“The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want.” – Ben Stein
As I sit here doing something I’ve never done before (writing one of these posts on an airplane), I find myself thinking about a question I heard two people discussing earlier today. What do you really want? That sometimes seems like an easy question. But do you really know the answer?
When asked that question, a lot of leaders (and, to be honest, me too) usually have a quick answer. We want to grow, or be more profitable, or advance in our careers, or something that sounds good like that. But is that what we want, or what we think we’re supposed to want?
Think about what you tell people you want. Now list out everything that has to happen in order for that to come true. Look at your list. Are you willing to do everything on the list? And if you’re not, what does that mean for you?
If any part of that process makes you question what you want, ask yourself this: if that thing you say you want is really it, WHY do you want it? Or is there something else driving you?
I can’t answer any of that for you. The only thing I can say is that you need to understand what you really want and why. If either of those is unclear, then I’m afraid you may be on a disappointing path to nowhere.
