4 Aspects to a Great Career & a Beautiful Life

14 years ago, a month shy of my 41st birthday, I founded Rested Edge Advisory, with the primary mission of “helping leaders create better futures”.

In these 14+ years, I’ve had the privilege & pleasure of working with many leaders, their teams & enterprises, for Singapore based firms as well as many regional and global ones. I’ve worked in almost every industry, and across public, private & people sectors. I’ve worked with highly successful leaders as well as those who struggle.

From these experiences, I thought I’ll share 4 aspects of what makes a great career and a beautiful life.

A great career and a beautiful life, whilst representing different things, are tightly intertwined. A great career strongly contributes to a beautiful life. Whilst a great career may seem like an end in itself, it is often a means to an end, the end of which is a beautiful life.

Using the metaphor of 4 companions journeying with us in career & life, I believe that there are 4 key priorities to focus on.

Priority # 1 is Effectiveness. A student wants to be effective as a student, a leader as a leader, a CEO as a CEO. Whilst knowledge, skills and competencies are important, don’t just focus on acquiring them. It is applying them well, and commendably, on a sustainable basis – as a professional, collaboratively & enterprise wide – that translates into Effectiveness. A person who is highly effective at work, especially if they also have a great network, extraordinary EQ & strong relational skills, will always be employable and in demand.

Priority # 2 is Success. I often share with my clients that multi-faceted effectiveness is what gives a person Success. I suggest that they do not be too singularly focused, or too mono-dimensional. In other words, don’t just be good at work! If we are effective at work, in life, at play; in all the accountabilities that we have – as a leader, a parent, a community contributor, an overall value-adding person; the people around us and Society as a whole, will view us as Successful. Success, I feel, is Society’s highest recognition & accolade, and is definitely a career & life companion worth pursuing.

Priority # 3 is Happiness. After attaining effectiveness & success, Happiness is naturally the 3rd companion we look for, and work on. When a person is effective & successful, they will naturally want to share their joy, their happiness, with their loved ones, with people meaningful & important in their lives. Good relationships play a big part in Happiness. Whilst Society often does not formally measure Happiness, we humans know that it’s important, it’s tangible, and that it adds powerfully & positively to our careers & lives.

Priority # 4 is Vitality. Vitality is such a powerful word. It encapsulates engagement, energy, enjoyment, attention, focus, and passion in our careers & lives. Vitality means so much more than health & fitness. I often suggest to my clients & friends to be polymathic, to have multiple passions at work and beyond work, which add much to a great career & a beautiful life. Happiness & vitality are wonderful multipliers to the people around us, our families, teams & enterprises, and strengthen our ability to be incessantly effective & successful.

In our career & life journeys, if we have the companionship of Effectiveness, Success, Happiness & Vitality, we are that much more able to go beyond “work, live & play”, to also “achieve, flourish & thrive”.