What's Your End-Game?

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I recently met a 48 year-old man who was going through some severe medical issues.

His blood pressure was through the roof and he couldn't get in under control. The doctors were able to isolate the trigger of his blood pressure spikes to his job. He owned his own company. Over the last 18 months, the company had been having financial issues and he had just finally secured some business to get it back on track. The company was now thriving and in growth mode. The doctors said he was having a form of PTSD. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A father of four kids under the age of 11, he was now very worried about his health. The thought of leaving his kids fatherless is what had motivated him to get some help. Besides getting the blood pressure under control, he decided to talk to someone about his mental state. He'd tried yoga, meditation, mindfulness practices, etc. But, nothing was working. Eventually, he came across a coach who asked him a powerful question:

"What's your end-game?"

At first, he thought the question was stupid. He said, "Isn't it obvious? To build a successful business so I can take care of my family." But, the coach pushed him further and said, "How will you know when you've achieved that?" To which the man said, "Well, I already have." The coach responded, "Well then, you have no end-game."

In that moment, the man understood what was causing him so much stress and pain.

His work had no purpose. It was directionless. He realized it was time to step back and align all his efforts towards a new end-game. One that inspired him to feel whole as a person. An end-game that supported all the key elements of his life. Starting with his own personal happiness. Because in that same moment, he realized he hadn't been truly happy and at peace in a very long time. Sure, he had provided for his family. He had delivered on being a dutiful husband and good father. He was a successful business owner. He could check all the boxes in terms of meeting society's expectations. But along the way, he lost his joy. He had traded happiness for validation. And now, it had been so long, he couldn't see the path back to feeling good. He said,

"I can't change gears now. I wouldn't know where to start. And, I don't want to be one of those guys who has a publicly humiliating mid-life crisis."

Yet, he knew he needed to do something. And, he did. Which I'll share in my next article here on LinkedIn. So, be sure to hit the subscribe button at the top so you get it in your inbox!

In the meantime, what's YOUR end-game and how will you know when you've reached it?

I want to hear in the comments below what you're working towards and why. Tell us your story. What ah-ha moments have you had with respect to purpose and end-game?

P.S. - Be sure to use the hashtags #jttalksjobs & #myendgame so we can all join in the conversation.

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P.S.S. If you don't think a membership to my company's career coaching service is for you (yet).

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