Marshall Goldsmith Teaches How To Live The Earned Life

Janice Lintz is on a mission to make the world equally accessible to those with hearing loss. While her list of achievements is impressive, she knows that she will never be able to reach every single company and organization. That does not mean she will not spend every day trying to move the needle. It is her aspiration.

In his latest book, The Earned Life, Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, the world’s number one

executive coach, beautifully illuminated the idea behind why some people achieve and others are stagnant. The answer lies within three variables: Action, Ambition, and Aspiration; the Triple-A.

Action

Action is what we are doing now. It is time-bound, serves our immediate needs, and usually is reactive; it is due to something that happened or didn't happen.

Ambition

This refers to what we want to achieve. Once again, this idea is time-bound, ending when we achieve our measurable goal. When you reach your ambition, you are enveloped with a feeling of happiness, which is fleeting and ends shortly after you achieve your goal.

Aspiration

This describes what we want to become. There is no clear finish line; it cannot be measured, and you can never actually achieve it, but you will work diligently and with great focus to make a dent in doing so. The aspiration is an expression of your higher purpose.

People are usually clear about their aspirations but vague about the action steps needed for their pursuit. It is why they never make any headway. However, you will not reach your full potential if you do not link your aspiration to action and ambition. “You need to enjoy what you are doing and do all three steps,” shares Goldsmith. “You should like what you are doing, it should be meaningful to you, and it fulfills a higher purpose. You enjoy the process as much as what you are achieving.” That is when you are on your road to fulfillment.

Take Janice Lintz. She wants to make every site throughout the world accessible to those with hearing loss (aspiration). She finds a location such as a museum, subway station, or pharmacy and formulates a plan to add induction loops into that location (ambition). She then repeatedly reaches out to their leadership, reviews the Americans with Disabilities Act, and teaches them how to make their location hearing accessible (action). Finally, she holds their hands step by step until the project is completed.

When she finally achieved hearing access in the NYC taxis, baseball stadiums, and the National Parks, she was excited, and her enthusiasm was contagious, but the celebration was short-lived. By the next morning, she was back at her desk working on the next project. She had checked off an ambition but still had a bigger aspiration.

Like success, with aspirations, you are never indeed done. You have never earned enough and feel there is always more you can do. It is about time we started living our own lives in place of the ones someone else dictated for us. The secret to finding fulfillment, according to Goldsmith, comes from connecting with and aspiring to something bigger than ourselves. Learning to let go of regret, anger, and mistakes will help lead to an earned life of fulfillment.

Instead of saying, “I’ll be happy when…”, Goldsmith walks you through actionable steps you can take to leave regret behind, overcome obstacles and live a fulfilling life. Now is the time to fill the gap between what you say you want to accomplish and what you achieve. Filled with stories from some of the world’s top leaders, Goldsmith expertly weaves guidance and gentle nudges to get you to take the reins of your life and drive it toward fulfillment. Heart, soul, and decades of experience with top CEOs make The Earned Life the perfect blueprint for those yet to feel fulfilled.