Need to Begin with the End in Mind

Ancient Wisdom on Building a Life Worth Living Before You Start Living It

The Day I Discovered Life Needed Blueprints

For over three decades, I was fortunate to work on some truly remarkable construction projects.

I helped build a five-story tall clean room for manufacturing space satellites and its adjoining sound stress-test chamber.

I worked on the live action Nokia theater along with the retail and adjoining hotel for the civic improvement of downtown LA.

I spent time at the Hyperion waste treatment plant - and while it was definitely "stinky," it allowed me to do industrial construction and level up my installation and craftsmanship skills.

I worked various projects at LAX, including the air traffic control tower in 1994, renovating terminals 2, 3, and TBIT, a complete rebuild and upgrade of the Terminal 7 luggage conveyor system, and the completely new built-from-the-dirt-up Midfield Satellite Concourse terminal.​

The list goes on with dozens of smaller commercial and industrial projects.

All of these projects would have been impossible - and far more costly, time-consuming, and wasteful - if they weren't designed in blueprints before a single scoop of dirt was removed.

But I didn't truly understand the power of this principle until 1991, when I was a third-year apprentice working the Roybal Federal Courthouse Building in downtown LA.

I was looking through the prints, as usual focusing on just the electrical drawings I was used to studying. But that day, something made me flip through the entire set. And I was amazed.

There were prints for everything - not just electrical, but plumbing, structural, architectural, landscaping, literally every detail of this massive project.

All of it conceived on paper, years before the project even started.

That's when it hit me like a lightning bolt: Why don't I have blueprints for my life?

I asked my foreman and my journeyman if they had blueprints for their lives. They just looked at me like I was an idiot.

And suddenly I realized something profound: that's one reason why they seemed so angry and frustrated all the time. They didn't know where they were going in life.

Since that day in '91, I see it everywhere - people going through life with either no blueprint whatsoever or just a vague notion like "I want to be rich!" but no roadmap of how to get there.

And that makes all the difference in the world.

You don't need everything all laid out perfectly from day one. I certainly didn't!

Start small and build from there. That's what I did.

And now, as you're reading this, I'm about to finish my four-week trip to Europe, hanging out with my friends, discussing business and life - because I was able to work hard, invest for the future, all while training in martial arts, not losing the beautiful wife who married me, and enjoying life as much as I could.

Working hard and playing hard.

All because I built it into my blueprints. And so can you.

The Architecture of Intentional Living

Leonardo da Vinci: The Master of Future-Backward Design

​Leonardo da Vinci was perhaps history's greatest example of someone who began with the end in mind.

When he conceived of flying machines, submarines, and helicopters in the 15th century, he didn't start by tinkering with materials.

He started by envisioning the final result - humans soaring through the sky like birds.

Da Vinci wrote:

He understood that without a clear vision of the destination, you're just wandering around hoping to stumble onto something good.

His notebooks reveal an extraordinary process. He would first imagine the impossible - a machine that could fly. Then he would work backward, asking:

He studied bird anatomy, air currents, wing mechanics, and weight distribution. He designed every component with the final vision in mind.

Most of da Vinci's flying machines weren't built in his lifetime, but his blueprints were so detailed and accurate that when modern engineers constructed them centuries later, many actually worked. He had solved problems that wouldn't exist for another 500 years because he had clarity about where he was going.

Da Vinci applied this same principle to everything - his art, his engineering, his anatomical studies.

He wrote:

But he wasn't learning randomly. Every piece of knowledge was gathered in service of bigger visions he had already conceived.

The lesson?

Clarity of destination creates clarity of path.

Without knowing where you're going, every road looks the same. With a clear end in mind, the necessary steps reveal themselves.

Benjamin Franklin: The 13-Virtue Blueprint

Benjamin Franklin decided at age 20 that he wanted to achieve "moral perfection." This wasn't a vague aspiration - it was a specific, measurable goal with a detailed blueprint for achievement.

Franklin identified 13 virtues he wanted to embody: temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility.

But here's what made Franklin different from someone who just makes a list of good intentions: he created a system for building these virtues systematically.

He designed what he called his "virtue chart" - a grid with the 13 virtues listed vertically and the days of the week listed horizontally. Each week, he would focus intensely on one virtue while monitoring his performance on all of them. He would mark a dot every time he failed to live up to a virtue.

Franklin wrote:

He treated character development like a construction project - with clear specifications, regular inspections, and systematic improvement.

The results were extraordinary. Franklin became one of history's most successful people across multiple domains - business, science, diplomacy, writing, invention.

But this wasn't luck or natural talent. It was the compound result of having a clear blueprint and working that blueprint consistently for decades.

Franklin understood something that most people miss: you don't become excellent by accident.

Excellence is the result of intentional design, systematic execution, and consistent measurement against a predetermined standard.

The Universal Principle: Reverse Engineering Your Life

Here's what da Vinci, Franklin, and master builders all understand: the most efficient way to get somewhere is to start from where you want to end up and work backward.

This works because of how the human brain processes complex problems.

When you have a clear destination, your subconscious mind automatically begins identifying resources, opportunities, and solutions that support that outcome.

Psychologists call this the "reticular activating system" - once you program your brain with a specific target, you start noticing things that were always there but previously invisible.

Consider how this plays out across different contexts:

• Career development: Instead of just "working hard," you identify exactly what position you want in 10 years, then reverse-engineer the skills, relationships, and experiences needed to qualify for that role
• Financial planning: Instead of just "saving money," you calculate exactly how much you need for specific goals, then design systems to systematically build toward those numbers
• Relationship building: Instead of just "being a good person," you define what kind of partner, parent, or friend you want to become, then develop the habits and practices that create that identity
• Health and fitness: Instead of just "getting in shape," you identify specific physical capabilities you want to have at different life stages, then create training and nutrition protocols to maintain them

The blueprint principle works across all contexts because it transforms vague intentions into specific systems.

