2 second chances in my life. Are you going to get one?

As you know from earlier posts this week, we are starting this year with the?Why Not Have a Big Life?5 Days challenge. Today is?Day 3. It is delivered via a 5-part email series during this week to help you make the necessary adjustments to the course of your "life ship"... Here are?Day 1 ?and?Day 2 ?if you missed them.

As I mentioned, I love the analogy of a?life ship because of this?quote from?Albert Einstein:

"A ship?is safe at shore, but that is not what it's built for."

Building on our conversation from yesterday,... If you don’t know my story, I shared it in detail in my?bio .

I had two-second chances in my life. Both were health-related.

One occurred when I was 16 and one a few years ago, at the age of 32.

Both times I knew change was necessary before I became incredibly ill. Although, the first time around I was too young?to recognize all the lessons and make necessary adjustments.

The second time, maybe because I was older, I realized that it was life "hitting me in the head, with a brick", saying, “Hey, excuse me, what the hell are you doing? You have important things to do. Stop wasting time.”

The second time around I seemed to be more aware that I was on the wrong path even before the event happened. I knew I was not pursuing my life’s mission to the degree I had to.

I did to some degree, trying to find time in the A.M. hours of the night. But it WASN'T?enough.

At the time I accepted this way of living as a temporary problem. I thought I could stretch it for a few more years to meet my "obligations" to the leaders of the company who?hired me. There were other factors as well:?I felt I had to save more money, gain more skills and become more financially stable before I could go on my own and do my life's work FULL-TIME, or even PART-TIME to a meaningful degree.

From a financial perspective, my career was going great. I was a corporate banker on Bay Street. Canada's Wall Street. I was managing a portfolio of over a billion dollars.?I was making way more money than most of my peers.?I was more senior than many of my former MBA classmates. In fact, at that time, I may have been the most senior person in my graduating class. I remember meeting a former MBA classmate?in a food court.?He asked what was my position in the company.?When I told him, his eyes became twice as big. When I moved back to consulting,?another former?classmate who also worked there from the time we graduated, was 2 promotion?levels below me.?

Yet I knew I was not doing my life’s work. And I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I was wasting valuable time.?

And even though I made an adjustment to be closer to my life’s work, I took on a new role just a few months before I got sick which was much more meaningful work (for me), and I was doing my life's work at nights (literally, like I said,?during the night, A.M. hours, because my day job was all-consuming),?life still made it very clear to me that the change I made was too little, too slow.

I was lucky to get a second chance in life, twice. Well, more than twice. I am not counting near-death experiences not related to health.

But let's not overcomplicate this. And, as a side note, those other experiences were happening for the SAME?reason, by the way - the wrong focus, the wrong path. It was all happening to NUDGE me, with stronger and stronger "nudges."

And I am grateful life forced my hand in 2014 to make the change that I knew was necessary but which I could not do fast enough by myself.

So, as we discussed yesterday,?if you think you are leading a life of quiet desperation?or a barely content life, my advice is to?make a change without waiting for that life-changing event (illness, being attacked on the street, etc. ...?they come in many forms) to force your hand.

We recently spoke about defensive case interviews. This is DEFENSIVE LIVING.

When you call the shots, take defensive corrections, and don't let life harshly kick you in the right lane because you were ignoring all the nudges and subtle messages.

If you are living a life that is one of quiet desperation or barely content, the only way it can be possible is if you are on the wrong path.

And if you are on the wrong path, the time to act is NOW.

I truly believe that if you don't make the adjustment yourself, it WILL?be done for you, and in a soul-crushing way.

So let this email be a WARNING?and a BLESSING.?

If you are like me, you may have a plan in place and think that a plan is enough. But if you still feel that strong nagging feeling inside, and dreading your days, your plan, and what you are doing towards it is NOT enough.

It will be enough when you stop feeling the strong nagging from inside that you are not doing what you are supposed to do.

It's hard to argue that when we are on the wrong path we get kicks "in the behind", and sometimes "in the face", to get in line. At least in my experience. Be it illness or something else external happening that feels like walls are crashing down on you.

You do not want to look in the mirror, into your eyes, like I did around 5 a.m. on a cold morning in November 2014, and know that you FAILED YOURSELF, before rushing to the hospital to see if you will live or die.

And this is what it feels like when you wait for life to "hit you in the head with a brick."?

You do NOT want to have that "quality" moment with yourself. It will become one of the scariest memories?of your life, in my experience.

I thought I was in control of my life. And I was. But the universe, God, whatever you want to call it, whatever you believe, was only going to wait for so long before TAKING OVER?the wheel.?

I know it may sound really strange if you never had experiences like this when things happen that can't possibly be a coincidence. And you KNOW they are NOT.

And I know with the community we have we are business professionals. We solve difficult problems. We focus on facts, we care about science, we care about delivering massive value for our clients.

But there are things that humans don't yet fully understand but it doesn't mean we can ignore it if we want to be purpose-driven leaders who can contribute at a level we have the potential to contribute at.

So I share with you here VERY private things because I know that they CAN help you. It WILL...?if you pay attention.

We soon will go back to speaking mostly about business strategy, consulting, problem-solving, decision making, executive presence, ability to hold the attention of everyone in the room, building relationships with clients, building a consulting practice, building strong teams, and all the powerful areas we generally focus on. Those topics are not going away. They are crucial to helping you succeed.

But I truly believe that you need this annual check-up and check-in related to asking this question:?

Is your life aligned with your purpose?

And, if not, what are you going to do about it?

Because if it's not, yes we can help you build a powerful skill-set, but you will be running 20 miles per hour in the wrong direction. The powerful skills we teach are transferrable. So learn them even if you don't know yet what you should be doing with your life.

But what I want you to give some thought to this week is the direction your "life ship" is heading to.

Is it the right direction?

Is what you are doing aligned with what you feel you MUST?be doing with your life?

Tomorrow we will talk about reevaluating your life and understanding what drives you and why. And I will share with you a very powerful exercise that can change EVERYTHING for you.

Would like to have guidance, coaching, and support on this journey?

Wanted to mention it here, to ensure?this opportunity is not limited only to clients we speak to regularly.?Some of you reached out letting us know how important this topic we are covering this week is for you and enquiring about coaching opportunities so you can get help making the necessary adjustments. We are co-designing with our clients a group coaching program?called?The?MasterPlan Coaching Program. We are putting together a small cohort of?group coaching clients with whom we will work over a 1-year journey?to help develop a MasterPlan for their?career and life, while in the process?helping them break down limiting beliefs and limited mindsets. If you are inclined to embark on this journey with us [email protected].?

Why not have a big life

Kris

CEO, FIRMSconsulting

P.S.?If you are so inclined, to learn from and support each other, join the private?Why Not Have a Big Life ?Facebook group we created for our community for this challenge. If you prefer Linkedin, here is a?private group ?we created for our challenge?on Linkedin.?

P.S.S. If you know someone who can benefit from this challenge, they are welcome to join?here .?

P.S.S.S. Wanted to mention it here, to ensure?this opportunity is not limited only to clients we speak to regularly.?Some of you reached out letting us know how important this topic we are covering this week is for you and enquiring about coaching opportunities so you can get help making the necessary adjustments. We are co-designing with our clients a group coaching program?called?The?MasterPlan Coaching Program. We are putting together a small cohort of?group coaching clients with whom we will work over a 1-year journey?to help develop a MasterPlan for their career and life, while in the process?helping them break down limiting beliefs and limited mindsets. If you are inclined to embark on this journey with us [email protected].?