The One-Skill-a-Year Plan for a More Interesting Life

We all have things we’ve always wanted to know how to do, but have never gotten around to learning. Speak a foreign language. Play an instrument. Write a book. Take up surfing. Maybe you’ve even started one of these pursuits a few times, only to drop it after a couple of weeks.

My guest calls this collection of abandoned or deferred desires your “invisible list” and is the author of a book of the same name.

Today on the show, Ravi Gupta presents a plan for tackling the things on your invisible list by picking one hobby-like activity each year and working your way to an intermediate level in it. He explains the different categories these pursuits can fall into, from the liftoff project to the mental marathon to the skillbatical, and how to pick the right one for your season of life. We also discuss how camps for grownups can make skill acquisition more enjoyable, why you should consider taking up an adult-appropriate sport like tennis, why Ravi decided to take the MCAT even though he doesn't plan to become a doctor, and how working on your invisible list can give your life chapters and, over the course of a decade, turn you into a Renaissance-man badass.

After the show is over, check out the show notes at aom.is/invisiblelist

0:00 — Introduction

1:45 — What is the Invisible List?

4:38 — Examples & Bucket List Comparison

8:46 — Why a Year Creates Life Chapters

11:10 — Making Time: Family & Constraints

15:44 — Five Rules of the Invisible List

18:39 — Why Aim for Intermediate?

21:19 — The Five Archetypes

26:50 — Liftoff Year: Powerlifting & Journaling

37:30 — Skill-Batical: Surfing & Adult Camps

43:17 — Age-Appropriate Sports: Tennis

45:46 — Mental Marathon: Taking the MCAT

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