Has it occurred to you that what is that we as human beings strive for as the ultimate result of all the efforts directed as the time flies in the period we call life ?
Disclaimer: The following thoughts are very exclusive as they stem from an individual. They cannot be universally applied and hence the reader’s discretion is advised while drawing inspirations from it.While this has no partical target audience, it is specially crafted to reverberate with young veterans or those seasoned one’s who have their post service benefits coming. Not withstanding, I hope this makes you more aware.
Yesterday was packed. Running through the 8 Hr CSM module and then attending a superb learning session on LinkedIn live (find it here) and then the CSM Exam. While this worthy discussion unfolded, I decided to share an article on my limited understanding of life choices.
1. Needs
Going by the definitions of needs according to Cambridge:
the things you must have for a satisfactory life.
Apart from basic necessities of clothing, food and shelter, the modern day scenes make some gadgets like laptop and smartphone add to the list. Given the changing water quality, arrangements of clean filtered drinking water would also qualify to be added. Social responsibilities and occasions like festivals, birthdays, marriages and thanksgivings are essential too.The need to be mobile to cater for other needs in time, calls for a vehicle to be added as well. So you see how the list of needs is growing in the present day like the work in Parkinson’s law.
While it is safe to say that apart from being successful and famous, you would also want to be rich as success was anciently defined as having more gold and is modernly defined as having a good paycheck.
Power and position to look forward for ? And why?
The reason gold was a measure of success was because in earlier days, it could be traded for things of value (as witnesses profoundly in the era of barter system). Since the inception of currency and digital money, the figures in your account mattered to you more. Why because money gave the freedom of choice. More expanded choices that were available to you now. May be from the aspiration of a swanky SUV to having that sea facing villa. It gives us the freedom to decide. Let it soak in.
Why is it important?
It is important because of the fact that we co exist in a social structure where products and services are exchanged at a cost and the freedom to choose between them needs this freedom. In my past life I dare say I never realised the value of money as much because I never saw a derth of it. Being employed/commissioned at a young age, the realization never comes to you while you’re spending gleefully at the school get-togethers because your counterparts are still studying.
Young and wild days!
So essentially you now agree that there is an exchange happening and it is important for you to be on the comfortable side of the bid to enable you to get your goodies.
2 Passion
Passion is again more of an emotion than a word. It is defined as
An extreme interest in or wish for doing something, such as a hobby, activity, etc.
Passion is very exclusive, very individual and very personal and it is for good!
Imagine a world where everyone had the same passion? Would you want to live in such a world where everyone is only passionate about one thing? How would an orchestra come to life or how would any diversity or art be created ? Passion breeds the power to do because you want it, like it or feel it to a higher degree.
It could be anything.
So, what would you do if you feel very strongly about it? You would want it to be better, you to be better in it and derive fun in the process. Let’s keep it till here for Passion as we will again revisit it later.
Freedom translates in the way of making choices and pursuing passions. Higher and better must not be hampered by the choice inhibitions in terms of financial freedom. Thus there is something called financial planning. Career planning is an essential subset of financial planning as it is going to lead to the end goal of financial freedom enabling us to make choices.(Remember better,higher, bigger?).
As the aspirations grow, they would require you to be in a better role to befit the position. You are aiming higher for sure feeling motivated but are you also doing the action’s on your part?
Here, whenever you have the doubts about your focus or efforts, please stop here for a moment, take a paper and pen as you’re reading and WRITE down answers to the following.
- Where is it that I want to be.
- What do I need to get there?
- Why do I want it?
- Factors of (Passion + Freedom to made decisions + Social aspirations.)
- Why did I started? What was I thinking when I thought of doing it at the first place?
- What would I do to get it. (Efforts and risk thresholds)
Once these questions are answered, you will have a better understanding of your reasons. Its reason and purpose that drives us, the actions we deliver and can make you do wonders.
3. Hustle
What would you define as your life struggles?
Transition is not your first. There are professional, personal and emotional situations that you are dealing on a regular basis and doing a really commendable job in doing that!
This perfection that you display needs some basic factors(Needs) and some advanced factors (Health/Education/Social Influence/ Exigensies) to be taken care of requires cashflow.
(Remember the part where we talked about many of us never encountering tight situations to know the cost of bailouts.)
This flow comes from a job/business
This Job/business requires experience for a successful profile according to your definitions of aspirations.
Which again requires you to start somewhere in order to get that experience. If you’re going for a business then adequate funds.
Now that may mean taking up a job lower than your caliber for now as you gain confidence about performing better in your field of choice which may or may not resonate inline with what excites you.
Hello? Are you the same guy who was ready to work in Domino’s or driving an Uber in Canada while you struggled your way up and here you’re having inhibitions of accepting that there are things to learn, things you might not know?
Are you the same guy who has had meals in mess-tins in fields, loved to live in a tent and was so happy about it?
You are a walking resource of low ego and High IQ!
Efforts focused towards attaining the end goal. Better Financial flexibility.
This may be debatable as we humans are wonderful creatures. We prioritize. I am sure you have seen many settling with a more easier and secure profile that makes more time available to spend with their families which can also be an end goal!
Happiness has its varied definitions that lie under the veil of perception and trust me none is wrong. Neither me nor you are qualified enough to define it for anyone else but yourself.
Now comes the most exciting part that is also my favorite part of the journey.
The journey itself.
