When I grow up...
That's me in the picture, at 15 years old, performing our high school production of Oklahoma! the musical. I played Will Parker, and the obliging young lady playing Ado Annie was a senior student at Onslow College who I had a bit of crush on. Back then, I wanted to be an actor and a singer - mostly for the girls & the glory; lest we ignore my pimply complexion, teenage hygiene and patchy stubble thwarting my ambitions of stardom. Nevertheless, that seems a good enough thing to want as a teenager. Strangely, as a young man I thought that answer to 'what do I want to be' gets easier with age, although I've discovered it's quite the opposite!
Fast-forward over a decade:
Last week I found myself talking to our legal counsel at work, this individual is not only an extremely accomplished solicitor but also has also enjoyed an influential and high level of office in local council. We shared some stories of our youth, both colorful, and I asked him "what did you want to be growing up", to which he replied "a policeman and a lawyer, I've done both & served my community as mayor". What next?.... Shit, good question.
Ask me this question two years ago, I would have said 'successful'. Defining success as having a career, some wealth and a plan for the future; as many of my peers do (call that group 21 - 35 years old). I have achieved these things, and was dreading being asked the same question in response "Jared, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
Fortunately, I've thought about this....
I want to be quoted in a book. That's it. I desire nothing greater than to have had enough of an impact on a single human that they bother to quote me in the ever diminishing art of book writing. What a privilege!
Why a book? Well; it will outlive anything I can make or own in this lifetime - it becomes an extension of the person I want to be now, and remembered as when I 'grow up'. Without meaning to be morbid, for a guy in his mid to late twenties, I've started to think about the sum of my character, actions and achievements and what will be said of them when I'm no longer able to speak for myself. So simply, I want to have done enough good, for enough people, that one person quotes me on it...
This single objective guides me on all the micro stuff.
To be quoted I am going to:
Specialise, do a great job, deliver, teach, learn, share, check my ethics, pursue opportunity, create opportunities for others, be f**king fearless, talk, listen, dance like my Dad, network, influence, be influenced, make time for loved ones now, HOME - HEALTH - WORK in that order. Build things that benefit others. Have passion for something that isn't about making more of something. Fear the reaper. Fear ever having to say "I wish I".
There's a fabulous quote by a classical composer & conductor named Benjamin Zander, whose seminars I adore, which says: "Measure success not by wealth, power or influence, but by the number of shining eyes around you".
When I grow up, I want to be a nice guy, that did good things, for the right reasons. And maybe a Broadway star...
How about you?