Design Your Future

Design Your Future Plot Summary

Introduction

In the bustling heart of New York City, amid the relentless pursuit of corporate success, Dominick Quartuccio found himself in a paradoxical situation. On paper, his life was the epitome of achievement—youngest sales VP at his Fortune 100 company, a top-floor corner apartment in Greenwich Village, a freshly minted MBA from New York University, and financial success that compensation committees deemed unrepeatable. Yet beneath this veneer of accomplishment lurked a profound emptiness that would eventually catalyze a remarkable transformation. The journey of Dominick Quartuccio illuminates the path many high-achieving professionals find themselves on—trapped in the prison of their own success, numb to the life they've created, and drifting without purpose despite external validation. Through his personal awakening, we discover how unconscious patterns and limiting beliefs can silently direct our lives, and how breaking free from these invisible shackles leads to authentic fulfillment. His story offers profound insights into reclaiming command of one's life, disrupting habitual patterns that no longer serve us, and intentionally designing a future that generates genuine excitement and purpose.

Chapter 1: Trapped in Success: The Illusion of Achievement

Dominick's story begins with what many would consider the pinnacle of success. By 2009, he had climbed to remarkable heights in his professional life—the youngest sales VP at his Fortune 100 company, living in a luxurious Manhattan apartment, with an MBA from NYU and financial accomplishments that exceeded all expectations. That year, he tripled his sales goal, creating the kind of financial windfall that corporate America rarely allows to happen twice. Yet this external success masked an internal reality that was starkly different. Despite professional acclaim and financial abundance, Dominick described 2009 as "a dark year," feeling himself "hurtling 120 MPH down the SHOULD do this, and need MORE and BIGGER that road," only to find himself "lost, with drive stalled and mojo meter on empty." This profound disconnect between outward achievement and inner fulfillment represents the trap that many high performers find themselves in—building lives that look impressive from the outside while feeling hollow from within. The most insidious aspect of this trap is the social stigma against acknowledging it. How could someone with so many enviable achievements possibly complain? This creates what Dominick calls "suffering in silence," where successful individuals feel isolated in their discontent, unable to express their true feelings without appearing ungrateful or out of touch. The pain point isn't sharp enough to force change, but the dull ache of restlessness persists, creating a quiet desperation that festers beneath the surface. For Dominick, the breaking point came when he realized he was emotionless and numb to the life he had created. This numbing effect represents perhaps the most dangerous enemy—not feeling much of anything at all. The absence of pain can be more problematic than pain itself, as it allows for continued drift without the catalyst for transformation. As Dominick discovered, being trapped is what you feel when you are living into a future of more of the same—a death sentence for someone with natural drive and ambition. At the heart of this trap lies a subtle yet significant shift from command to control. Dominick makes an important distinction between these concepts: being in command means retaining ultimate authority while accepting that certain variables cannot be controlled, whereas control freaks believe they must manage every detail. High achievers typically skew toward the control-freak end of the spectrum, making poor decisions when they feel control slipping away. This loss of command over one's life direction creates the sensation of being trapped in a life that looks enviable but feels undesirable. The path forward, as Dominick discovered, isn't found in the typical approaches of doing what one SHOULD do to fulfill societal expectations, nor in doubling down on MORE and BIGGER achievements. Instead, it requires a third option—designing a future that generates genuine excitement and anticipation, one that inspires action and engagement in the present moment. This realization would set Dominick on a journey of awakening that would transform not just his career but his entire approach to life.

