What Are Your Plans for the Next Decade? – ElPropósito4 min de lectura

Where do you want to be in ten years? How to picture it, build it and get there

Photo by Conner Baker on Unsplash

Ten years ago, as I was wrapping up my MBA, I pictured much of what I’ve achieved today, thanks to a lot of people. Back then I set short, medium and long-term goals. I had a fair sense of the paths to take and the two or three big areas to focus on. Read on to see what I’m about to do for the next decade.

The golden opportunity to set challenging, achievable goals aligned with our Life Purpose is just days away. Ten years sounds far off, yet 2010 felt the same, and in the blink of an eye we’re about to start a new decade. So the question is: what can I achieve in the next ten years?

First, to me life is no horse race. The only race is against ourselves, and it’s about finding meaning in what we do and reaching a unique sense of wellbeing no one else can fully grasp, as we fulfill hopes born deep inside. So the race is about blending passion for what we do with actions that feed that passion.

One of our many human abilities is imagination. The coming decade invites us to picture it and ask: what’s the best thing that could be happening to me when it ends? The answer becomes a set of hopes that show where we stand and the future we want. Seeing ourselves ten years out, after a "long" stretch whose course we set strategically TODAY, is a key decision in each of our hands, and the time is now.

Our next ability is building what we picture. The key is keeping our willpower up at every moment, and that willpower revolves around our Life Purpose and the pull each goal has on us. The meaning we give each action is what keeps us building the future and holding the pace through the storms. Finding the "why" in everything we do is what connects heart and mind.

The other big ability is answering this question: how will I know I’ve achieved what I want? We can set goals and make sure they revolve around our Life Purpose. Still, to be sure our daily effort is actually building toward them, we need a very specific way to measure success on each one.

The last question to round out your plans for the next decade is: what do I need today to get there? With that answer, we’ll know which resources to secure to set off down the path, or paths, that will take us to the end of the decade with a realistic plan, aligned with a Purpose and with great clarity about what we’ll have achieved.

So, what are your plans for the next decade? "If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." Confucius

Warm regards and all the best,

Rodrigo Baccaro

This week’s VELA:

• What I’ve been Viewing: Why the secret to success is setting the right goals. In line with this post, this TED Talk will show you which goals to set for the next decade, how to set them with confidence and what to expect.
• What I’ve been Listening to: How to love criticism. From the podcast of Adam Grant, a great writer and Wharton professor. I especially liked this one because, while facilitating workshops, I’ve sometimes come close to letting criticism get to me and giving up. Something deep inside tells me to keep going, and in this episode I found the mechanism I’d been using without realizing it: "improving mode". Give it a listen.
• What I’ve been Reading: Make empathy central to your company culture. A skill that can completely change how people in an organization communicate and the results they get. A great article, well worth reading.
• What I’ve been Learning: Bamboo fiber. This research caught my eye because of all the ways bamboo can be used. Its fiber as a cotton substitute is a game changer for the textile industry. Very good, and I recommend it.

Author: Rodrigo Baccaro

Linkedin