In a blog post related to how aspiration works for us, adapted from his new book The Earned Life, the renowned leadership expert and bestselling author Marshall Goldsmith talks about how aspiration helps us envision outcomes.
Goldsmith writes, “It’s only by aspiring to something—by enjoying, enduring, or despising the process—that we know which outcome we prefer. We must engage in the Aspirational experience in order to understand the fulfillment it will or won’t provide going forward. We cannot simply imagine it. It’s a simple dynamic, either way. In the best of cases, we learn to love the law as we aspire to become a lawyer. We become more devoted to the law and then become an even better lawyer.”
Aspiration can be a force for good. What Putin aspired to was domination, which is different. Things are not going well for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who has not had the outcome he has wanted in Ukraine. His faltering military seemed to have further restricted its goals, while NATO practiced war games with the alliance’s two newest applicants — Finland and Sweden — on his country’s doorstep.
In addition, President Putin’s own allies in Russia’s counterpart to NATO failed to rally around him at a summit meeting in Moscow, leading to what seems to be an increasingly isolated Kremlin in full display on Russia’s state-run television.
In The Earned Life Goldsmith uncovers the source of today’s existential crises, including regrets that stem from choices that irrevocably alter our lives, reroute destinies, and haunt our memories. These are particularly timely themes today.
With Goldsmith’s book as a guide, readers can close the gap between what they plan to achieve and what they actually get done—even in a world full of inescapable unfairness and curveballs—and live an earned life that is fulfilling in the long run.
You can read Marshall Goldsmith’s blog here.
About MARSHALL GOLDSMITH
Marshall Goldsmith has been recognized for years as the world’s leading executive coach and the New York Times bestselling author of many books, including What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, Mojo, and Triggers. He received his Ph.D. from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. In his coaching practice, Goldsmith has advised more than 200 major CEOs and their management teams. He and his wife live in Nashville, Tennessee.
About THE EARNED LIFE
In THE EARNED LIFE (Currency Books), Marshall Goldsmith uncovers the source of today’s existential crisis: regret, the kind stemming from choices that irrevocably alter our lives, reroutes destinies, and haunts our memories—particularly timely themes as the pandemic and Great Resignation inspire people to seek meaning in their lives, get unstuck and make changes. With this book as their guide, readers can close the gap between what they plan to achieve and what they actually get done—even in a world full of inescapable unfairness and curveballs—and live an earned life too fulfilling to dwell on the “what ifs.”
If you’d like more information on Marshall Goldsmith, The Earned Life, and his work, please get in touch with Lyda Goldsmith.
