top of page

Duct Tape, Spit, And Paper Clips Aren’t Best For Planning

  • Writer: Brainz Magazine
    Brainz Magazine
  • Feb 24, 2023
  • 2 min read

Written by: Janet Macaluso, Executive Contributor

Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.

I missed the American Super Bowl football game for the last five years of corporate life. It clashed with our annual leadership retreat in Europe.

toy duck covered in duct tape with paper clip on the side

This year's Superbowl had plenty of scrambling and gambling.


One thing I wouldn't gamble on, though, is my future.


Do you?


For my "First Half" of life, the nuns, parents, professors, internships, and benevolent bosses guided me.


But I secretly sketched out my Second Half over the last few years.


I wasn't leaving my precious future to duct tape, spit, and paper clips.


Since midlife is pivotal for determining the trajectory of growing older and bolder, I stacked the deck in my favor by self-authoring my vibrant next chapter.


Because according to the "Death Clock" (check it out if you dare) ...


I have four decades of life left!


Consider what author Bonnie Ware found when interviewing the dying.


They wished…

  1. I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me

  2. I hadn't worked so hard

  3. I'd had the courage to express my feelings

  4. I'd had stayed in touch with my friends

  5. I had let myself be happier

Are you consciously and deliberately designing your next play?


Consider Seneca's wisdom: Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.


If you want to learn about my structured, systemic, and research-based approach to your Best Future Self Now, check out here.

It's a 21st-century approach to living your legacy.


Deliberately design your Best Future Self Now rather leaving it to chance and circumstance.


Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Youtube and visit my website for more info!


Janet Macaluso, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine

After a 25-year corporate career developing executives, teams, and organizations, Janet founded Learning2LEAD, a Regenerative Leadership Development practice based in Cambridge, USA, and Malaga, Spain.


No stranger to personal regeneration, Janet reinvented herself from a college dropout to a flight attendant and aerobic instructor to an award-winning coach and global executive with three academic degrees.


Janet created Learning2LEAD to reflect on the life, legacy, and impact she wants to leave. Applying modern science and ancient wisdom, Janet stewards successful mid-life change-makers, leaders, and rabble-rousers ready to transform their "1st-half" successes into "2nd-half" significance.


Whether in virtual workshops or leadership hiking retreats in Spain, Janet nudges clients to move toward their Best Future Self Now ‒ so they can do the same for their people and places. Her mission: To Ban Average!

 
 

This article is published in collaboration with Brainz Magazine’s network of global experts, carefully selected to share real, valuable insights.

Article Image

Bitcoin in 2025 – What It Is and Why It’s Revolutionizing Everyday Finance

In a world where digital payments are the norm and economic uncertainty looms large, Bitcoin appears as a beacon of financial innovation. As of 2025, over 559 million people worldwide, 10% of the...

Article Image

3 Grounding Truths About Your Life Design

Have you ever had the sense that your life isn’t meant to be figured out, fixed, or forced, but remembered? Many people I work with aren’t lacking motivation, intelligence, or spiritual curiosity. What...

Article Image

Why It’s Time to Ditch New Year’s Resolutions in Midlife

It is 3 am. You are awake again, unsettled and restless for no reason that you can name. In the early morning darkness you reach for comfort and familiarity, but none comes.

Article Image

Happy New Year 2026 – A Letter to My Family, Humanity

Happy New Year, dear family! Yes, family. All of us. As a new year dawns on our small blue planet, my deepest wish for 2026 is simple. That humanity finally remembers that we are one big, wonderful family.

Article Image

We Don’t Need New Goals, We Need New Leaders

Sustainability doesn’t have a problem with ideas. It has a leadership crisis. Everywhere you look, conferences, reports, taskforces, and “thought leadership” panels, the organisations setting the...

Article Image

Why Focusing on Your Emotions Can Make Your New Year’s Resolutions Stick

We all know how it goes. On December 31st we are pumped, excited to start fresh in the new year. New goals, bold resolutions, or in some cases, a sense of defeat because we failed to achieve all the...

Strong Parents, Strong Kids – Why Fitness Is the Foundation of Family Health

How AI Predicts the Exact Content Your Audience Will Crave Next

Why Wellness Doesn’t Work When It’s Treated Like A Performance Metric

The Six-Letter Word That Saves Relationships – Repair

The Art of Not Rushing AI Adoption

Coming Home to Our Roots – The Blueprint That Shapes Us

3 Ways to Have Healthier, More Fulfilling Relationships

Why Schizophrenia Needs a New Definition Rooted in Biology

The Festive Miracle You Actually Need

bottom of page