A Note To You, The Observer.

There is a 100% chance that you are here because you are searching.

We all are: The CEO, the program manager, the HR team, the sales leader, the engineering lead, the accounting firm partner, the legal partner, the military officer, and the self-employed.

You are here in search of something.

I think everyone here can be sorted into one of two buckets:

1.) Those who know what it is they are searching for, and

2.) Those who don’t believe they are searching for anything.

Group One is the group you see. You are the creators, the builders, and the self-promotors. You are the ones actively pursuing your own call to something more and putting something at risk to get it. This group needs to be seen, needs to share, and needs to keep creating and connecting. So you show up.

Group Two is everyone you don’t see. You are the observers. The established professional who doesn’t need LinkedIn because, well, searching is for other people. In fact, other people are searching for you. Or at least they used to be. You are here trying to avoid being seen. But here you are anyway. Observing … and wondering if someone is going,to show up.

Over the last twent months I’ve found myself in both groups. I have been the guy who safely and resonsibly posted only company-branded materials, and now I’m a guy who, well, does this.

I want to talk to the person who is observing—the one who has the grand title, the nice car, and the marriage that needs more work than they care to admit.

I want to talk to the person who can’t come to confess that it no longer feels as good as it looks—but it pays too well to risk it. The one who has checked the boxes, put in the hours, and climbed higher than they thought possible only six years ago.

I want to talk to the person who has let friendships wither, brought work to Disney World, and worked themselves into a box they don’t know how to escape.

I want to talk to the person who would never, and couldn’t ever, leave a like, a comment, or a share on something that puts their image at risk — the image that your company owns but allows you to borrow in exchange for 100 hours of work every week.

I want to talk to the person who thinks they don’t need to be here, but shows up wondering if today is the day something finally finds them that maybe, just maybe, becomes the thing that helps them get their life back. The thing that reshapes the question “Is this it?” and turns it into an exclaimation of “The is it!”

You. That person. I want to talk to you.

The rest of you are excused.

Look, I know why you’re here. I understand why you can’t like, share, or comment. I know it feels lonely, and I know you’ve not shared what’s bubbling up just under the surface. I know you’re wondering if this is all there is, and I know you feel guilty for having so much — so much of what you chased, but feeling so little.

I know you are the provider and that you take that seriously. I know that you’re loyal and dedicated. I know that you have a team you care for and I know you don’t feel as young as you did only a few years ago.

And I know that you also feel called to make one more bet — a bet on you that can’t even yet articulate, and you don’t know what it is or how to find it.

I want to talk to you. Because I used to be you, and I want to help you. Because being where you are is … miserable and lonely.

You. I am searching for you.

Not because you will help me get rich, but because there is something out there that will help you feel rich. I have dedicated my life to helping you avoid the regret of never trying — the regret of only observing.

Ironically, when you reach your level, the world quits bringing you answers. Instead, it brings you options — options that appear impossible or irresponsible or somehow more risky than before. And if you don’t have a guide who can help you navigate those options, you will stay. You will remain an observer. You will tolerate another year, two years, or five years. And you will, one day, look back on this day and wonder what might have happened if you had tried.

I want to talk to you. I am searching for you. My mission is to inspire change in a thousand lives, and I’m here because I think one of those lives might be yours. And I’m here because I don’t want to look back and regret I didn’t try, one more time, to inspire you to accept that maybe, just maybe, your work there is done.

Today might not be your day. But I know you’re here, and I know you’re observing.

Well, I’m here too. And that’s not an accident. In fact, maybe it’s a sign. The sign that always shows up and leads you to what’s next. The sign that this isn’t the day you quit, but it is the day you choose to start.

Or maybe it’s simply something to observe…Either way, you will live with the result

If you ever want to ramble, email me at [email protected].

From here on, you’re not alone unless you choose to be.

Welcome to the Normal 40.

Let’s be up to something.

Lon -

#normal40 #leadership #careercoaching #thetrade

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