One sentence in my journal led to a conference with 150+ people. At the end of 2023, I wrote this in my annual life review: "Create an experience or event that brings together my community so they can connect to each other on a deeper level." I almost groaned as I wrote it. I've been an introvert since I was a kid, and I'd spent most of a decade working in solo mode. "Community organizer" was the last identity I would have picked for myself. But I kept following the thread. Then an idea hit me: we could host our first conference. Ten months later, more than 150 people from Australia, Mexico, Germany, Japan, and across North America filled a warehouse loft in downtown Los Angeles for the Second Brain Summit. Late on the second day, I stood at the back of the room, watching everyone connect. My dad came and stood next to me. He looked out at the crowd and said: "You created the world you wanted to live in." I haven't forgotten that moment. When a navigator turns a ship just a few degrees, almost nothing seems different at first. The difference shows up hundreds of miles later. That conference started with one sentence in a journal. Sometimes, you don't need a detailed plan for the year ahead. You need one honest sentence about what you want your life to look like. Then you need to follow it. That's one of the practices I explore in my new book, Life in Perspective: Learning to ask better questions about the life you're building, and paying attention to the answers.

Pick the easiest goal... seriously.

A book can deliver a method. But it can't prove the method works. That takes research, testing, and a willingness to challenge your own assumptions. For my new book, Life in Perspective, I followed a 7-stage R&D process. It drew on 17 years of my own annual life reviews, feedback from 500+ beta readers, and 4,500 years of year-end rituals. I also waited until the final stage to bring in AI. In this post, I explain why, how each stage shaped the book, and why I believe a book is still the best medium for delivering a method designed to change how you live.

I sorted 328 things I was grateful for.

Here's a journaling prompt you can answer in two minutes Who is [your name]? Write it in the third person Lauren's starts with "Lauren is scared, but takes action anyway" Don't overthink it

I found my annual review from 2013. I was working hard, but still felt like a failure. While writing my new book, Life in Perspective, I pulled a box of old journals out of our attic, one labeled “Annual Review 2013.” That was the year I struck out on my own as a freelancer. I pieced together odd jobs and managed to pay the bills for six months. I should have been proud. Instead, I wrote this: “I have not maintained my body at the level I need it to be at. I exercise infrequently, diet is down the toilet, supplements are sporadic, meditation is on rocky ground, personal upkeep is almost non-existent.” And this: “I wish I had accomplished more, worked harder, had more success.” I thought being hard on myself would make me better. It made me smaller. Every year, I'd set impossible standards, fall short, punish myself, and arrive at the next review already defeated. What changed wasn't my desire to improve. It was how I saw myself. I started looking at that struggling 28-year-old with compassion instead of contempt. I could still hold myself accountable. I just didn't have to treat every shortcoming as proof that I wasn't good enough. That made me feel safe enough to be honest about where I was and what needed to change. That's the kind of annual life review I teach in my new book, Life in Perspective.

Writing about yourself is hard You judge, you overthink, you lose perspective Lauren's fix: write your annual review in the third person "Lauren struggled with that" is easier to write than "I struggled with that"

Why are you exhausted every Friday?

An annual review in 90 minutes, not 90 days Lauren's review takes a pen, some paper, and one afternoon She writes the year like a screenplay, in three acts: the past, the present, the future And she writes about herself in the third person, so it's easier to be honest

Most book tours are a reading and a signing. At mine, we'll do a guided reflection together. "Life in Perspective" comes out on Nov 3. I'm spending that week on the road, and I'd love to meet you in person. Here's where I'll be: - Los Angeles, Nov 3: The Last Bookstore - San Francisco, Nov 6: The Best Bookstore - New York, Nov 9: Powerhouse at Columbus Circle Each night has a guided reflection, time for your questions, and a book signing. In New York, I'll also be in conversation with @rydercarroll, the creator of the Bullet Journal Method. Bring the year you've lived. You'll leave seeing it a little more clearly.