by Bruce Kasanoff
I had a different topic in mind for today, but just saw this image that Steven Bartlett shared on LinkedIn, and it got me thinking...
How many people choose the life they want, ten years from now?
To put this more specifically, how many people wake up day after day and take specific actions in the present to alter their results in the future?
Rather than answer this question myself, I'm going to ask it of you. What do you think? Do a lot of people do this or very few? Or perhaps a lot of people do it, but only to a certain extent?
For example, I see huge numbers of people doing their best to raise children to the best of their ability, which is a very long-term endeavor. But I also see many of these people accept a pretty good life when they could embrace an existence that is 100% in line with their deepest needs and aspirations.
My own version of this billboard is the Rocking Chair Test. When faced with a major life decision, I picture myself near the end of my life, sitting peacefully on a rocking chair on a porch. Will that version of me be glad that I took a leap or played it safe? It has proven to be a remarkably effective decision making tool in my life.
Your life ten years from now is heavily dependent on choices you make today:
The strength of your relationships
Your health and fitness
How much money you have saved
Where—and how—you live
Your career status
The richness of your life
To offer a personal example, for eight months now, I've been lifting weights. This is something I've never done before. Am I lean, mean and chiseled? Not yet. But I am stronger than I was ten years ago, which is something not many people in their sixties can say. The first couple of months were hard, no doubt. But now I am drawn to the gym.
I'd love to hear your comments on today's post.
How are you doing on social media? Is it helping your career in a meaningful way?
It should be.
Social media is far from perfect, but it is an invaluable career tool.
Many of my ghostwriting clients managed to survive the pandemic economically largely because of social media.
In the past year or two, however, social media has become increasingly competitive. LinkedIn now has 950 million members. AI has become a factor, too, simultaneously raising and lowering the bar.
In simple terms, social media has become too complicated to go it alone.
For this reason, this week I’m launching Kasanoff.org.
Its first incarnation will be a group of no more than 15 members who meet with me three times each month. I will guide the group, using my experience writing on LinkedIn for the past decade.
Nine of the 15 spots have already been filled.
To ensure that each member is fully committed to this new community, there will be a $300/month fee and all prospective members will need to answer seven questions in advance. The full details are here.