Lessons from a 6 years old

The best part of being a headhunter is it connects you with a lot of people; a lot. With every conversation, you walk away with something new. Working for various firms (some say a little too much), I've been asked almost every question one can think of so, most questions don't surprise me; until yesterday. My 6 years old asked me, "dad, what do you be when you grow up?" If I had been driving, I would've smacked the brakes cause what just had happened. "grow up"; I mean, do I still need to grow up at 42? Ever since THE question, the major part of my brain which has shut down over the years just started tingling. I mean what a silly question right? "what do I want to be when I grow up?" Middle aged men aren't asked this. We are asked about our next move in career ladder, or market shares, or anything but 'growing up.' But wait...where does it say that growing up stops at a specific time in life? When do we decided, "I've grown up..."? "I've become whatever, and that's it...." Why at specific time in life, we simply stop and adjust to who & what ever we are?

My take-away from this gullible statement. As leaders, we need our teams to grow, but simultaneously, we must grow & chase our passions and/or whatever it is that makes us happy. Don't get me wrong, professional growth is immensely important and putting food on the table is top priority, but let's bring back that drive of a kid and become the Jordan or Pele we all wanted to be, once. So, "what do you want to be when you grow up?"