My father recently passed away. He lived a long, productive life. He had many friends and admirers and left a mark on his community. Who could ask for more?
Dad stormed through life, accomplishing so many things. He was an architect, entrepreneur, author, collector, artist, historian and public speaker.
Long before Nike came up with their slogan, “Just Do It!”, my father was ‘just doing it’.
If Dad had an idea, he acted upon it. If he saw a need, he filled it. If an opportunity surfaced, he jumped on it. This mindset took him on many wonderful journeys - all taught him something important.
The last words I heard my father speak were, “have a good life”. I have been considering those words ever since.
What is a good life? Am I living one now?
How do we measure a life well lived? Accomplishments? Impact on the world? Is being a good person; kind, loving, compassionate and considerate, enough?
My conclusion is this - life is short and the world needs much. We take so much from this world every single day – what are we giving back?
We all have something exceptional to contribute – the unique AMALGAMATION that makes us ourselves. A merging of our self, skills, experiences and interests. Combining and focusing these collective powers creates magic.
Let’s break each of these areas down a bit -
SELF– The combination of characteristics that form your distinctive persona. Are you a leader, or a supporter? Are you quick minded, or thoughtful? Are you temperamental, or predictable? Your ‘self’ includes your:
character
temperament
fortitude
nature
style
SKILLS - What you do well. These skills can be inherent or developed. They come easy for you, and you may downplay them as ‘no brainers’. The best way to understand your skills is to ask others, “What do I do well?” They include your:
talents
abilities
capacity
proficiencies
EXPERIENCES – The accumulation of what you’ve seen and accomplished. Experiences are the great jigsaw puzzle of your life. Through your experiences you build your individual world view. In business, multiple perspectives including your own unique perspective, are essential to solve problems and develop innovations. Aspects of your experiences include:
knowledge
insights
involvement
accomplishments
journeys
INTERESTS – What do you want to experience and/or learn more about? Topics of interests are as varied as ourselves and can include:
history
art
innovation
humanity
children
technology
ecology
To understand and synthesis the amalgamation that is uniquely you, answer the following four questions.
What are the combination of characteristics and qualities that uniquely form ‘me’?
What do I do well and enjoy doing?
What have I seen, experienced and accomplished in my lifetime?
What do I want to experience and know more about?
Then choose your focus, including the depth and breadth of impact you desire. These goals can be work related or non-work related. And finally, create a plan of action to leverage your unique skills, interests, experiences and abilities to reach your goals.
Life is short, and much thought is needed to guide our future in the right direction.
What role can you play in making the world a better place – and ensure that you, in my father’s words, ‘have a good life?’
Jane