You Are Here Now

TAKE A BREATH. Take a deeper breath.

Imagine that you’re 95 years old and ready to die. Before taking your last breath, you’re given a great gift: The ability to travel back in time—the ability to talk to the person who is reading this page, the ability to help this person be a better professional and lead a better life.

The 95-year-old you understands what was really important and what wasn’t, what mattered and what didn’t. What advice would this wise “old you” have for the “you” who is reading this page?

Take your time and answer the question on two levels: personal advice and professional advice. Jot down a few words that capture what the old you would be saying to the younger you.

Once you’ve written these words down, the rest is simple: Just do whatever you wrote down. Make it your resolution for the rest of the current year, and the next. You have just defined your “there.”

I cannot define “there” for you. I cannot dictate it and I’m certainly not

going to judge it as being worthy or noble. To do so would not only be presumptuous, it’s none of my business.

But I can make a rough prediction about what some features of your “there” will look like—because a friend of mine actually had the opportunity to interview people who were dying and ask them what advice they would have had for themselves. The answers he got were filled with wisdom.

One recurring theme was to “reflect upon life, to find happiness and meaning now,” not next month or next year. The Great Western Disease lies in the phrase, I will be happy when . . . As in, I will be happy when I get that promotion, or I will be happy when I buy that house, or I will be happy when I get that money. The wise old you has finally realized that the next promotion, the next achievement, the next move to a larger house or a more attractive corner office won’t really change your world that much. Many older people say they were so wrapped up in looking for what they didn’t have that they seldom appreciated what they did have. They often wish they would have taken more time to enjoy it.

A second recurring theme was “friends and family.” Consider this: You may work for a wonderful company, and you may think that your contribution to that organization is very important. When you are 95 years old and you look at the people around your deathbed, very few of your fellow employees will be there waving good-bye. Your friends and family will probably be the only people who care. Appreciate them now and share a large part of your life with them.

Yet another recurring theme was the reflection to “follow your dreams.”

Older people who have tried to achieve their dreams are always happier with their lives.

Figure out your true purpose in life, and go for it! This doesn’t apply just to big dreams; it is also true for little dreams. Buy the sports car you always wanted, go to that exotic locale that’s always held your fascination, learn how to play the piano or speak Italian. If some people think your vision of a well-lived life is a bit goofy or off-beat, who cares? It isn’t their life. It’s yours. Few of us will achieve all of our dreams. Some dreams will always elude us. So the key question is not, “Did I make all my dreams come true?” The key question is, “Did I try?”

I conducted a research project for Accenture involving more than 200 highpotential leaders from 120 companies around the world. Each company could nominate only two future leaders, the very brightest of its young stars. These are the kinds of people who could jump at a moment’s notice to better-paying positions elsewhere.

We asked each of these young stars a simple question:

“If you stay in this company, why are you going to stay?” The three top answers were:

1. “I am finding meaning and happiness now. The work is exciting and I love what I am doing.”

2. “I like the people. They are my friends. This feels like a team. It feels like a family. I could make more money working with other people, but I don’t want to leave the people here.”

3. “I can follow my dreams. This organization is giving me a chance to do what I really want to do in life.”

The answers were never about money. They were always about happiness, relationships, following dreams, and meaning.

When my friend asked people on their deathbeds what was important to them, they gave exactly the same answers as the high-potential leaders I interviewed. Use that wisdom now. Don’t look ahead. Look behind. Look back from your old age at the life you hope to live. Know that you need to be happy now, to enjoy your friends and family, to follow your dreams.

You are here.

You can get there!

Let the journey begin.

From - What_Got_You_Here_Wont_Get_You_There_-_Marshall_Goldsmith.