Wisdom for Future Generations
A Life Well-Lived
A life well-lived is a life lived on purpose.
If you had five minutes with your 25-year-old self, what would you say? Therapist Chris Ellison asked 12,000 people — and built a book around what they said.
The 12,000 voices kept landing on the same nine things.
For nearly thirty years, Chris Ellison has sat across from people describing the life they have and the life they wish they had. So he started asking a simple question — “If you had five minutes to give advice to your 25-year-old self, what would you say?” — and kept asking it, to more than 12,000 people. The answers didn’t scatter. They organized themselves into nine recurring pillars. A Life Well-Lived is the book built from that research.
The Nine Pillars of a Life Well-Lived
Think of a life well-lived as a house. Each pillar is part of the structure — and a house is only as strong as its weakest pillar.
Pillar 1 — Physical Vitality
The only house you will never get to leave.
Your body’s energy, strength and health, and the daily habits that keep them going. Read more →
Pillar 2 — Mental Fortitude
Keeping the structure upright when the storms arrive.
How well you steady yourself and bounce back when life gets hard. Read more →
Pillar 3 — Relationship Health
The structural ties. No building stands alone.
The quality of your closest connections: people who know you and whom you can count on. Read more →
Pillar 4 — Purpose & Meaning
The master blueprint.
Knowing what you are living for, so your days point toward something that matters to you. Read more →
Pillar 5 — Spiritual Well-being
The anchor that holds when everything else moves.
What you lean on when life shifts, whether faith, deeply held values or a sense of something larger. Read more →
Pillar 6 — Financial Health
The supporting infrastructure.
Having enough stability and control with money that it supports your life instead of ruling it. Read more →
Pillar 7 — Personal Growth & Adaptability
The continuous renovation.
Your willingness to keep learning, change your mind and adjust as life changes. Read more →
Pillar 8 — Environmental Wellness
The sanctuary.
How your home, workspace and surroundings affect your mood and energy. Read more →
Pillar 9 — Integrated Living
The daily design.
How closely your everyday routine matches the life you say you want. Read more →
Which room in your life needs attention? It is free, and no email is needed.
About Chris Ellison
Chris is a therapist who has spent nearly thirty years listening to people describe the life they have and the life they wish they had. He’s also lived a full one of his own — jumping out of airplanes, flying with the Snowbirds, and chasing the kind of experiences that taught him what actually holds a life together. A Life Well-Lived is what happens when thirty years of listening meets 12,000 honest answers to one question.
Voice number 12,001? The conversation is still open. Add your answer in five minutes →
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The Book
A Life Well-Lived
Nine pillars. Twelve thousand voices. One question that changes how you see the next twenty years. The book is in its final stages. Join the newsletter and you are on the waiting list to hear the day it is for sale, with Chapter 1 free in the meantime.
