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The ultimate way to meet your life goals

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This article was originally posted on Linkedin on 4 December 2018. Submissions for 2019 have been closed, however do drop an email if you are interested in future Life Compass programs!

Only a few minutes after I had opened the Bangkok Post on 15th of March 2003, I put it aside in total shock because of the following headline: “Procter & Gamble acquires Wella in a $7 Billion Deal.”

This news not only changed my life, but probably the lives of every single of my 17,000 Wella colleagues. For me, the years and months that followed felt like doing several MBA’s at the same time, as it not only meant relocating to Singapore, but also operating in a totally different working culture whilst learning new tools, systems, processes and acronyms every day.

Among the many new things, there was one tool that stood out for me: the OGSM, which stands for Objectives-Goals-Strategies-Measures.

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How Much Is Enough?

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Picture an idyllic Brazilian fishing village. Every day the men of the village go out to sea in their boats to catch fish. The sale of the fish provides a decent living, but none of the fishermen are rich. Or are they? Well, that depends on how you define rich. Whilst none of them has a lot of money, no one is getting stressed to the point of becoming ill either.

Over time this charming and peaceful village started to attract tourists, including Jack, an investment banker from New York, who is looking to escape the rat race for a while. One Morning Jack sees a fisherman rowing a small boat towards the shore with quite a good catch of fish aboard. Jack was very impressed and asked the fisherman how long it was to catch so many fish? The fisherman replies, “Oh, just a short while.” 

“Then why don’t you stay longer at sea and catch even more?” asked Jack. Without hesitating the fisherman replied: “This is enough to feed my family and give me the money I need.” Jack was puzzled and questioned further: “So, what do you do for the rest of the day?”

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Ready for your Forest-Gump Challenge?

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It was the 9th of June 2013 when I came down with a really high fever that forced me to stay in bed for several days. Looking back at how I was pushing myself, it is surprising that it had not happened earlier.

In my highly demanding “day-job” I was managing the Asia Supply-Chain of Procter & Gamble’s complex skin care business whilst attending online classes for my coaching certification at odd times such as 5am or 11pm. The coaching qualification also meant substantial homework combined with the requirement to clock more than 100 coaching hours.

Trying to juggle it all, my body said: “Stop”.

As I was sharing the “breakdown” experience with my mentor coach, she listened attentively and then asked whether she could give me a challenge.

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Two years no beers

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It’s March 2018 and multiple things happen which make me question my relationship with alcohol. I have been a social weekend drinker since I was probably 15 years old.  And you can bet I did not miss many weekends of partying or just enjoying some beers or glasses of wine along the way.

I would have never called myself an alcoholic, as I was fully functioning, but I did nearly burn down my parent’s kitchen once and got myself into some other minor troubles at times. Drinking will do that, but I always enjoyed that feeling of immediate relaxation, joy and relief when that first drink was running down my veins.

But the number of drinks gradually seemed to increase and when I did an actual count for March 2018, I estimated I’d had about 70 drinks. Probably still manageable, but given I was drinking only every 3-4 days, you can calculate that the number of drinks per session … maybe 7-9. That’s almost “Olympic material.”  And with those “Olympic performances” came the blackouts, which seem to increase during those weeks and month beginning 2018.

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There always is another option!

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Once upon a time, there was a small business owner who had a huge debt with a loan shark. Every month, the interest rates would increase and the burden of instalments threatened the good man with losing everything he had worked so hard for.

In an attempt to negotiate some relief, he went to the loan shark, who was an old, nasty, and remarkably ugly man. The loan shark listened, deceitfully nodding his head to the pleading of the business owner. It seems the loan shark had a single goal in mind … marrying the delightful, smart and beautiful young daughter of the business owner.

After the business owner stopped talking, the loan shark said, “I am happy to release your burden of the loan if you give me your daughter to marry.”

The business owner was devastated and begged to see if there could be any other solution to the situation.
“Well,” said the loan shark, “we could make it a fair gamble and see whether luck is on your side. Come to my house with your daughter tomorrow afternoon.”
The business owner did not know how to tell his daughter, but eventually put all is courage together and spoke to her. Her response was telling. “We will find a solution father.” She was focused on finding a solution, rather than dwelling on the seemingly hopeless nature of the problem.
The next day, the loan shark met the two in his garden. He said he would place two pebbles into a bag, one white and one black. The daughter would then have to reach into the bag and pick out a pebble.

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