Life's Great Question and It's not about You
Tom Rath is one of my favorite authors. I have read most of his books. He has come with two this year. They are called Life’s great question and It’s not about you. Both are such quick reads you just need to spend 3 hours at the maximum. Here are the lessons I gleaned.
Life is short: The main point of both these books is life is short and we don’t have all the time in the world. Remembering that we are not going to be there forever increases the urgency with which we act and do things with a sense of urgency. You also start thinking about the deeper meaning of your life.
Make a contribution: At the end of our lives what people will remember is the contribution we made and not just our accomplishments though I feel that is important as well.
Focus on your strengths: Of course, this is one of the central tenets to all of Tom Rath’s teaching. One of the quotes he has is “You can’t be anything you want to be, but you can be a lot more of who you already are.” Yes, this means obviously we can’t do everything or be everything. However, we can focus on our strengths and become better at what we are good at.
The pursuit of purpose: When you connect what you do for a living with the larger purpose of whom it serves we feel better about ourselves. No job is meaningless and every job has some meaning. We must hunt for the meaning and understand that whatever puts food on our table is worthwhile to others as well.
Personality can change: Yes, our personalities are not fixed completely and we can change for the better as we proceed in life. Some of us start as introverts in school and then slowly we become slightly more extroverted. Of course, being introverted has its own advantages as well. You can be an introvert in one situation and be an extrovert in another arena. So, keep working on your personality and you can mold yourself anyway you want.
Get over yourself: Life is not only about you and it is more about what you do for others. Keep asking the question “What can I do for the other person.” Life is all about what you put back into the world. In other words, find your purpose and help others on the way as well.
Invest time and attention wisely: Two of the keys which determines the quality of our lives is where we invest time and attention. We have a limited amount of time and we can decide where want to invest the limited time we have. Where we choose to use the time, dividend is the key to where we end up in life. We must be clear on our priorities and then schedule our priorities with the time available.
Live without regret: This is easier to say than do. However, before any major action if we think would we regret this later and if the answer is yes don’t do that. This is one of the simplest ways to live without regret. Of course, our past cannot be changed and of course if we are human we have all made mistakes which we regret. The only way is to forgive ourselves and resolve to live life completely in the present from this moment forward. This is one of the ways to close the past and start to live a life without regret.
Celebrate people while they are alive: Everybody says good things about people once they are gone. The key here is to celebrate people and acknowledge them while they are alive. This is a slight shift in perspective but will help in the long run.
Have a personal mission statement: This is my recommendation. If you decide what you want your life to stand for you will discover your purpose. One of the best methods is to develop a personal mission you are sold out to. MY personal mission which I came up with in 2010 is “My mission is to maximise my potential and help others maximise theirs.” This has led me to read loads of books, write what I have learned and share it with everyone. This keeps me busy and I don’t get bored thinking about this mission.
There you have it the ways you can make your life more meaningful. Life is about what we contribute. You might also like the article I wrote on living your legacy. RIP Kobe Bryant - 9 Ways to Live your Legacy
Thanks for reading this post. The views expressed here are my own and do not represent my organization.
Life is short: The main point of both these books is life is short and we don’t have all the time in the world. Remembering that we are not going to be there forever increases the urgency with which we act and do things with a sense of urgency. You also start thinking about the deeper meaning of your life.
Make a contribution: At the end of our lives what people will remember is the contribution we made and not just our accomplishments though I feel that is important as well.
Focus on your strengths: Of course, this is one of the central tenets to all of Tom Rath’s teaching. One of the quotes he has is “You can’t be anything you want to be, but you can be a lot more of who you already are.” Yes, this means obviously we can’t do everything or be everything. However, we can focus on our strengths and become better at what we are good at.
The pursuit of purpose: When you connect what you do for a living with the larger purpose of whom it serves we feel better about ourselves. No job is meaningless and every job has some meaning. We must hunt for the meaning and understand that whatever puts food on our table is worthwhile to others as well.
Personality can change: Yes, our personalities are not fixed completely and we can change for the better as we proceed in life. Some of us start as introverts in school and then slowly we become slightly more extroverted. Of course, being introverted has its own advantages as well. You can be an introvert in one situation and be an extrovert in another arena. So, keep working on your personality and you can mold yourself anyway you want.
Get over yourself: Life is not only about you and it is more about what you do for others. Keep asking the question “What can I do for the other person.” Life is all about what you put back into the world. In other words, find your purpose and help others on the way as well.
Invest time and attention wisely: Two of the keys which determines the quality of our lives is where we invest time and attention. We have a limited amount of time and we can decide where want to invest the limited time we have. Where we choose to use the time, dividend is the key to where we end up in life. We must be clear on our priorities and then schedule our priorities with the time available.
Live without regret: This is easier to say than do. However, before any major action if we think would we regret this later and if the answer is yes don’t do that. This is one of the simplest ways to live without regret. Of course, our past cannot be changed and of course if we are human we have all made mistakes which we regret. The only way is to forgive ourselves and resolve to live life completely in the present from this moment forward. This is one of the ways to close the past and start to live a life without regret.
Celebrate people while they are alive: Everybody says good things about people once they are gone. The key here is to celebrate people and acknowledge them while they are alive. This is a slight shift in perspective but will help in the long run.
Have a personal mission statement: This is my recommendation. If you decide what you want your life to stand for you will discover your purpose. One of the best methods is to develop a personal mission you are sold out to. MY personal mission which I came up with in 2010 is “My mission is to maximise my potential and help others maximise theirs.” This has led me to read loads of books, write what I have learned and share it with everyone. This keeps me busy and I don’t get bored thinking about this mission.
There you have it the ways you can make your life more meaningful. Life is about what we contribute. You might also like the article I wrote on living your legacy. RIP Kobe Bryant - 9 Ways to Live your Legacy
Thanks for reading this post. The views expressed here are my own and do not represent my organization.
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