Chapter 2: The Awakening: Bringing Unconscious Patterns to Light

Dominick's awakening began with a profound realization about the invisible forces shaping his life. Like fish unaware of the water they swim in, he discovered that his beliefs and stories—formed throughout his lifetime—were directing his decisions while remaining completely outside his conscious awareness. This insight came through a painful recognition: despite achieving every material goal and professional milestone, he still felt fundamentally disconnected from genuine fulfillment. The roots of these unconscious patterns stretched back to childhood. Dominick recounts playing a first-grade math game called "Around the World," where he dominated but secretly grew to hate it. When he occasionally lost, he felt devastated and ashamed—an extreme response that revealed a core belief that he only had value when performing well and receiving external validation. This early pattern established a lifelong strategy of seeking approval from outside sources, becoming an expert at attaining external validation through social mastery, leadership positions, and professional accomplishments. This awakening required Dominick to confront a startling truth: up to 95% of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors operate automatically from the subconscious. Drawing from Nobel Prize-winning research by Daniel Kahneman, he recognized how our mental cognition functions in two systems—a fast, automatic, emotional, subconscious System 1 that drives most of our behavior, and a slow, effortful, logical, conscious System 2 that we mistakenly identify as our true self. This insight explained why intellectual understanding alone rarely leads to lasting change. The true power of awakening lies in its ability to bring unconscious patterns into conscious awareness. Dominick identifies several methods for cultivating this awareness, including examining one's beliefs and stories, identifying the consequences of maintaining the status quo, meditation, coaching, and attending personal development seminars. Each approach serves to illuminate what was previously hidden in the blind spots of consciousness, allowing for inspection and potential transformation. Meditation proved particularly powerful for Dominick. During one session in late 2013, he felt a surge of energy around the possibility of leaving his corporate career to become a coach and public speaker. However, his mind immediately countered with the limiting belief: "You could never make as much money doing that as you are right now." Initially accepting this story without question, six months passed without action. Yet in a subsequent meditation, when the same limiting belief arose, his strengthened practice allowed him to recognize it as just one possible story. This awareness opened space for an alternative narrative: "What if you could make ten times as much in this new world?" This simple shift in perspective ultimately led to his career transformation. The awakening process fundamentally changes the relationship between pain and change. Dominick explains that we are hardwired to avoid pain, meaning change only occurs when the pain of staying the same exceeds the pain of changing. Through intentional awakening, we can become conscious of the long-term consequences of maintaining the status quo, effectively borrowing future pain and collapsing it into the present moment to catalyze transformation. This awareness creates the necessary conditions for the next critical step: disrupting habitual patterns.

Chapter 3: Disrupting the Status Quo: Breaking Habitual Patterns

Imagine your life as a train rolling along a railroad track, always taking the same predictable route at each junction because the lever is stuck in position. Disrupting is the process of summoning the courage to flip that switch and change your trajectory, even though the lever has been fixed in place for years and wants to snap back to its original position. This powerful metaphor captures the essence of Dominick's approach to breaking free from habitual patterns that no longer serve us. The necessity for disruption emerges once we've awakened to our unconscious patterns. Dominick emphasizes that awareness alone isn't enough—we need practical methods to break free from our automatic responses. He outlines three primary strategies for disruption: interrupting patterns through pauses or temporary abstinence, decluttering by reducing or removing what no longer serves us, and experimenting by adding or testing new approaches. Pattern interruption provides critical feedback about the true nature of our habits. Dominick shares his experience with Netflix, which had become a compulsive nightly habit. By abstaining completely for periods of 30, then 50, and eventually 90 days, he discovered that Netflix functioned as an escape from his mental chatter. This insight allowed him to establish a healthier relationship with streaming, recognizing that one episode provided relaxation while multiple episodes created restlessness and poor sleep. The interruption revealed not just the behavior but its underlying purpose and effects. Decluttering addresses what Dominick calls "the era of abundance"—not just in material possessions but in choices, responsibilities, relationships, and goals. Drawing from Dr. Henry Cloud's analogy of pruning a rosebush, he explains how we must cut away dead projects that no longer serve us, atrophied activities that drain energy better spent elsewhere, and even "good" pursuits that block the path for potentially great ones. Marie Kondo's approach of only keeping what brings joy serves as another powerful framework for this process. The third strategy—experimentation—involves adding or testing something new. Dominick shares his transformative experience with a ten-day silent meditation retreat, where he challenged himself to sit with his hyperactive mind without reacting. Though initially uncomfortable, by day three his mind surrendered to the new reality, allowing him to access unprecedented states of calm, creativity, and awareness. This experiment continues to benefit his life a year later, enhancing his ability to listen without reacting, overcome challenges, and access greater patience and compassion. These disruption strategies yield three powerful outcomes: accelerated feedback about the true nature of our habits, deeper awakenings as new insights emerge, and clarity that informs how we design our future. Dominick illustrates this through the story of his client Paul, a successful financial advisor who had never taken a vacation without bringing work along. By disrupting this pattern—renting a Ducati motorcycle and riding solo up the Pacific Coast Highway while being completely unplugged—Paul not only enjoyed a transformative experience but returned to discover his business functioned well without his constant attention. The disruption phase embodies the principle that clarity breeds energy. When we break free from our unconscious patterns, we gain unprecedented clarity about what truly matters, naturally summoning the energy needed to pursue it. This clarity becomes the foundation for the next crucial phase: designing an intentional future that aligns with our deepest values and aspirations.

