In October of 2018, I returned to work after taking more than a year off. Here are the things that stuck with me as I reflect back on the fun ride that the last year plus has been.
I attended a retirement seminar at my last job. Not only was I the youngest person in the room, I got some funny looks. But you know what’s actually weird? Being old and deciding to finally figure out how your retirement plan works. With time being a critical ingredient of any successful savings plan, it should be the case that younger people attend seminars like this in droves.
There is a widespread narrative around passion and courage when it comes to finding fulfilling work. We are told to find our passions, and courageously pursue them. We are then told that if we are stuck, we simply aren’t looking hard enough. Or maybe we aren’t summoning enough courage to take a leap.
This leads to an unsettled state of anxiety around our careers; we are always looking for the thing that will fulfill us. Or we are busy wondering why we don’t have the courage to go after it.
Cal Newport disagrees with the messaging around passion and courage. Yes, passion is important – but it’s a side effect of good work, rather than a precursor to it. Courage, too, is important – but it shouldn’t be deployed prior to building a strong foundation from which to take a leap.
These are the overarching viewpoints within So Good They Can’t Ignore You, which I read and loved. Inside is a detailed summary of the powerful lessons and ideas in the book.
What’s life like six months into my first mini-retirement? There’s been lots of accomplishments and achievements, but also lots of challenges and struggles. In this post I dig deep into what I’ve been up to, what’s been working and not working, and where I’m headed in the coming months.
Prioritizing personal development and education will help you get where you want to go. But there are so many choices available, and it can be expensive. How can you plan effectively so that you invest in products and services that will help you, while remaining within a reasonable budget? In this article, I discuss how I go about planning my own personal development and education initiatives.