The undefinable life design model.

A five-stage framework to design a life that reflects who you really are.

Image of five ropes, with the middle two tied in a complex knot, representing different styles of branding. Below, five sections of text describe types of branding: 1) Many Interests - Embrace Curiosity; 2) Semi Professional - Pursue Interdisciplinary; 3) Golden Thread - Define Your Own Labels; 4) Magnum Opus - Create Like An Artist; 5) Value Streams - Blend Purpose And Profit.

© 2025 undefinable life design® model.
All rights reserved.

It’s not career design.
It’s Life Design.

The divide between personal and professional is blurring. No longer are you able to leave your hobbies, hopes and happiness at home.

Instead, you are being expected to bring your full self to everything you do. Your professional reputation is being replaced by your personal brand, your network is being replaced by your community and your career goals are being replaced with your life goals.

Meaning that your aspiration should no longer be for work-life balance, but for work-life integration.

The undefinable life design® model is the framework I’ve built over years of writing, coaching, reflecting, and experimenting. It exists to help you stop asking “What should I do?” and start answering “Who am I becoming?”.

A man speaking at a conference on stage, with a large screen behind him displaying the event title and presentation slide about future careers for Generation Z.

  1. Many Interests.

You are more than just your job title.

A Venn diagram with four intersecting circles. The top left circle is labeled "An Interest That Fascinates You," the top right is "An Interest That You're Exploring," the bottom left says "An Interest That Feels Like Play," and the bottom right is "An Interest That Builds You Up." The center where all circles overlap is labeled "You."

Most people shrink themselves down to the one-word answers of “Marketing,” “Consulting,” “Tech” when asked what they do. But those words flatten us. They hide the joy of morning rituals, the thrill of weekend passions, and the secret side projects that keep us alive.

This stage of the undefinable life design® model invites you to map your fascinations, spot the patterns beneath them, and understand the traits that make you, you.

You are everything that interests you.

And every interest is a clue.

2. Semi Professional.

Depth is where originality begins.

Graph titled "Marginal Returns to Practice," showing the relationship between weekly time invested and competency at the interest level. The graph features a curved line crossing through four zones labeled from bottom to top: Amateur Zone, Semi-Pro Zone, Professional Zone, and the upper boundary of the Professional Zone. The x-axis is labeled "Weekly Time Invested" with ranges at 1-5 hours, 6-10 hours, and 30-40+ hours. The y-axis is labeled "Competency at The Interest," with descriptors from Amateur to Professional.

In a world of generalists and specialists, there’s a third way: becoming great at a few things that matter deeply to you. That’s where you unlock your edge at the intersection of your skills, experience, and perspective.

Being “Semi-Professional” means committing just enough to grow meaningfully without losing your joy or boxing in your identity.

You stop performing expertise.

And start creating from it.

3: Golden Thread.

Your internal compass uniquely defined by you.

Text graphic displaying the phrase 'I help X to Y through Z,' with color-coded words and arrows pointing to explanations: 'Who you help' in red, 'How you help' in blue, and 'What you provide' in green.

Your Golden Thread is not a job title. It’s not a five-year plan. It’s a flexible, evolving purpose you grow into—by uncovering who you help, how you help them, and what you offer.

It’s not found. It’s formed.

At the intersections of what lights you up and what lights up others when they’re around you.

It becomes the compass that guides how you show up and where you say “hell yes.”

4: Magnum Opus.

Create the great work only you can create.

A triangle diagram labeled 'Magnum Opus Triangle' in the center, with the words 'Aspirational' at the top, 'Infectious' at the bottom left, and 'Leveraged' at the bottom right.

There are infinite directions you could take your life. But without something to anchor your energy, you risk chasing goals that don’t belong to you.

Your Magnum Opus is your “great work”—that becomes the idea, product, brand or body of work that captures your voice, values, and vision. It’s aspirational, leveraged, and infectious. It lives beyond you. And it helps others live more like themselves.

Don’t build someone else’s dream.

Start making your own masterpiece.

5: Value Streams.

Design how you give and receive value.

Diagram labeled 'Your Value Acropolis' illustrating layers of value: Valued Stream, Magmum Opus, and Self Value, represented as a structure with labeled columns

This final stage is where your ideas touch the world. It’s about building Value Streams that reflect how you want to blend purpose, profit and play on your own terms.

Some streams are monetised. Some are not.

All are intentional.

Your Value Streams include your paid work, your creative output, your family, your community, and your wellbeing. Each is a pillar of your personal acropolis. If one wobbles, the others hold. If they all align, you feel deeply grounded.

You have 168 hours a week.

Spend them well.

Five principles it’s built on,
Your life aligned.

  • Embrace Curiosity.

    Reinvent yourself by
    exploring your fascinations.

  • Pursue Interdisciplinary.

    Go beyond average.
    Find depth across disciplines.

  • Define Your Own Labels.

    Lead with your purpose,
    not your past.

  • Create Like An Artist.

    Don’t wait for permission.
    Start. Share. Shape as you go.

  • Blend Purpose and Profit.

    Design a life that’s both meaningful and sustainable.

It’s a Lifelong Loop.
Not a Linear Ladder.

You’re always evolving.

New chapters will invite new interests. Life events will reshape your goals. Relationships, health, success, failure will all change you.

This model isn’t here to box you in. It’s here to help you grow with intention.
To hold up a mirror. To guide reflection. And to remind you that you don’t have to pick one path forever.

Revisit your undefinable life design® often.

Challenge your Many Interests. Question your Semi Professionalism. Evolve your Golden Thread. Refine your Magnum Opus. And keep choosing your Value Streams.

Each time you revisit it, you’ll return with more insight and a deeper sense of who you’re becoming.

You’ve seen the framework.
Ready to begin?

If you want to bring the undefinable life design® model to your team, students, or community through a workshop, or you’re considering applying it to your own life through coaching, let’s chat ↓