Having understood the importance of Financial freedom, having defined what is enough (in your particular definition) and having written down all the dreams and aspirations, now we run through the execution part of our analysis.
4. Why Not?
Before we answer this simple question of why not, let me ask you some simple questions.
- What happens when you take a fit horse out to the open meadow ?
- What happens if you release a fish from aquarium to water?
- What happens if you release a falcon in the jungle?
You got the point I had to convey. You have mastered the art of taming a wild entity within you that is available to your service as you recall and summon it.
With all the courage and leadership instilled won’t it be a waste if you wouldn’t have a purpose worth sweating it out for? (More on purpose in the next article).
Let’s marinate purpose and passion with precision and positivism and call it “YourCreation #1”
So, we have needs & requirements to be taken care of, a high level vision of “YourCreation #1” , and the pathways in between.
If you’re contemplating on getting a 9-5 then you it is an indicator that you must get it.
The bottom line is , the show must go on.( Remember when we talked about how wonderfully you’re doing juggling all the roles!)
If you’re thinking too much about it, indicates you’re ill prepared and if you’re in the overconfidence of still thinking that you can hack anything without any preparation, why haven’t you already?
The truth hurts. It did to me too during our initial Rendez-Vous. The best part about it is it is the most real and beautiful thing you’d ever be revealed to. It demystifies things, breaks bubbles and helps you understand the need of preparation. Remember the quotes on the academy walls?
The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war.
You’ve been preparing all your lives knowingly or unknowingly and it is intilled as an art in your sub conscious. From preparing for exams in your school & colleges to preparing for your drill tests. From op demo’s to mission planning and from practice sorties to real time multinational exercises. You have done it already and practiced it on a regular basis more effectively than anyone else.
More so, just to recollect what you’re capable of, you’ve been working at a heightened sense of awareness in processes that have inherent risk and yet have come out victorious and successful countless no. of times. From staff college to gen tests, you’ve been studying throughout the career progression and the good news is most of the professional exams are multiple choice question based ! Easier than what you have already done times over in your career.
An actual advice from one of my mentors “Whenever I found myself in some soup, only studying has bailed me out.”
This is as real as it gets and hear it from the horse’s mouth.
Your PAST is past now and it’s a tough world outside. Look around yourself, open your eyes. Better B schools have higher fees and they return decent ROI. Higher certifications cost higher and are that much more credible. Not advocating costlier is better but emphasizing that the best investment you can do is on yourself. Upgrading yourself as a brand and adopting the principles of KaiZen (continous improvement).
The datum is not your past. Not even your peers but only yourself and the man who you promised you would be.
Actions : Prepare, Get a job, prepare, Work , IMPROVE, climb, SAVE.
Why save?
Remember the part where we talked about exigencies? Let’s now call upon our old friend passion here.
As you embark on this journey of self improvement, you need to know that the years invested in the process would also amount to your life. How would you say you lived enough?
What drives you?
Making a change?
Manifesting a dream?
An invention?
An instrument?
A sport?
Another side hustle?
A fit body?
An idea?
If you related to any one of the above questions, the news is that you’re still passionate about what excites you and have not lost yourself somewhere.
While it is so important to have something that excites you, something even more important is the ability to do something about it.
and as we discussed, the freedom in the world of exchange comes from what you have to offer. Monetarily mostly.
Its a trade off between time and ticks on your list.
Is it possible to have both?
This is the question to answer this question.
WHY NOT!
Just ensure the back bone is in place, adequate financial planning has gone into deciding the capital for what your passion is and efforts aligned to maximize both tangible and/or Intangible benefits out of it.
When the passion matures enough, is earning enough, it may even surpass your current paycheck while you are doing something that you always wanted to and still making more than a living out of it.
A reason this wouldn’t sound natural to us is because we are only dependent on one source of income throughout our lives. If your spouse is working then it can add up leading to your collective #couplegoals which extends beyond selfies. People are working full time and taking webinars/ working on a side business in off hours.Juggling companies and churning from all of them. Request remove any inhibition of what can be done because the only person putting a limitation to your possibilities would be you. It’s an open ocean of opportunities outside and its upto you to either get intimidated by the vastness or slowly learn the ways of the sea.
Shubham you’re being ironical here. On one side you say get a job and on the other you give me hopes of having my own venture. What to do?
Understand the flow.
- Financial planning done?
How much funds will it take to sustain your venture for 2 years without earning anything from it, if you start from scratch .
Find the figure and make it as a target that you would earn from your side hustles without touching the mainframe income. If the rules in the organisation restrict you from having multiple businesses, it wouldn’t harm to stoke the entrepreneur side of your spouse.
Get a job if you already not into one and run the shows parallel. Anyone complaining that you don’t have enough time please refer to my article here.
Time is created for things you’re passionate for, the way you did it for Golf.
An important aspect that can be touched here is reduction of productivity in multitasking which I firmly believe is a fact. I am not advocating multitasking but rather timeboxing.
Say if you’re on a job from 9-5 , I am absolutely not saying that this time is to be utilised anywhere else. This is the backbone, remember? Instead what I am saying is making good of the rest of the time in hand. Some midnight Oil? Mornings?
Study? Write ? work ?
Between the kids and spouses and meals and relaxing, there must be a window of time that can be more efficiently employed without wasting individual time boxes.
Passion would need hard work, dedication and resilience to sustain.
Make sure you find it.
With the back bone in place.
See you sometime with ” MyCreation 1“
Cheers!