Just came across a good book for midlife career professionals. This career book comes with a rather grim title, but a decent sub-heading: Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Every Day.
The author’s premise is that you don’t know how long you’ve got to live. Your work is your legacy. So live each day as though it’s your last.
The book itself is better than the premise. Here are some takeaways to think about:
On page 10: Comfort is dangerous. We’ve been through that discussion.
Page 11: There are many ways you can add value to the world, while operating in your sweet spot. OK, you might have heard that too: you’re not just destined to do ONE thing. You’ve got many options.
But here’s a great point on the same page: “Opportunities become clear over time as you act, like film developing slowly in a darkroom.”
Whew … That’s a great point. Instead of navel-gazing, get out and do stuff, and your opportunities, gifts and choices will open up.
And early in the book, Todd Henry talks about the 3 kinds of work – making, mapping and meshing. Making is how you take action and do the work. Mapping is, of course, planning. Meshing means integrating your work into a bigger picture so you’ve got a sense of where you’re going.
You need all 3 types of work to make an impact. for instance, mapping + meshing – making = dreaming
As a final example, on page 97 Henry talks about three kinds of goals – step, sprint and stretch. Step means doing one thing every day towards your goal. Sprint means taking short bursts of energy – maybe a week or two of intensity followed by time off, and then starting again. A stretch goal means developing a skill that takes you out of your comfort zone; it has to be something you can control, such as upgrading your speaking skills or learning something new.
Not a bad choice for ideas to start the new year.
By the way, if you’d like to talk this over, check out the career strategy session – we can plan your own steps.