It feels like I have attended countless self-help seminars and viewed endless motivational YouTube videos in my lifetime.

Here’s the reality: my life was still in the exact same place after consuming all of this ra ra content. I needed to make serious changes to my day, changes that transcended a temporary motivational hit or impulse.

Then I learned through self-reflection that I essentially treat my life like an architect, always designing and building processes to make habits stick. I was becoming the architect of my own life.

You can start building the life and business you want. It starts by looking at all of the problems that may be in your way, and developing solutions to address them.

I’ve mentioned a style of coaching called GROW, which properly moves people forward in their lives. GROW stands for Goal; Current Reality; Options (or Obstacles); and Will (or Way Forward).

One of the biggest problems to someone trying to solve their life problems is that they have vague goals. Right off the bat, most coaching fails when vague goals are established. This is partially the fault of the coach for not pushing to make the goals clear, but also the client’s fault for not taking on the responsibility of establishing proper goals. It’s easier to state a vague goal, because we often want to stay in a state of inertia, or the status quo. It’s more comfortable there.

To become the true architect of your life, establishing concrete goals along every step of the way is paramount.

SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely goals. This is the foundation of proper goal-setting.

Architecture is all about foundation. Without it, you will never have a long-lasting life design. With it, you will design the life that stands the tests of time.

I believe there are four main actions to quickly improve your life when things get rough. The four actions are to eat, sleep, move and create. Let’s talk about each one.

Eat.

Eat in moderation. Don’t overeat. Don’t undereat. Avoid refined and processed foods. Most Western diets are filled with bad ingredients. No wonder most of us are on medications by the time we reach 50. Eating healthy is actually simpler than eating garbage. All you really need is fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains and unprocessed meat in your meal plans. Anything that deviates from this list is likely unnecessary and most likely to slow your life down. Never crash diet. In fact, never diet at all. Your goal is to eat healthy foods for the long-term. Stop the 30-day diet challenges and restrictive weight loss plans. When you finish these challenges, you will most likely revert back to what you were doing before. Realize that sugar is a killer on your body, with diseases like pancreatic cancer and diabetes wreaking havoc on your life. Sugar is a drug. Governments have allowed it in all of the “healthy” foods we eat, from protein bars to vitamin waters. Don’t get caught in a cycle of addictions to specific things like soft drinks, caffeine and fast food. That is not eating. That is destruction. Eat with others. Cook for others. Avoid restaurants where indulgences and peer pressure tempt you. Stick to the foods you know are safe. Head to the grocery store with a plan in mind, not a mindless plan. Fill your fridge with abundant health. Replenish weekly, at least. Have healthy snacks on-hand when cravings creep in. Drink more water. Have an accountability partner to ensure you stick to the optimal diet. Talk to someone if your diet is a mess. Get healthy meals delivered to your door if you are incompetent. Learn to make simple meals when you are too tired to cook. Eat.

Sleep.

Get 8 hours of sleep per day. Take naps if you need to. Don’t undersleep. Don’t oversleep. Eliminate distractions from your bedroom. Make your bedroom pitch-black, without lights. Wear a sleep mask if there are bright lights. Don’t look at your phone or laptop for at least 30 minutes before bedtime. Don’t settle for continuous uncomfortable sleeps. Get a proper mattress or learn to sleep properly on the floor. Stop working so much if you lack sleep. Find the proper balance of enough sleep and optimum productivity. Stick to a consistent sleep schedule. Sleep on your back if you can. Sleep on your left side if you must. Sleep on a comfy pillow. Never jeopardize sleep for flings or parties, unless rarely. Avoid drinking too much water before sleeping. Avoid eating too much before sleeping. Sleep.

Move.

Move daily. Move for a few minutes. Move a few minutes more. Walk to your mailbox. Walk to your grocery store. Avoid driving everywhere. Find a physical activity that moves you. Do that physical activity often. Find someone to do a physical activity with. Don’t overmove. Don’t undermove. Move in the rain. Move in the snow. Take up hobbies that require you to move. Make moving effortless. Skip elevators and escalators. Take every stair. Move during meetings. Move from your desk. Move every body part. Move as much as you can. Move.

Create.

Create rather than consume. Create positive thoughts in your mind. Create answers for others. Create things you like. Create things you hate. Create things that matter. Create things that don’t matter. Create failures. Create successes. Create opportunities between others. Create art. Create ideas for others. Create the unimaginable. Create what you dream about. Create.

For freelancers and entrepreneurs, Craigslist is a hotbed of opportunities to solve problems. Small businesses are heading to the job classifieds platform to solve low staffing issues, and if you pay close attention, patterns emerge. Maybe some small, yet common one-time gigs show up, or tasks that can be automated for a number of these companies. If you have an entrepreneurial mindset, you can head in and create a product to help these companies. Airbnb did it with housing. So can you for your industry.

The best area to check out within Craigslist is the Gigs section. This is where plenty of postings pop up each day. You can search by your city to see what stands out to you, or branch out into bigger cities. Location is irrelevant, as your main objective is to find common threads. Your plan is not to solve one gig, but to solve many. Researching multiple cities will give you a better sample size to work with.

Many freelancers operate within the Upwork platform, and I expect we’ll see this number grow in size as more jobs become automated. Although Upwork is great for one-to-one transactions, you are limited with just their account. What if you want to build a major business? You will need to source opportunities to solve problems elsewhere. This is why Craigslist is so attractive, because you do not need an account, all it takes is email for communication and the pay is 100% yours (Upwork takes 20%).

New ideas are easy to dream up, but where you find the best ideas would be with problem-solving. Craigslist is a place with so many businesses in need of help, and you can be that problem-solver. That’s the definition of an entrepreneur.

If you are looking to find your next base of customers or a new business idea based on common patterns, Craigslist is a great platform to gauge what people are needing today.