The Warrior Philosophy: Strategic Life Design

What makes this "warrior wisdom" rather than simple goal-setting advice is its recognition that life is too important to be left to chance.

Warriors understand that the enemy of excellence isn't failure - it's randomness.

Most people approach life reactively. They respond to whatever shows up, make decisions based on immediate circumstances, and hope things work out.

This might feel more spontaneous or authentic, but it's actually a form of abdication.

You're letting external circumstances determine your internal direction.

The warrior's approach is different: take responsibility for designing the life you want before external pressures try to design it for you.

This doesn't eliminate spontaneity or flexibility - it creates a framework within which spontaneity can occur without undermining your larger purpose.

Consider the difference:

• Reactive approach: "I'll work hard and see what opportunities come up"
• Blueprint approach: "I want to be financially independent by 45, so I need to save X dollars per year and develop Y skills to command higher income"

The reactive approach feels easier in the moment but often leads to decades of frustration. The blueprint approach requires more upfront thinking but creates decades of intentional progress.

This isn't about rigidity or perfectionism. Construction blueprints change as projects evolve, but they always maintain structural integrity. Your life blueprint should be similar - flexible in tactics but consistent in strategic direction.

The Ripple Effects: Compound Benefits of Clear Design

When you begin with the end in mind, several powerful changes occur in how you navigate life:

Individually, you develop what psychologists call "temporal perspective" - the ability to connect present actions with future outcomes. This makes delayed gratification easier because you can see how current sacrifices serve your larger blueprint. You also become more resilient because setbacks are just construction delays, not existential crises.

Professionally, you become incredibly strategic. While others react to opportunities, you create them by systematically building toward your predetermined outcomes. You invest time in relationships and skills that compound over decades. You say no to good opportunities that don't serve your blueprint, which allows you to say yes to great opportunities that do. Because at a certain point, opportunities are just distractions.

In relationships, you become someone others want to be around because you have direction and purpose. You attract people who share your values and support your growth. You also become better at helping others because you understand the power of intentional design.

Financially, this approach creates exponential wealth because every financial decision supports your larger blueprint. Instead of random spending and saving, you optimize every dollar toward predetermined outcomes.

Putting It On the Mat: The Warrior's Practice of Life Architecture

The Blueprint Audit: What Are You Actually Building?

Start by honestly examining whether you're currently building with intention or just hoping things work out:

• If someone analyzed your daily activities, what life would they conclude you're building?
• What percentage of your time and energy goes toward predetermined outcomes versus reactive responses?
• Where are you making progress, and where are you just staying busy?
• What would need to change for your actions to align with your stated goals?

Most people discover a significant gap between what they say they want and what their daily choices are actually creating.

Three Levels of Blueprint Practice

Level 1: Life Domain Mapping: Begin by identifying the major areas of your life that need intentional design - typically career, finances, relationships, health, personal growth, and contribution. For each domain, write a one-sentence description of what success looks like in 10 years. Start with rough sketches, not detailed architectural drawings.

Level 2: Reverse Engineering Systems: Choose one domain and work backward from your 10-year vision to identify what needs to be true at 5 years, 2 years, 1 year, and 6 months to make that outcome inevitable. Then design systems that create consistent progress toward those milestones. This is where vague goals become specific blueprints.

Level 3: Integrated Life Design: At the advanced level, create a master blueprint that shows how all domains support and reinforce each other. Your career strategy supports your financial strategy, which supports your relationship strategy, which supports your health strategy. Everything works together as a coherent system rather than competing priorities.

Daily Micro-Practices for Blueprint Living

• Morning alignment check: Each morning, identify how today's planned activities serve your larger blueprint
• Decision filtering: Before making any significant choice, ask "Does this move me toward my blueprint or away from it?"
• Weekly blueprint review: Every Sunday, assess your progress against your predetermined milestones and adjust your upcoming week accordingly
• Quarterly design sessions: Four times per year, review and refine your blueprints based on what you've learned and how circumstances have evolved

When the "Just Go with the Flow" Voice Shows Up

Your conditioning will often push you to abandon intentional design in favor of spontaneity or "following your passion." When you feel this resistance, remember:

• Blueprints create freedom, not limitation - they free you from the tyranny of constantly having to figure out what to do next
• Structure enables creativity - jazz musicians improvise best when they understand musical structure
• Planning prevents panic - when you have clear blueprints, unexpected challenges become puzzles to solve rather than crises to survive

The 20-Year Life Design Challenge

Here's your practice for building a life worth living:

1. Week 1-2: Complete your blueprint audit and identify your top 3 life domains for intentional design
2. Week 3-4: Create 10-year visions for each domain and begin reverse engineering the necessary milestones
3. Month 2: Develop specific systems that create consistent progress toward your 1-year milestones
4. Month 3: Integrate all domains into a master life blueprint and establish quarterly review rhythms
5. Ongoing: Live your blueprint while remaining flexible about tactics and open to better strategies

Remember: You don't need perfect clarity about every detail. You just need clearer direction than most people have. Start with rough blueprints and refine them as you build.

Every building starts with blueprints. Every journey starts with a destination. Every great life starts with intentional design.

The question isn't whether you'll build a life - you're building one right now, either by design or by default.

The question is: What are your blueprints creating?

Begin with the end in mind. Your future self will thank you for the intentionality you bring to this moment.

Design your life like you would design a cathedral - something beautiful enough and strong enough to last for generations.

The blueprints you create today become the structures you live in tomorrow.

P.S. The world needs fewer followers and more warriors who lead from the front. Join The Leader’s Dojo and take the first step toward becoming the kind of person others look to when things get hard.