Long Term Goals

As I struggle through my Biology homework and wrestle with the tempting "just give it up, you've barely even started" thoughts, I stumbled across an email from Donald Miller. If you are unfamiliar, he is a Christian author and I have read a few of his books - he is a bit quirky (he is from Oregon after all... ;) but he writes from the heart and is quite the story teller.

His new book is Storyline and is all about finding the story of your life - do you like your story? Are you interested in where your story is going? If you are living the same thing, day after day, chances are your story will follow the same plot line now and 10 years from now...how about we change that. This appears to be the essence of his book, but it is on my wish list so I haven't had the chance to read it yet.

Regardless, I signed up to read the first chapter for free (still haven't read it...) and now I get inspiring emails from Mr. Miller. Today I decided to actually read one; it talks about peaking when you are older, as in 65. This was somewhat surprising but also overwhelmingly reassuring. I have WAY more time to "peak" if I aim for 65 - what's another 5 years changing my career? I'll still be UNDER 40, TONS of time! And if you feel stuck to settle for the current status quo, think about the long term - your longevity is not so limited and it could be refreshing to stop chasing trends, to consistently build into something and become great at something less than breakneck pace.

So here are the words of Donald Miller, focussing on leadership but I think it can easily apply to other arenas in life; take a peek and see if they might resonate with you as well:

Here are 4 (of many) ways to peak when you're older: 

1. Speak the Truth: This means losing the battle over owning the moment. The moment is rarely owned by truth. The moment is often owned by sensationalism, shock-jock comments and emotionalism. Become that trusted source people come to year after year. be concrete, not sand.

2. Produce something of Quality with Consistency: Production means working, actively creating something. Quality means taking your time and getting it right. Consistency means starting the next project the minute the last one is complete.

3. Find Your Niche: Are you a filmmaker, songwriter, an expert on global markets, a magician? Whatever it is, stick with it for the long haul. Get ten feet deep into a field rather than scattered across the top of the landscape. Know a lot about something. You are going to have to stay with something for a long time in order to peak when you're 65.

4. Make Long Term Plans: We love setting goals at Storyline, but what we're really about is understanding the big picture. It's great to make short-term goals, but short term goals without an epic narrative context means you'll be chasing your tail. Who do you want to be when you're 65? And does the to-do list you're working on today take you in that direction? This should be a daily question and answer you have with yourself.

Peaking when you're 65 means you don't have to panicked about minor setbacks today. Sure, your friends may have a better Facebook profile picture, or have a bigger project launch, but that's not the course you're on. You're thinking long term. You're thinking about a quality launch of product after product for the next 40 years. 

You are becoming tomorrows leader, not todays leader. And if you're already todays leader, start focusing on tomorrow because today is almost done. Either way, there's no downside to long-term vision. 

-Donald Miller