In a blog post about looking toward the future, adapted from his new book The Earned Life, the renowned leadership expert and bestselling author Marshall Goldsmith talks about how it’s necessary to let the past go so that you can fully engage with transitions in your life.
“Building good habits helps us achieve our earned lives.”
Goldsmith writes: “Building good habits helps us achieve our earned lives. There’s no mystery to how we form a good habit. It’s a well-researched behavioral concept these days, commonly described as a three-step sequence of Stimulus, Response, and Outcome. My teachers in graduate school referred to it as the ABC sequence, for Antecedent, Behavior, and Consequence. I’ve heard others describe it as the Cause-Action-Effect sequence. Whatever the nomenclature, only the middle part of the sequence matters: our response (or behavior or action). That’s the part we can control and change. If we respond poorly every time to the same stimulus, we shouldn’t be surprised that we get the same disappointing outcome each time. Eventually, our poor response becomes predictable — we’ve acquired another poor habit. The only way to eliminate the new habit is to consciously change our response to the unchanging stimulus with better behavior.”
Kylian Mbappé, the renowned young French soccer star, has decided to remain with Paris Saint-Germain. He signed a new contract, one of the richest in soccer history, that will keep the French player at the club for the next three years. Paris Saint-Germain apparently offered a better contract than that which Réal Madrid had made to Mbappé. Its offer included a signing bonus of almost $140 million, a net salary of more than $26 million every season and complete control over his image rights. Now Mbappé will receive a higher base salary, among others. The Mbappé deal comes while the player is also building his off-field brand and creating his own profile.
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.
