The Universal To-Do List

What to do when you don't know what to do

Dear Kula Diaries,

I’ve probably mentioned The Universal To-Do List at some point in my ramblings, but it keeps coming up in my mind, which means… it’s time to mention it again. And, since we all did a little pep talk on Wednesday, I think a self-pep-talk and the Universal To-Do list are a perfect combination!

But, let’s start with a story.

Once upon a time, I had a lot of ideas. I would get really excited about the ideas. And then… I would do nothing. My mind was like a graveyard where good ideas went to die. I can’t even begin to count the number of creative impulses … business ideas… little nudges… and snippets of inspiration that I’ve snuffed out, simply because I didn’t know what to do with them. I’d get excited and design a logo… or do some basic research on something… and then, invariably, I’d quit.

Just for fun, I’m filling this entire newsletter with sunrise photos that I took this past week! All of these photos were taken on my morning walk.

Over and over I did this — because I got stuck in the not knowing. I got stuck in not knowing how something was possible, and so I just didn’t think it was possible.

After my near death incident in 2017, something important changed in my mind — and while I can’t quite articulate exactly what happened, it just felt like the ‘I-don’t-know-what-I’m-going-to-do-so-I’m-not-going-to-do-anything-fuse’ had been unplugged. Suddenly, it didn’t seem to matter that I didn’t know what to do. When I first had the idea for an intentionally designed pee cloth, I remember thinking, “But I have no idea how to sew or how to buy fabric or how to start a business!”. After my near-death experience, when the idea for the pee cloth resurfaced in my mind, I distinctly remember feeling confused by what had originally stopped me from pursuing this idea. In retrospect, it seemed so silly and obvious… “Sure, I don’t know how to sew… but I do know how to use a phone. And I know people who sew. And I can call them and ask them questions. And, also, I know how to use Google.”

At some point on my Kula Journey, in the midst of actually having a real product, I started to dream big about what this little piece of gear could do. I had goals and dreams, but I wasn’t sure how to do them. This time, however, I was no longer in a place of getting ‘blocked’ by imaginary obstacles. I had realized the most important thing that I was never taught in school:

You don’t need to know how to do something in order to do it.

And now I’m going to say something that will sound a bit woo-woo, so bear with me: Doing something that you don’t know how to do becomes possible as you align yourself with the energy of what you want to create.

The brilliance of this is that it simplifies even the most complicated things!

For instance: If I have an idea for a product, but have no clue how to manufacture it, I can tap into the feeling of what I want to create within myself… and, through that process… and through taking inspired actions and little steps… I can walk myself into the answer.

Ok, I lied — this is a sunset photo!

What does this look like on a practical level? Well, for me, it looked like having an idea for a piece of gear… and getting really excited about it… and doing research on different fabrics… and speaking with uninhibited enthusiasm about what I wanted to create, which cultivated a momentum of energy that helped me meet the right people at the right time… who, magically seemed to know exactly how to make my product come to life. I write this with the knowledge that it sounds like science fiction — but I can attest to the true facts that in every single step of the way as I bounded enthusiastically towards my vision, I was serendipitously placed in the right spot at the right time. Honestly, it was weird. And, also, it was really fun and exciting to watch it all unfold … because, quite frankly, I had absolutely no knowledge about how to make a product, particularly one that required sewing of fabric of any kind. I had NO product design background… NO textile design background… and I was a Latin Pre-Med student in college. Any ‘reasonable’ person looking at my resume (which included a Trauma Unit and a hot dog stand) would have said, Nope… you need to go back to school in product design and development. But, luckily for me, I never got that advice, and so, untethered, I shouldered on — boldly going where no pee cloth had been before.

Over the course of the past 6 years, I have done things that, less than a decade ago, I would have laughed at myself for: meditation, a gratitude practice, dancing, sound baths, visualization, grounding practices, hypnotherapy, etc… And all of these things have consistently shown me that the way we create our lives is much more about how we are in our being-ness, rather than what we do in our doing-ness. If I am peaceful, abundant, loving and creative within my heart — I will create those things. If I am lackful, fearful, or doubtful — I will create those things. And guess what? When I look at my life… and when 99.9999999% of people look at their lives, I know that we all want to create the things that we want to experience. We want to bring more love, kindness, joy, peace and abundance into our own lives and into the lives of others.

Tahoma aka Mt. Rainier!

And yet, we all get swept away in urgency… because it’s so tempting to try and do things harder. We can’t help it — because most of us have been trained to work that way (myself included). When I was a kid, my dad called me an ‘air-conditioning heat load’ if I wasn’t productively contributing to the house. Now, I know he said this in jest… but he was only slightly kidding. We were all raised with a belief that we need to have a perfect plan in place in order for something to be possible… and that we need to know how to do something in order to do it… and that if we aren’t working hard, we’re going to fall behind and fail into oblivion and become a huge disappointment.

Phew. Well, maybe that’s just me. But, I’m sure some of you can relate to it. And do you know what? It sucks. That’s such a heavy burden to carry around all the time, isn’t it? And if you’ve been carrying it for as long as I have… I feel your struggle. I know it’s hard to let go, because we’ve been taught that if we let go that we will fail. But, remember this: letting go… is letting in.

