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

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.

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