You're already naked

Steve Jobs once said: 

“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

There is no reason to not follow our hearts. Yet we often follow something or someone else than our hearts.

We do what we’re told, we do what we think is expected from us, we do what we think we should. 

Occasionally we stop and wonder: 

Is this it? Is this what I want my life to be like?

It’s not that we don’t want to follow our hearts. 

Sometimes we just don’t know what our hearts want.

It’s easy to say “follow your passion”, but if you don’t know what that is, it doesn’t matter if you have the guts to follow it.

My Timefinder Academy is helping each participant find and fly to their Ikigai, their life’s purpose.

You are welcome to join.

After all, you have nothing to lose.

You are already naked.

Read more about flying to your Ikigai here

Secure a happy ending

Last week my father attended the funeral of his sister, my aunt.

This week another one of my aunts will be buried.

They both died within one week.

Their deaths were of the kind we normally refer to as “natural”.

They were both in their eighties.

One of them died in her sleep, the other one in the hospital holding her oldest son’s hand.

Their husbands had already gone before them. 

Even so.

Whenever someone leaves this life, we are left with a hole in our everyday existence.

Depending on our beliefs about what happens when we die, the hole can feel smaller or bigger.

Apart from the feeling of loss, death gives us a reminder.

A reminder that there is no such thing as a happy ending to an unhappy journey.

A reminder that now is the time to be happy, now is the time to explore, now is the time to love.

Now is the time to start living happily ever after.

Do you have a reason to look ugly?

Niki Lauda’s “reason for looking ugly” was that he had been in accidents as a Formula 1 driver. 

I hope no one calls you ugly.

But maybe you get called something else from time to time?

Too hard, too kind, too fast, too slow...

One consequence of being a leader (and yes, every parent is also a leader) is that you stick out, you call the shots.

You may be the one taking the blame and the one making sure the whole team gets the credit.

To paraphrase Niki Lauda:

Leaders have a reason to be criticized.

What reason is that for you?

For doing too little, too much or just doing things differently?

Feedback is inevitable.

Welcome it.

Just make sure you get criticized for reasons you think are worth it.