I like thinking about the future. The past is history. It is what it is. We can't change it and we can't over empower history to determine where we are and what we're going to do today and tomorrow.So in my message today, I want to get you to think about things you might not want to think about, or maybe you've never even thought about them. This one's a little bit off the wall and it's simply to consider this question....
What would you do if you couldn't do what you're doing now?
Why am I asking that question? Well, look, the world is great. There are great opportunities in the world, no matter what anybody tells you, no matter what anybody says about the economy or any of this or any of that. But if at some point, for whatever reason, you can't do what you're doing now, you've got to be thinking about what is it that I can do?
This is a really interesting time in my life. My wife retired recently, and one of the things that I always talked to her about over her 45-year career is what "would you do if you couldn't do what you're doing now?" "What if you couldn't be a patient care nurse?" And her answer was always the same.
"Well, I don't know what I would do because nursing is all I know.” And frankly, as great a nurse as she is and was, she had so many other gifts and talents, but it was so wrapped up in the easy-to-identify world of nursing, that she never knew she was a great communicator, she was a great process manager, she was a great team member, she was a great thinker, she was a great caregiver, and all of those things are applicable in different parts and different areas of our lives, or in our professional careers. I'm not advocating you just take this message as a call to quit what you're doing and go fly off into the future with no idea, but I do think we should always understand what we really bring to the table. And if you couldn't do what you were doing, how would you take what you can do and apply it somewhere else, or even in the job that you're in today? What is it that you need to do that you don't think you can do now?
Always be looking for the opportunity to expand your mind, expand your experience and make yourself more value to the marketplace, to yourself, and to your current employer, who bets on you every day and pays you every day for you to be as great as you can be. So I want you to be thinking in some quiet moments, while you're driving in the car, when you can't fall asleep, "what would I do if I can't do what I'm doing now?" And maybe there is a dream, a passion, an opportunity that you never would have thought of if you didn't have to ask yourself that question. Don't be afraid to think about it. It's not unreasonable. It's not unprofessional. It's not irresponsible. It's what you owe yourself and the opportunities that you may unknowingly have created for yourself with all the great work that you've done before. You are all better than you realize and sometimes being able to apply what you're so much better at means doing something you've never done before or never thought you could be.
I believe in you, Growth Dynamics believes in you, and we'd love to help you find out what you could do if you wanted to do it.
Thanks for reading. Take care, everybody. Have a great weekend. I'm out.
