THOUGHT PROVOKING THURSDAYS- DEALING WITH CAREER TRANSITIONS 20- Asking better questions

What happens when two coaches meet?

?Lots of good, thought provoking questions get exchanged for starters! Pun unintended.

?I met my longtime friend, Saurav Atri after a very long time to catch up and exchange notes. We first met when he was at Gallup and I was at Facebook and we have stayed in touch ever since. I was a huge fan of the Strengthfinder and still continue to help people uncover their talents and strengths so that they can lead more fulfilled lives.

?He started off my sharing one question that has driven and guided him in recent times.

?“ If today were your last day on earth, how would you spend it?”

?He shared how he found the answer and through that his redefined purpose as well as he explained the Project Thrive that he is driving as a side hustle—a global community of content creators, facilitators and coaches. I could see how a simple question to himself had provoked him to build something as audacious as this. Be impatient for success, is one of his driving mantras and he is in a hurry to build and expand this community. Over the course of the coffee, he offered me to join this movement which I gladly did.

?His next question was almost a follow up to the first one

?“What gets you energized now a days?”

?Notice, it was not the usual how are you doing or what are you doing. It was specific to what energizes you?

?I reflected on both these questions and found them connected in some way. What energizes you today should be building up to your end game in life.

?The first question first--For me, my last day would ideally be a gathering of friends, family, mentors and mentees, coaches and coachees and anyone who I have touched positively in my life. That “anyone” could be a surprising list of people who found hope and joy through my writings or speaking engagements. What a party that would be! Obviously this is a figment of my imagination but this is the power of visualization—it helps you get clarity on what could then be a realistic outcome.

?Now to the second question—what gets you energized these days?

?As some of you know, I started my solopreneur journey only in Feb this year and walked into a perfect storm of layoffs, cost cutting and scarcity of work. So, every morning you wake up to the not so comfortable reality that it will be a grinder of a day. Hence getting the energy to last the day requires clarity on what you want out of life and what you are working to.

?So that was the first thing I needed. I clarified to myself what I am here for. Call it Purpose, Mission or whatever, but you need to define your WHY.

?For me, it is about helping people, brands, teams and organizations become a better version of themselves.

?I have landed on 3 workstreams to make this real—Coaching, Training and Consulting. Everything I do feeds at least one of them. I also realize that I cannot do it alone so I am finding like-minded partners to do each of these. For an extrovert like me, this is extremely important and critical.

?Making it even more real, here are 4 things that I do week on week to stay busy and fulfilled.

?

--I like to write--On the persuasion of a dear friend, I started to write this weekly piece 5 months ago and it is one of the highlights of my current existence. One day, all this could well culminate into a book thereby helping me share these messages with a wider set of people around the world.

--I love to meet People—I get energised by meeting people. Connecting People was the Nokia tagline but fits me well. I am also a giver and a taker and ensure that every week is filled with quality time spent with people. With some I am a sponge and I get mentored. With others I do the opposite to fill them with hope an ideas. In both, I walk away energised and excited to take on the world.

-- I look to solve problems-- Even though my last decade or so was spent in the HR wing of companies, my passion for brands and marketing continues unabated. I like to strategize and uncover insights to solve people and business problems.

--I spend time learning new things—I could describe one of my core values as life long learning. I have this fear of being irrelevant which drives me to stay updated. And when you look around, you find so many gaps that you need to plug.

?Being on one’s own is not for the fainthearted. It takes a lot to shed the comfort of a corporate environment and try to strike out on your own. Now, whether is planned or thrust upon you, the end result is the same. You encounter a pretty tough VUCA world out there where one of the critical actions you can do is to just show up. Yes, you fall and you rise again. Just trust the process, destiny, God or whatever belief system you practice and embrace each new day with hope and patience.

?Thank you Saurav for such a stimulating catch up. I look forward to being a part of your Project Thrive and I hope to add value there. Till we meet again, keep inspiring and soaring!

?So back to you all my dear readers. Here is an exercise for you, how would you like to spend your last day on earth? And as a follow up, what are you doing today to ensure that happens?

?Asking better questions is the starting point to reaching better answers. Get into the thinking mode now!

#askingbetterquestions #growthmindset #Betterversions