And this, my dear Kula Diaries friends, is where the Universal To-Do List arrives: the perfect blend of energetic alignment and boots-on-the-ground action for those of us who can appreciate the goodness of that delicious balance. And, quite honestly, some of us just really enjoy working (yep, I’m raising my hand). Keep in mind, that this might not be the best option for everybody. Absolutely no ‘tool’ is a one-size-fits all model… so feel free to try it on for size, see what you think… modify as needed… or scrap it if it doesn’t really work for you.

On my desk, I keep my Universal To-Do list in a place where I can see it. It is, quite simply, a list with two columns. One column is labeled ‘Things for Me To Do’. The other column is labeled, ‘Things the Universe is Doing For Me’. Because I happen to own a sublimation printer, I actually made myself one out of metal so that I could use dry erase markers on it. My current Universal To-Do list looks like this:

There is something magical about putting something on a list, because it feels like you’re doing something… because, well, you are. When you ponder the things that are important to you and the things that you’d like to create in your life, it’s very common for those things to feel ‘unattainable’ or ‘out of reach’ — and so, in our lack of knowing how to make something happen, we end up doing… nothing. But that’s why this Universal To-Do List is so special … because simply writing something on the list is, by default, doing something. It is a tiny step in the direction of whatever you want to create — without needing to know how or when or where this event or situation or dream will unfold.

What should you put on your Universal To-Do List? Well, on the side for you to handle, you can put actual tasks that you need to complete — these are things that, in this present moment or within the next few days or weeks, require absolute action on your part — and, in most cases, you’re very clear about what this might be. Things on your to-do list might look like:

• send an e-mail to a particular person

• purchase a necessary supply

• write a newsletter for your business

• go for a walk

• call a friend

• pay a bill

• prep lunches for your work week

These are things that you know how to do, and you know the approximate timeframe in which you need to complete them. I always recommend starting with the thing that is the most fun first — because that sets the tone for anything else that you might not be as enthusiastic about.

Now, for the fun part: the stuff that the universe is going to handle for you! This is similar to a vision board, but it’s a bit more action-oriented … because you are making a list and, essentially, turning these specific items over to the unknowable universal forces to handle on your behalf (doesn’t that feel like a relief that you don’t have to figure this all out on your own?).

Examples of things that might be on the universe’s side of your ‘to-do’ list could be:

• Get a job working in the outdoor industry

• Climb a volcano

• Become a well-paid professional artist

• Do a collaboration with a major brand

• Become an actor and land a role in a movie

• Buy my dream house

• Figure out the solution to a complex situation

• Turn a hobby into a business

• Develop a product

• Spend half of the year travelling

These are just examples, but you can write anything that you want on this list. Don’t get caught up in trying to figure out how you will do that thing or how you will ‘make it happen’ — remember, that’s no longer your job.

I was telling my coach Glory about my Universal To-Do list the other day, and she asked me a great question… she said, “And what’s your role in the universe’s tasks?” At first, I wasn’t sure what she meant, but then it made sense. In essence, she was asking me: What do you need to do as a human being on earth in order to align with the tasks on your list that you have surrendered to the cosmos?

It’s easy to look at a to-do list item like, develop a product… and get swept away very quickly by overwhelm: I mean… how do you create something when you have no idea how to create something? And so, I’m going to make this very simple for you (and for me): your only job is to align with the energy of what you want to create.

This means that my role is simply to do the things that match the feeling of what I want to create. And what are those feelings? Creativity… abundance… love… kindness… joy… levity… zest for life… energetic… happy… at peace… present… confident… openness… and freedom.

One of my favorites from this week — wowza!

This makes my ‘role’ pretty simple, because the things that I know that I have to do in order to keep my side of the bargain are: meditation, gratitude, dance, walking, appreciating others, giving generously, playing music, riding my motorcycle, and spending time outside. And guess what? I really like doing those things!

So — what’s the secret sauce of how this all works? Well, I can’t honestly answer that question — because, I don’t get it. I’m only here to say that it does … and that you’ll just have to try it out for yourself in order to see what happens. What I do know is that the more I cultivate those feelings within myself, the more that I seem to be in the right place at the right time… and the right person seems to come out of ‘nowhere’… or the right idea hits me at exactly the right time… or I have fun doing what I’m doing… and things just seem to flow easily and effortlessly.

Finally — start where you are. You might be starting your Universal To-Do list in a place where you do not want to be. It’s easy to look around and to wish away your current situation, but I wholeheartedly believe that when we take these tiny steps forward… that it is the good we cultivate within ourselves that paints the palette of the life that we want to create. Write down the things you want to create and learn to be ok with them not being here right now… and to be ok with not knowing how they will happen. It’s a weird place to get comfortable with, but as you learn to embrace that unknowing, you will open the door for the infinite possibilities of life to enter in ways that you couldn’t have possibly fathomed.

I am wishing all of you joy, peace, ease and abundance in your day today — and in all of your days. I hope that this exercise helps you find a sense of hope and openness for life.

You are loved so much, friends!