The 95 year old me.

Today if finished reading Marshall Goldsmith’s What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. It was well worth the read. At the very end, on the very last page, Marshall leaves his readers truly thinking about where they are in their professional lives. His words washed over me in a most powerful way, especially in light of the recent lab closing.
Mashall conducted a research project in which 200 high-potential leaders from 120 companies were asked this simple question:
“If you stay in this company, why are you going to stay?” The three top answers were:
1. “I am finding meaning and happiness now. The work is exciting and I love what I am doing.”
2. “”I like the people. They are my friends. This feels like a team. It feels like a family. I could make more money working with other people, but I don’t want to leave the people here.”
3. “I can follow my dreams. This organization is giving me a chance to do what I really want to do in life.”
Marshall encourages us to ask ourselves questions from a view point of a 95 year old “us”. To look back from our old age selves at a life we hope to live. Then follow that dream to the future us.
The question foremost in my mind is why I am looking for another job with the same job description that I have now? Will I just be changing the address of where I work? If I use Marhsall formula above, number one no longer applies under my new circumstances.
In number two, all of my friends have been scattered to the four winds. Would changing address give me the opportunity to build a “new” family? A group of people I will look forward to supporting each day? There are no dreams left to follow as I see it now. Is my vision short sighted? Are there still opportunities here that I haven’t yet tapped? If there are, they are not readily evident. Number three then, is questionable. It is clear that there is no longer a love for my work that I had for several years. It’s time for a change. I want to make a contribution, feel that I am making a difference, using the skills I have to help a company grow. I need to find a company that allows me to follow my dreams. Under those circumstances, my new employer would need me to write. Content possibly?