# How to Stop Living by Default and Start Living by Design (with Shelli Netko)

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/legacy-and-longevity-podcast-7476055/how-to-stop-living-by-default-and-start-living-by-design-with-shelli-netko.md
Podcast: [Legacy and Longevity Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/legacy-and-longevity-podcast-7476055)
Published: 2026-06-23T16:51:00+00:00
Episode link: https://legacyandlongevity.com/podcast/how-to-stop-living-by-default-and-start-living-by-design-with-shelli-netko-1
Audio file: https://traffic.podup.com/media/storageapi.podup.com/production/2324/files/files/episode-36-longevity-shelli_.mp3?key=eyJkb21haW4iOiJsZWdhY3lhbmRsb25nZXZpdHkuY29tIiwicHQiOiJwb2RjYXN0IiwicHMiOiJob3ctdG8tc3RvcC1saXZpbmctYnktZGVmYXVsdC1hbmQtc3RhcnQtbGl2aW5nLWJ5LWRlc2lnbi13aXRoLXNoZWxsaS1uZXRrby0xIiwia3kiOjEzMCwid2kiOjF9
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Duration seconds: 3452

## Resource

Most people spend decades preparing for success and zero time preparing for what actually matters. Shelli Netko learned that at 45, when her husband died suddenly on a family vacation, life as she knew it stopped. She rebuilt everything as a single mother of five, became a serial entrepreneur, wrote the boldly titled book The Shit You Need to Do Before You Die, and turned her hardest chapter into a coaching practice that helps executives and entrepreneurs stop living by default and start living by design. Read the full article on living by design: https://legacyandlongevity.com/blog/why-intentional-living-starts-before-the-crisis-1 In this episode of The Legacy and Longevity Podcast with host Zach Dancel, coach, author, and publisher Shelli Netko, breaks down: Why running toward fear instead of away from it can redirect the entire trajectory of a career. How tiny daily acts of courage build the resilience needed for the leaps that actually change lives. Why suppressed intuition behaves like a cork underwater and always finds a way back to the surface. How the first 24 hours after sudden loss revealed strengths Shelli never knew she carried. Why making peace with mortality frees people to live with more enthusiasm, purpose, and presence today. How preparing wills, proxies, and plans while healthy protects families and preserves space for real grieving. Why a simple bucket list gave a man fighting brain cancer hope, plans, and a trip to Europe. How entrepreneurs can scale themselves alongside the business before health, family, and finances quietly suffer. Why controlling notifications and dopamine loops restores the attention that relationships and businesses depend on. How showing up boldly and authentically every single day becomes a legacy that outlives any title. If…

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