Choose Your Own Adventure

Welcome to another edition of my newsletter series, where I aggregate some of the best content from business leaders on Linkedin and beyond. I do this because I like bringing attention to people who are adding unique value to my feed.

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A lot of my content lately has been about empowerment, accountability, and playing the long game. I think about these concepts a lot as they relate to professional performance, but in people's personal lives too: holding oneself responsible for what happens vs. crying "no fair, why me?"

Don't get me wrong- there are certainly things that are outside our control. We have no say about where we're born or what family we have. And there's lots of good and bad luck assigned arbitrarily. But that's not what I'm talking about here.

Every day, there are plenty of things we make choices about. Our decisions, big and small, write the stories we end up living. I think about these choices (which we have lots of control over) in two main categories:

For everything that falls into these buckets, choices lead to outcomes, for better or worse. So this week we're talking about choices. I found a bunch of inspiring advice on the topic, and I'm excited to share it with you. Here's what we're covering:

• A simple challenge for now and later
• Some free ways to educate yourself on any topic
• Encouraging words for playing the long game
• Choosing your mindset
• Some motivation for action
• A great tool to START making changes
• Candid career advice for 20 somethings
• The key to staying mentally sharp and happy

This week's Linkedin content comes from Bill Stinnett, Matthew Toth, Derek Jankowski, Megan Bowen, Jacob Zangel, and Kate Latham. If you're not following these folks yet, check 'em out.

Now let's dive into the content!

Linkedin Content

This post from Bill resonated so strongly with me when I read it. In my early 20's, nearly every choice I made was about NOW. They were choices intended to make that day or that moment better but were never really long-term focused.

As I moved into my 30's, my choices became much more focused on the long-term, and that's when I began to see monumental shifts in my professional career. But only focusing on the long-term can have negatives as well, as you tend to miss being truly present. What Bill is recommending is a good dose of both, and my wife and I will be practicing this moving forward.

Self-education is often the differentiator between those who remain stagnant at their jobs and those who accelerate their careers quickly. You have the choice to either spend time educating yourself or not.

For me, I'm focused on education non-stop. I read business books, listen to podcasts, read content, buy online courses, and watch YouTube videos. You'll be AMAZED at how much you can learn in just a short 30-minute session. I recommend carving out these sessions each day and focusing intentionally on learning something new that will help improve your career. Make the choice, and put it in your calendar now.

Back-to-back weeks for Derek Jankowski, as he's dropping incredible knowledge on LinkedIn lately. He and I have worked together for over a decade across multiple companies, and this is a conversation we've had many, many times.

I'm a firm believer of making the right career choices that align with your ten-year plan (see Bill's content above), and not just taking a role because it pays a little more or has a slightly better title.

Be very specific with the roles you choose and the companies you join. Your focus should be continued learning and development, not just a few extra dollars and a better title. Make the right choice, join the right team, and watch the dollars and titles roll in.

Megan and I have known each other for many years now, both personally and professionally. She's the rare kind of person who's very intentional about having a positive attitude and looking for the silver lining.

Megan lists things here that you'd have to be really intentional about to achieve. You'd have to decide to have this mindset of trust and being true to yourself, etc. We always have a choice about how we respond to uncontrollable events. And the approach usually shapes the outcomes. This advice can absolutely be applied to troubles beyond unemployment.

There's a lot to unpack from Jacob's post. I love his point about incorrect action vs. inaction. I've made the choice before to NOT act when I wanted to. It definitely stings for a long time. This was such a great reminder to take action.

The second point I loved in this post was the quotes from Scott Adams and Rudyard Kipling. I'm a firm believer that if you truly want something, you can achieve it - you simply have to understand the cost, whether monetarily or in time/effort, and decide to proceed.

As you read through Jacob's post, think through his final statement: "What is the biggest opportunity I could pursue in the next 5 minutes?" Drop it in the comments below.

This is such a simple and effective idea. If you've not read Atomic Habits yet, run don't walk to buy it now. It's all about starting small and incremental improvements. Kate's action calendar is a great next step to actually get started with one small thing every day. Kate's calendar is aimed at creating more happiness (love that), but we can apply the concept to anything.

I started this by using my Google calendar and color-coding it. But if you're the type who appreciates reminders on the refrigerator door or the bathroom mirror, here's a cool site where you can download and print all sorts of calendar templates: CalendarLabs.

Other Content

Here's some delightful career advice from a style icon who stumbled into his career passion in his 30s. Simon Doonan's serendipitous career trajectory reminds me a lot of my own - in that I didn't take my work seriously until I found my "enthusiasm."

It can be really challenging to choose a job or career based on what you truly enjoy. But if you can manage it, that's when magic becomes possible. Check out Simon's inspiring story in this short video. (3 minutes)

I'm always interested in content about happiness and the pursuit of it. I'll take all the tips I can get. As I'm nearing my 40s, I assess my own happiness a lot. As I think about my life, and my friends and family - it's obvious to me that a great deal of our happiness is a result of the choices we've made.

As I mentioned in my two buckets earlier, WHO we spend our time with and HOW we spend our time leads to long term results, for better or worse.

I loved this article about one thing that supports long term happiness. To apply this advice, you'll have to be very intentional about your people and time investments. I hope you'll keep this article in mind when you're creating your action calendar.

That concludes this edition of my Content Rundown. If you have any feedback about this project, drop me a note at [email protected] or shoot me a DM here on LinkedIn. I always welcome feedback and suggestions.

You can also find me around the web at:

• The Official Justin Website
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• Free eBook - The Daily Post: Build Your LinkedIn Audience Every Day

Thanks for reading, and see ya next week!

Justin