In this moment when professionals everywhere are rethinking their lives, careers, and what’s most important, the message to enrich resonates. Take advantage of it.
The pandemic proves the urgency of financial security and creating optionality at work and in life. Everyone wants financial security, but few have it. Most people do not start to create financial security until they hit their 50’s, and then that may be too late. I’m surprised, sometimes even shocked, by the number of successful professionals who equate job security and financial security. I’m also surprised how dependent people are, even high earners, upon paychecks that are tenuous. That is so dangerous, especially in the current economic climate. 2020’s economic contagion highlights the defensive rationale for accelerating financial security. But there’s also an empowering offensive reason to accelerate financial security, and that’s the ability to live and work on your terms. When work becomes an option and not an obligation, that changes everything, including the mindset toward work itself.
For many people, work came home this year. And now it’s staying, perhaps for a long time. When work and home converge and the commute involves going from the couch to the kitchen table, that creates a whole host of challenges to keep a career from spilling into life. And that creates a renewed urgency to demarcate work from life.
A major theme of ENRICH is the importance of living intentionally toward what’s most important. It’s easy to feel that life is out of control, and events are beyond your control. It’s natural to feel the victim. Especially in a pandemic, when our lives, livelihoods and lifestyles have turned upside down, it’s critical to be intentional about the choices we make and the actions we take every day. Acting with intention puts you in control of your time. And when you control your time, you control your life.