Ever think about the future? Sure you do. But ever think about your death? Maybe not.
Jim Collins, author of business blockbuster Good to Great suggests the following exercise. Imagine you wake up tomorrow morning and receive two phone calls. The first caller tells you that you've inherited $20 million, with no strings attached. Even with sterling's recent slump, that's still quite a lot of money. The second caller explains that you have no more than 10 years to live - you have a totally incurable, terminal disease.
What would you do differently? What would you start doing? And what would you stop doing?
In my latest book, Confidence, I use a variant of Collins' 20-10 test called The Tombstone Test. What would you like inscribed on your tombstone when you die? You can only choose one phrase. If you extrapolate your life forwards as it is now, would your epitaph in all honesty be positive and upbeat? Something along the lines of "He loved his family and career in equal measure" or "She was passionate in everything she did"? Or would it be something more mundane like "He advanced through the ranks of management because his friends seemed to be doing the same" or "She didn't enjoy her job a lot of the time but put up with it because it paid her too much for her to give up"?
It's a cliché to say that no one on their deathbed ever said "I wish I'd spent more time at the office" or "at least I hit my targets". But this is more than a philosophical debate about what might make you happy. Because happiness is highly underrated. Many people see it as a nice-to-have. That happiness is something that can be deferred until you've achieved certain career goals or earned enough to do what you really enjoy.
The fact is that study after study, whether done by business school professors, consultants, or researchers such as Jim Collins, point to the fact that the most successful people in life are happy in their work. High achievers have total passion and love for what they do. They can immerse themselves in their work and lose all track of time. They don't put up with it because it's a secure job or grit their teeth through it because it pays a lot or gives them respect amongst their peers.
So the simple truth is this. If you want to succeed in life, you need to be passionate about what you do. So. Are you passionate about what you do? If not, find something else to do. Because you will never be able to compete with the people who truly love the work.
Dr Rob Yeung is a Director and executive coach at leadership consulting firm Talentspace. He is the author of over a dozen career and management books including Confidence (Prentice Hall Life) and Successful Interviewing and Recruitment (part of The Sunday Times Creating Success series).
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