The Year for Irrational Hope: Debbie Millman on the 10-Year Plan

About this episode

Leah Smart interviews Debbie Millman about the transformative power of the 10-year plan and the importance of hope in personal and professional growth.

In the second episode of our January series, The Year for Irrational Hope, Leah Smart sits down with legendary designer, author, educator, and podcast host Debbie Millman to explore the power of the 10-year plan. Originally taught to Debbie by her mentor Milton Glaser, this visioning exercise is about suspending limiting beliefs and imagining an ideal day ten years from now without worrying about how it will happen. Debbie shares how it shaped her career, creativity, and personal life, and why declaring hope can quietly set real change in motion. This conversation invites you to think bigger, let go of outdated identities, and make room for who you’re becoming. If you liked this episode, you’ll also love this one where Leah walks through exactly how you can do this visioning exercise: The 10-Year Plan: A Roadmap to Designing Your Dream Life Follow Debbie Millman on LinkedIn. For more from Leah Smart while Everyday Better goes on hiatus, follow her on Substack, LinkedIn and Instagram.

People in this episode

Host: Leah Smart

Guest: Debbie Millman

Topics covered

• 10-year plan
• visioning exercise
• creativity
• hope
• personal growth

Keywords

• 10-year plan
• Debbie Millman
• visioning exercise
• hope
• personal development

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: LinkedIn

More episodes of Everyday Better with Leah Smart

• Welcome to Everyday Better! · March 2, 2026 · 3 min
• The Best of Everyday Better: Your Starter Kit for Creating Positive Change · February 3, 2026 · 59 min
• The Year for Irrational Hope: Dan Harris on Training the Mind Through Meditation · January 27, 2026 · 45 min
• The Year for Irrational Hope: Gabby Bernstein on Accessing Unshakable Faith · January 20, 2026 · 39 min
• The Year for Irrational Hope: Bruce Feiler on Navigating a “Lifequake” · January 6, 2026 · 52 min
• Wintering: How to Weather Difficult Times · December 30, 2025 · 45 min