The investment I made with Eric to coach one of my key managers has been well worth it.
Growing Up with Your Kids
My father-in-law was a young man when he had his first child. As a result, he describes the first years of his marriage as growing up with his kids. Despite his youth, he never felt held back by having kids when he was young. Instead, he says, he just grew up along with them.
In our careers, our businesses, and our lives, we need to start having children earlier. I don’t mean literal babies. Rather, we need to start doing things today that we think require more experience or more maturity or more time than we have right now. Make that investment. Write that article. Give that speech. Go for that promotion. Champion that new idea. Take the lead in that relationship. Don’t wait.
Will it be the best investment ever? The most insightful article? The most effective speech? Will you get the promotion? Will this particular idea have a huge payoff? Will your relationship work perfectly? Probably not. These are baby steps. All you need is a little success to feel proud of your efforts. The quality of your work will grow as you get more experience. But you have to start somewhere.
Performance Principle: Do what you really want to be doing – don’t wait. Actual experience is always the best preparation for doing what you want to do. Don’t put it off by saying maybe next year or after the kids are grown. Try it today. Then you will have a brand new venture that will grow up along with you.
Questions to Consider:
- What is one activity that you have always wanted to try? What is one dream that you have always had?
- How can you make one small step today toward achieving these goals?
- What experiences/skills/talents do you believe that you need but currently lack in order to achieve your goals?
- Ask yourself and others you trust if those things are necessary to do what you want to do. Often, we create obstacles to our own success that don’t really exist.
