If you have been on Instagram for a while, you probably would have come across videos of Simon Squibb. He is the one who walks around asking people what their dream are or he will be asking if people would want to read his book “What is Your Dream?”
There are sceptics who are wondering if he is for real, if he really means what he says. I am curious as well. So I did some research on who Simon is. Turns out – he does not need to do any of these but he does it because he really want to help others. I found that that he started off homeless and is now worth over $600M because he sold one of his many companies he founded to PwC. Now, he is on a mission to help others do the same.
I don’t have $600M in my bank account (not many people do), but I guess we can help others as well with the little that we have. So I decided to do something different in the project management class that I teach at Agilent Technologies. Rather than focusing on just work-related projects, I offered the class an opportunity to work on personal projects. These are the ones related to activities outside of work that will help improve one’s lives for the better.
To my dismay, after conducting the classes for years (over a decade), the take up rate is low. Prior to the class, I will send out a message asking the participants to come with a project in mind…most come with no projects in mind (they are just there to listen to me talk), with a small percentage asking how to resolve the current (work) project issues. Less than 10 came with personal improvement projects.
Is it because the participants are super contented with life? Or is it because they could not care less? Or, in my opinion is the most likely scenario, that there is no guidance on what the future holds? We probably have been spoon-fed in school (or by our parents) that when left on our own, we are just happy to accept what life is giving us. Either that, or we spend too much time on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok.
In my 20s, the lunch talk revolves around getting that job that pays $10,000 per month. In my 30s, we start talking about our children, and in my 40s when people are moving to leadership positions, we start talking about our health and what other dreams we have that we have achieved now that we have the finances to do it. In our 50s, we start talking about retirement and how much money we need to retire early, if possible.
Let us embark on a journey of self improvement. I will take as a guide the chart proposed in book “Living Forward” by Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy, to explore the various things we can do to be a better person.
I invite you to join me…
