A Letter To My Younger Self

I recently wrote an article that was structured as if my future self was writing a letter back in time to my present self. Just going through the exercise of writing that article was extremely helpful (and convicting!) to me and caused me to make some significant changes in my priorities and routines. In an effort to help others in a similar way, I thought I would write another letter of advice. This one is from the present me and I am writing to my younger self!

Looking For Advice?

To be clear, I am writing this letter to anyone who is just getting started in a new career (or a fresh start) and is looking for advice. In the interest of time and space, I am only addressing work life. Clearly, there is much more to consider than just work, but I will save that for another time.

If you are someone who prides themselves on learning from the mistakes of others, always looking for ways to improve and gain wisdom before those around you – then this letter is for you! I hope that describes everyone reading this post. If this does not describe you…then why not? It should!

Anyway, I offer this letter to anyone who can gain from it. I offer it after spending the past 25 years absorbing and figuring out the wisdom I believe in contained here. Your mileage may vary, but I believe there is incredible information here if you are willing to apply it where you are now. Good luck…I believe in you!

Letter to My Younger Self

Dear Chris,
I hope this letter finds you doing well. If I have gauged it correctly, you are just starting out in your career and you have a lot to learn. You are excited about your new job, but you also have some anxiety over making sure you meet and exceed expectations – both those of your new boss AND your own.

I want you to know that if you apply yourself and work hard, you will do well. At the same time, if you will seek out those wiser and more experienced than you and learn from them, you will do even better. Don’t make the mistake of trying to do it all on your own. You will fall short of your potential if you will not leverage the wisdom and insights of others who are further down this path than you are.

Since I have already lived your path for the past 25 years, I believe I have some very simple, but meaningful advice for you. Please, do us both a favor and heed my advice. You will not be sorry!

Determine Your “Why?”

First things first. Let me cut to the chase – you need to determine your “Why?”. You need to stop right now and take the time to figure out what it is that drives you to do what you do. Answer the questions, “Why was I created?” and “What are God’s purposes for me?” Answering these questions should drive everything you do from now on.

Blindly going from place to place, experience to experience, without an overriding clear purpose for your life – this will only bring regrets and wasted time. Start with this and do not move on until you have determined your answer to “Why?”.

Know Your Place in God’s Story

Once you determine your “Why?”, you have probably already figured out the next piece of advice I have. Even so, it bears including here. Knowing your “Why?” is a great start, but you must make sure you frame it within the bigger picture of God’s story.

As you read the Bible, you see His unfolding story. You are a part of that story! You are privileged to be created in His image and for a specific purpose, but don’t forget it is still His story – not yours! As long as you can keep this in mind, you will have peace.

Schedule Your Learning

Moving on to the next nugget, you must have a learning spirit. At whatever point you begin to believe you have it all figured out or you have very little left to learn, you are in serious trouble. Just as bad is the attitude that learning is too hard or that you don’t have time for it. These are deadly mindsets.

You must carve out a certain amount of time every week for “sharpening your saw” and gaining new knowledge and insights. Schedule this time on your calendar or it will never happen. Set it up so that this time is sacred and cannot be violated by anyone (other than your family!) or anything. Schedule everything else around this time and you will stick to it. This will be some of your most valuable time every week!

Your goal in this learning is to become an (humble) expert in your field. If you are going to fulfill your purposes in this life, you do not have the luxury of waiting for the learning to come to you. You have to seek it out!

Seek Mentors and Models

While you are doing this, you also need to seek out older, wiser mentors and those who are modeling the life you want to live. Seek them out and ask for their guidance. You will be amazed how many will jump at the chance to pour into someone like you – especially if you are respectful of their time.

This means following their advice (when confirmed by prayer), regardless of the discomfort or difficulty. Asking their advice and then doing your own thing every time will only waste their efforts. They won’t stay on that path very long!

Set Serious Goals

As you do this, you are going to flow right into the next area of advice. You have heard about setting goals all of your life. I believe it is a critical element in your foundation for success. You should set time aside at the end of every year to lay out your serious goals for the upcoming year. Spread these goals across all areas of your life.

These are NOT resolutions. They are goals that you will commit to hitting. You need to set these goals and then begin making plans that will lead you to achieve them. Break them down into steps, but never stop working to make progress in each. Make sure you have a written “Why?” for each one. This will revive your motivation when your energy starts to wane.

Enlist Accountability

A critical part of setting and achieving your goals will be the accountability you put in place. My best experience has come when I have a regular meeting (monthly) with a handful of like-minded, goal-setting peers to discuss progress, encourage each other, and give a kick in the pants when needed!

Take Risks, Learn From Mistakes

There is something else that is related to goals, but should not be limited to the goal setting process. You need to learn to take risks. I am not talking about outright recipes for disaster, but healthy, calculated risks. Too often, we play it safe in life so we avoid failure or embarrassment. This is crazy!

Life is an adventure! Get out there and take some risks. Go into an area of the business that scares you a little. Take an educated gamble and put the deal together! Step out and learn something new at the risk of being embarrassed at your lack of knowledge. I promise, you will look back at these risks and be thankful you tried. You will also learn from your mistakes this way!

Follow Your Heart

My final advice is some I just received from a mentor of my own recently. He said for me to follow my heart. He qualified this advice by saying that I must first be certain that my heart is in God’s hands and seeking His purposes for me. But if that is true, I am free to follow my heart!

Praying that you heed my advice,

Chris

What advice would you give your younger self?

Is there any of this advice you still need to take?

photo by Dan Buczynski