The Trade (#320)
I spent December helping my Mom move to an assisted living facility, cleaning out her condominium, and selling her condominium. During one of our conversations, she casually said that she had retired as an executive when she was 54 years old. As she recounted, the company she was working for restructured in the spring and she decided it was time to leave. She said “I figured I would take the summer off and get a job in the fall. Well, 25 years later I still haven’t found that job.” Intuitively, I knew that she had stopped working early, but I didn’t realize she did it when she was 54!
Since I am 52 and her decision to retire early would happen to me in 2 years, this conversation really struck home with me. I think it also resonated with me in large part due to reading Lon Stroschein’s wonderful book The Trade: Moving from the Life You Have to the Life You Want, last summer.
The Trade: Moving from the Life You Have to the Life You Want
Lon Stroschein is the 40-something founder of Normal 40, a movement that inspires people, especially men, to envision their future and develop the tools to achieve it. Lon quit his corporate job in 2022. Without a resume or business plan he started helping other mid-career leaders try to find what they want out of life and set themselves on the course to achieve it.
The premise of The Trade is to help anyone who has asked the question of themselves of “What am I doing with my life?,” “Is this the best that it can be?,” or “Am I settling?” Lon helps people asks those questions, discover what truly matters, and then take action on it. In addition to the book, Lon offers one-on-one sessions that he calls “rambles” where he helps you discover your true path. The ramble uses six questions to help you explore your path:
Do you plan to do the same work in five years?
Do you know exactly what you want in five years? What is that?
Is your partner/spouse aware?
Is the best work of your life in front of you?
Do you get to use your core gift/skills every day?
Other than money, what are three reasons that you should maintain the status quo?
Powerful stuff. And great questions to ask at any age.
The Trade’s Life Clock
Lon also introduced me to his concept of a life clock. It’s a great way to think about your life and where you are at. From 00:01 to 3:00 on the clock, Lon terms it the inheritance stage of life. This is your life from birth to age 21. This time is where you take what you receive from your parents and make the most of it. You begin making decisions around age 16 which set the path of the next stage of your life. From 3:01 to 6:00, Stroschein calls it the endowment. This corresponds from age 22 to 42. This time in your life is where you are learning, growing, and laying the foundation for the rest of your life. You make decisions about college, a career, a place to live, and a family. From 6:01 to 9:00, he calls it half time. This is from age 43 to 63. At halftime there is a decision — will you continue living the life you led from 22-42 or will you chart a future that brings new challenges and fulfilment? Is the second half about playing defense or going on offense? It’s a great question to ponder. Finally from 9:01 to 12:00 Lon calls it the Legacy. This roughly happens from age 64 to 84. Your legacy is, of course, what you leave behind. What did your life’s work look like? What did you leave behind for family and friends?
Since I am 52 I am around 7:30 in the course of an 84 year lifetime. What am I going to do with the last 4:30 on the clock? As Andy Dufresne (played by the great Tim Robbins) said in the fantastic movie Shawshank Redemption, “I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living, or get busy dying.” Where are you on life’s clock? Are you busy living? I continue to push forward and try new challenges. For example, I just started working on book #2 — on better planning process for business groups.
Conclusion
Are you unsatisfied with your job? Unsatisfied with your career? Unsatisfied with your life? TFCG’s executive coaching program can help you sort through these tough problems while you chart a new path for you, your family, and your career. Hit one of the buttons below to see if TFCG can help you in the same way it has helped hundreds of others.
In the meantime, go on the offensive and use some of Lon’s ideas to re-examine your life and your career. Or check out Lon’s great website here — Normal40.