Next Sunday, I’m turning 40.
And it feels like a pretty significant one, to tell the truth. Not just because it’s a landmark birthday, but because for many people it marks an inflection point:
- Is this when life ends?
- Or is this when life starts?
Both of these probably sound pretty hyperbolic, but hear me out.
For many people life “ends” at this point because it is roughly the moment where you realise that this is your life, for better or worse.
When you’re 23, you have no idea what things will be like in 10 years’ time. You don’t know who you’ll be with, where you’ll be living, what job you’ll be doing – it’s all still up for grabs. This is not true at 40. Probably you’ll be married. Maybe with kids. Settled in a particular location. And deep into a career that it’s too late to back out of.
This is it.
This is you.
And it’s that sense of finality that makes it feel like an “ending”. There’s nothing left to do now but wile away the years. The feeling of upward and forward trajectory has waned. They mystery is gone.
(Some of you might scoff at this but I’ve literally had people my age tell me that they’ve hit all the milestones they were expecting to hit, and now think there’s nothing left to do)
On the other side, you have Carl Jung.
He famously said “life really does begin at 40 – until then, you’re just doing research”. The idea here is that 0 – 40 were the low stakes years, where you were simply practicing for the true life you can lead after you’ve come to know yourself.
In other words, the journey starts now.
What do you think? Is this the end or the start?
Of course I know that you’ll all be furiously saying “the start!”, obviously. Me too. What kind of loser would say “the end”?
But be careful.
It’s easy to side with Jung rhetorically, but the facts are not on his side. Just wishing this does not make it so. The truth is that for most of us that feeling of upward trajectory does stop at this time.
Unless you do this one thing:
Set yourself an impossible challenge.
You see your pre-40 momentum and optimism comes from the fact that society sets certain “default challenges’ for you. Find a spouse, climb the career ladder, buy a house, etc.
You don’t need any imagination to strive for these things because they’re basically pre-installed.
The problem comes when you tick off these things (or reject them), and realise you have nothing left. The default challenges are complete, and nobody is going to set you another one.
The only escape therefore, is to create one for yourself.
And this is where Jung is right. You now have 40 years of experience to help you choose what that challenge should be.
The specifics of it are not important. All that matters is that:
- It suits you
- It excites you
- And it is far beyond you
That last one is key. Because it is that one that will force you to continue growing, and continue gambling, and continue exploring, at precisely the moment where it becomes easy to stop doing those things.
Whatever you choose, you do not need to achieve it. You probably never will. That’s not the point.
The point is simply to stay in the game, and to continue experiencing the vitality and mystery that younger people take for granted.
“OK that’s all very nice Alex, but what the hell does this have to do with strategy?”
I will tell you.
This is the true purpose of strategy.
Whether for a business or yourself, it is not about achieving such-and-such a goal. Maybe you will, maybe you won’t. That’s in the hands of fate, regardless of how clever you are. No, the true purpose is to give yourself an adventure while trying, and to fulfil the innate telos of the human animal; which is to create, to grow, and to strive.
Too much? Maybe.
I’ll admit, this is self-indulgent. But hey, it’s my birthday, so I’ll allow it.
Normal service will resume next week, but I guess all this is to say thanks for reading – and I’m just getting started.