Chapter 4: Designing with Purpose: Creating an Intentional Future

After awakening to unconscious patterns and disrupting habitual responses, Dominick emphasizes that we arrive at a pivotal moment similar to Red's experience in The Shawshank Redemption—standing at the threshold of freedom after years of imprisonment, ready to embark on a journey whose conclusion remains uncertain. Having bent the invisible bars of limiting beliefs and patterns, we now face the exciting yet daunting task of designing a future we can't wait to live into. The design process begins with reclaiming ultimate authority over one's life. This fundamental belief—that we have the power to create our reality through our choices—serves as the foundation for all meaningful change. Dominick defines ultimate authority as taking full responsibility for the fact that our lives represent the sum total of every decision we've made. This includes both the successes we've achieved and the aspects of our lives that feel unsatisfying or constraining. This level of responsibility proves challenging for many. Non-believers in ultimate authority remain victims of external circumstances, using blame and hope rather than action as their strategy for change. Those who claim their authority, however, are the ones "riding the biggest waves," leading the charge, and "having the most fun." Dominick provides a practical four-step process for reclaiming authority: making an inventory of areas where we feel powerless, saying goodbye to excuses, owning our role in creating current circumstances, and declaring new intentions with specific actions. The second crucial element of designing an intentional future involves writing one's own eulogy. While initially uncomfortable for many, this exercise shifts focus from what David Brooks calls "resume virtues" (skills brought to the marketplace) to "eulogy virtues" (character qualities discussed at one's funeral). By confronting the reality of mortality, we gain clarity about what truly matters and generate the necessary urgency to align our present actions with our desired legacy. Dominick guides this process through four key questions: How long do we want to live? How boldly can we envision our future? Who do we want to be in all the days ahead? What legacy do we want to leave behind? He shares his own eulogy, dated January 7, 2100, envisioning himself at age 121 leaving a legacy of love, having spoken to over a million people, authored numerous bestselling books, visited over 100 countries, and maintained active family traditions into his final years. The third component of design involves taking command of the next 90 days. This timeframe proves ideal because it's long enough to achieve significant results yet short enough to create a sense of urgency. Dominick outlines a process for establishing compelling goals that inspire, stretch beyond comfortable reach, and connect directly to one's legacy vision. Importantly, he advises focusing on just one major goal initially, as most high achievers overcommit and lose momentum when trying to tackle multiple significant changes simultaneously. The design process concludes with practical implementation strategies—getting clear on desired results beyond the goal itself, outlining specific actions within control, creating a simple scorecard to track progress, and establishing supportive morning and evening rituals. These tactical elements transform inspiring visions into achievable reality through consistent, intentional action. Through this design phase, Dominick transitioned from experiencing anxiety-ridden nights about his unclear future to feeling profound command over his life direction. The result isn't just achievement of external goals but the deeper satisfaction of living with purpose and intention. As he adapts Red's words from Shawshank: "I'm so excited that I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel. A free man at the start of a long journey—into a future he can't wait to live into."

Chapter 5: Sustaining the Journey: Moving Beyond Initial Motivation

The excitement of starting something new—whether diving into a challenging book, beginning a diet, or embarking on a fitness regimen—eventually fades. This universal truth presents perhaps the greatest obstacle to meaningful change. As Dominick observed while speaking to aspiring authors, many start projects but few finish them. The distinction lies not in talent or inspiration but in the ability to sustain effort long after the initial burst of motivation dissipates. Dominick identifies this energy shift as a predictable pattern that occurs about 30 days into any significant endeavor. The initial "high" wears off, other priorities emerge, and the same actions that once felt exhilarating now require deliberate effort. Yet this transition isn't a sign of failure—it's simply the natural progression from the honeymoon phase to the sustainable implementation phase. Anticipating and embracing this energy downshift proves critical to maintaining momentum through challenging periods. The key to sustaining long-term change lies in aligning goals with deeper purpose. Dominick uses the analogy of eggs versus ham—the chicken is merely involved, but the pig is committed. Similarly, we must distinguish between interest and commitment in our pursuits. Surface-level attractions like learning a language because it seems "cool" or pursuing professional designations because they seem logical will quickly transform into burdensome obligations when initial excitement fades. By contrast, efforts aligned with our legacy vision maintain their significance even during difficult stretches. This principle proved transformative for Dominick when launching his blog in 2014. After initial success, viewership and engagement dropped dramatically during the subsequent months. Had this project not connected directly to his legacy vision, he likely would have abandoned it during this challenging period. Instead, he persisted, eventually building an audience of thousands whose engagement generates the coaching and speaking opportunities that now form the foundation of his business. Perfectionism emerges as another significant obstacle to sustaining change. Dominick embraces Facebook's mantra—"Done is better than perfect"—recognizing that perfectionism often serves as a disguise for fear of judgment or criticism. He advocates adopting the technology industry's concept of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), focusing on completion rather than perfection, then using feedback to iterate and improve. This approach reduces pressure while accelerating progress through real-world application. When perfectionism threatens to derail progress, Dominick offers two powerful antidotes: "something is better than nothing" and "relentlessly accumulate small wins." The first principle acknowledges that maintaining even modest momentum proves far easier than restarting after a complete stop. For ultra-achievers accustomed to giving 110%, this means accepting that sometimes 50% effort better serves long-term goals than abandoning ship when full capacity isn't possible. The practice of accumulating small wins draws inspiration from Andy Dufresne's prison escape in Shawshank Redemption—removing tiny spoonfuls of cement day after day until creating a tunnel large enough for freedom. By breaking overwhelming projects into manageable tasks, we transform seemingly impossible aspirations into achievable reality through consistent effort. Dominick illustrates this with the example of writing a book in 90 days by implementing a simple ritual of writing 500 words each weekday morning, resulting in a complete manuscript through the relentless accumulation of small contributions. These sustainability principles transform the greatest threat to meaningful change—the inevitable fading of initial excitement—into an opportunity for deeper commitment and consistent progress. By anticipating energy shifts, aligning efforts with legacy vision, embracing imperfection, maintaining momentum, and accumulating small wins, we develop the capacity to sustain transformation long after motivation wanes.

