As you leave behind your established career, it’s time to do work that matters. To some extent the work you’ve done matters. Even if you’ve been a worker on an assembly line it’s work that matters.
But in my mind, work that matters means specifically work that matters to you and to someone else. It’s work that makes the world a better place. And I’m of the opinion when we approach retirement age we ought to find a way to do work that we enjoy AND makes a positive difference in our world.
I’ve made this transition in my own life. My work in 30 years of being a senior pastor mattered. It was significant work. But that was then. If you’ve read my TRANSITION STORY you know the day came when I resigned. The big question for me, and for everyone who reaches a similar place in their journey, is this: Now what? And I’m fortunate I found work that matters deeply to me and to others.
So what about you? Will you do work that matters when you retire? Are you doing work that matters or have you decided that life is now all about you?
I have a suggestion. And the truth is most of you will ignore it. But for the small percentage of you who check out my suggestion, it could be a game-changer.
There’s a really smart guy named Seth Godin who has a lot to say about marketing and doing work that matters. Last week I stumbled upon a short ebook he wrote called, Brainwashed: 7 ways to Reinvent Yourself. Wow. He hit the bullseye.
Here are the opening lines from his book:
“Years ago, when you were about four years old, the system set out to persuade you of something that isn’t true. Not just persuade, but drill, practice, reinforce and, yes, brainwash. The mission: to teach you that you’re average…”
The book gives you hope as you think about reinventing your life and doing work that matters. It’s only 14 pages long. Here’s the best part: it’s free. No strings attached. No sales gimmick. It’s good solid information about reinventing yourself in this revolutionary age of technology.
Most of you will brush this off. I get it. But a couple of you will decide to read it. And if you do, you can thank me later!
It’s important that when you transition out of your established career that you do work that matters. That’s another way of saying that you need to ReFIRE your life. I remain convinced the rest of life can be the best of life.
If you read Brainwashed: 7 Ways to Reinvent Yourself I would love to have you leave a comment and tell me what you thought.