​When Someday Becomes Today

Last week was pretty incredible. The 10-Year Letter officially launched, Amazon sold through its initial inventory, my phone seemed to never stop, and I watched friends, clients, families, teams, and people I’ve never even met share something that means a lot to me. A couple of days later, the book reached #1 on Amazon. I’m not sure I’ve completely processed all of it yet. I’m incredibly proud of what happened and even more grateful for the people who made it happen. But somewhere in the middle of everything last week, I had a really simple thought: Now what?

I’ve probably been guilty of doing this too many times in my life. Accomplish something, celebrate for five minutes, and immediately start looking for the next mountain. I don’t want to do that this time. I want to enjoy this one. But it did get me thinking about how much of our lives we spend thinking about someday. Someday when the business hits the number. Someday when I make enough money. Someday when the kids are grown. Someday when I finish the race, get the position, take the trip, write the book, whatever it happens to be. We spend years imagining what it will feel like when we finally get there. And then one day, someday becomes today.

The strange part is that you wake up the next morning and you’re still you. There is another Monday coming. There are still decisions to make. And sometimes getting exactly what you wanted creates a question you weren’t expecting to have to answer: Is this still what I want?

I’ve watched people build businesses they once would have given anything to own and eventually realize they don’t want to run them anymore. I’ve watched people hit income numbers they thought would change everything and be surprised by how quickly the new number became normal. I’ve watched people work for years toward a position they were certain they wanted, only to get there and realize the life attached to it wasn’t what they expected. Nothing went wrong. They got what they wanted. That’s what makes this so interesting. Sometimes you actually arrive at the place you’ve been working toward, and you still have to decide what’s next.

I think there is a real danger in continuing to chase something simply because we started chasing it a long time ago. It doesn’t mean the original decision was wrong. It might have been exactly right. But I’m not the same person I was ten years ago, and neither are you. Life changes us. The things we go through, the people we love, the things we lose, and the things we accomplish change what matters. Yet we can keep running toward an old finish line without ever stopping long enough to ask whether we would still choose it today.

That might be the idea I can’t stop thinking about this week: choose it again.

If you still love the business you’ve built, choose it again. If you still love the life you’re living, choose it again. If the goal you’ve been chasing still lights you up, choose it again and go after it with everything you have. There is a huge difference between consciously choosing your life today and simply continuing the life you chose years ago. Sometimes the answer will be yes. Sometimes it won’t. Either answer is valuable if you’re willing to be honest enough to ask the question.

Last week, something I had dreamed about for a long time actually happened. I’m going to enjoy it. I’m going to be grateful for it. And when I’m ready, I’m going to look forward again and consciously decide what comes next. I don’t need another finish line immediately. I just want to make sure the next one is mine.

The most dangerous time to stop authoring your future might be right after you achieve something you once wrote into it.

So maybe the question this week isn’t “What’s next?” Maybe it’s simpler than that: What in your life would you still choose today?

And if the answer is yes, choose it again.

If you haven’t written your own 10-Year Letter yet, maybe this is your invitation to start. Pick up the book. Join us for a workshop. Start thinking about the future you actually want to create. You don’t need to have the next ten years figured out. There is real power in stopping long enough to decide what you want the next chapter to look like.

Write a future you’re excited to live.

Write a future you’re excited to live.

Ready to write yours? Get The 10-Year Letter book.