Chapter 6: Legacy Vision: Living into Your Eulogy Virtues

In a poignant scene from the movie The Firm, racing dogs furiously chase a mechanical bone around a track. When asked if a dog ever catches the bone, the answer reveals a profound truth: "It happens once in a while. It's a disaster. They can never get that dog to run again." This metaphor captures the emptiness many successful individuals experience upon achieving external goals—like Dominick in 2009, who had acquired the riches, titles, and prestige he'd chased his entire life, yet felt no desire to continue running. The fundamental insight from Dominick's journey is that meaningful fulfillment cannot come from pursuing external rewards. Instead, the quality of our external world emerges directly from the internal world we've cultivated. Our beliefs and stories shape our behaviors and worldview, creating either limitation or possibility. The exciting revelation is that with 95% of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors operating unconsciously, there will always be new discoveries to make about ourselves—an endless treasure hunt leading to growth, adventure, and meaning. This understanding transforms the Awakening, Disrupting, and Designing cycle from a one-time exercise into a lifelong practice. Each new awakening initiates fresh disruption and design, which inevitably leads to deeper levels of awakening. Like any meaningful practice—from healthy eating to spiritual development—continued growth requires regular revisiting and refinement. Dominick created this framework specifically for readers to return to throughout different life stages, viewing it through new lenses based on current circumstances. Dominick shares the story of his friend Sheena, who lost 50 pounds and maintained her healthy weight for 18 months. Beyond physical transformation, her confidence soared, inspiring improvements in mindset, exercise, and professional development. Her energy became so infectious that her husband embarked on his own health transformation. Yet despite these successes, Sheena wondered if she'd only scratched the surface of understanding her behaviors and motivations. Dominick's response captures the essence of the legacy journey: "Hell no you won't" ever fully understand everything about yourself. This perpetual discovery represents not a limitation but a gift—the opportunity to uncover new treasures throughout life as relentless learners. The day we figure everything out would be the day we catch the metaphorical bone, ending our drive to continue running and growing. Living into our eulogy virtues means embracing this ongoing journey of discovery and intentional growth. Rather than fixating on resume achievements that fade in significance, we focus on developing the character qualities that create meaningful impact and leave lasting legacies. This approach transforms the question from "What have I accomplished?" to "Who am I becoming?" It shifts our attention from accumulating external validation to cultivating internal alignment with our deepest values. The ultimate freedom comes from taking command of this process—not waiting for external circumstances to force change, but intentionally designing each chapter of our lives. As Dominick concludes, "You deserve this. The most important people in your life deserve this. Take command. Take that first step." The invitation extends to all of us: to awaken from unconscious patterns, disrupt limiting habits, and design futures we can't wait to live into—not just once, but continuously throughout our lives.

Summary

Dominick Quartuccio's transformation offers a powerful testament to a truth many successful people eventually confront: external achievement without internal alignment creates a prison of one's own making. His journey illuminates how our unconscious patterns—the beliefs and stories operating beneath our awareness—silently direct our lives, causing even the most accomplished individuals to feel trapped in a future of more of the same. The three-stage ADD Cycle (Awakening, Disrupting, Designing) provides a framework not just for escaping this invisible prison but for creating a life of genuine purpose and excitement. The most profound insight from Dominick's experience is that freedom comes not from changing our external circumstances but from transforming our relationship with ourselves. By bringing unconscious patterns to light, breaking habitual responses, and intentionally designing a future aligned with our deepest values, we reclaim command over our lives. This process isn't a one-time fix but a continuous practice of growth and refinement—a lifelong journey of discovering new treasures within ourselves. For anyone feeling restless despite outward success or trapped in a life that looks enviable but feels empty, Dominick's path offers both hope and a practical roadmap for transformation, reminding us that we always retain the power to design a future we can't wait to live into.

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Dominick Quartuccio

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