Which regrets will you have?

About eight years ago, after a 20+ year career in the financial industry working mostly 12-14 hours a day with the occasional weekend thrown in, I decided it was time to move on.  I had achieved lots of success.  I had been honored and recognized nationally.  I had accomplished everything that I had set out to do.

I had also paid a price. My first marriage had lasted barely 5 years.  My once invincible health had deteriorated thanks to the stress that I had put myself under.

My second and possibly third wakeup call to move on came with the announcement that my second wife was pregnant.  I was going to be a dad.

Everyone gets a wakeup call that our lives need to change.  Some of us hear it and some of us ignore it and plunge stubbornly forward, despite health struggles and relationships disasters, and stressed out personal lives.  I know all about that.

Millions of us sacrifice precious years of our lives in the pursuit of financial and career success to the  corporate machine.  I have watched it suck the life out of countless employees.  I have seen young men die of stress in their early 30’s and 40’s leaving crushed families behind.

What do you want your life to be about? 

If you love your job or career today, you are in the clear minority.  All of the data points to incredible levels of dissatisfied and unhappy workers.  As a society we are more stressed than ever.

A client once told me that his biggest regret was realizing that he had sacrificed so much of himself in order to achieve the financial goals of his company.  He was on his third marriage, had no real friends, didn’t really know his children, and was on five different medications to keep health issues in check.

He had forgotten who he really was.  He had lost an important part of himself while he was slashing hundreds of loyal long term employees jobs in the pressures of narrowing profits.  Inevitably he himself was cut from the payroll after 17 years of “doing their dirty work”.   He had become a shell of himself.

Here are a few questions to ponder:

What lights you up?   What makes your heart sing?   What are you doing that causes time to fly by?

Have you had a wakeup call that you have ignored?  Sometimes we get a second chance.

True Life Success is much more than money:

It’s living fully, having fulfilling loving relationships, and knowing you are making a difference.  Adding vibrant health and energy, along with a sense of gratitude, and you wake up happy and joyful every day, ready for the adventures that you are creating.

Are you spending your time doing what’s truly most important to you?  Are you sacrificing overall life success in the pursuit of money?  It’s your life, you do get to decide.

Is it time to write a new story about the rest of your life?  It’s just a choice.  Your choice.