The purpose of the book is to help us think and act in the long term.
I like Dorie’s style, it’s easy to read. She illustrates the messages with a lot of examples.
The Long Game is full of ideas. I focus on 4 of them.
1/I just wish I had the time to think.
The author defines strategic thinking as the ability to intentionally focus on long-term priorities as a key to success.
It seems that 97% of executives think it’s a primary skill and activity.
The problem?
96% say they don’t have time to do it.
And I guess the stats aren’t that different when it comes to our personal lives. Everyone agrees on the importance of working on their long-term goals, but so few do it.
Dorie also reminds us how uncomfortable it is to think in the long term. It’s scary, it asks us to change, to start over…
And for the time aspect David Allen the personal organization expert gives a lead. (How to build your weekly review?)
“You don’t need time to have a good idea. You need space. And you can’t think appropriately if you don’t have space in your head. It takes zero time to have an innovative idea or to make a decision, but if you don’t have psychic space, those things are not necessarily impossible, but they’re suboptimal.”
For me, the best way to create this space is to block out time in your agenda for yourself.
2/ Strategic patience. Are you willing to do the work despite no guaranteed outcome?
Strategic patience is the ability to do things over a long period without knowing if it will pay off.
How long is that?
- 2-3 years to start seeing raindrops
- 5 years to start being recognized as an expert.
I’m two years in with the blog and I feel the first drops. I am booked for the next two months for my coaching activities. 😀
I like this example from Bezos who is quoted by the author.
“If everything you do needs to work on a three-year time horizon, then you’re competing against a lot of people. But if you’re willing to invest on a seven-year time horizon, you’re now competing against a fraction of those people, because very few companies are willing to do that. Just by lengthening the time horizon, you can engage in endeavors that you could never otherwise pursue.”
When we think long-term, we have to make peace with the fact that most of our time is spent in the “deception phase”. Not enough new clients, not enough readers, not enough interest return to live on…
And despite everything, continue by finding pleasure in the process.
To do so, it’s better to find a project we like…
3/What to commit to?
Figuring out what you want to do is often scary.
The cultural script pushes us to optimize for money.
“Midlife crisis happens when the cultural scripts end but we fail to write a new story for ourselves”
—Hero On A Mission: A Path To A Meaningful Life By Donald Miller
Dorie proposes to optimize for meaning and gives us some keys:
- Always test before you leap. Spend time with a friend who does the job. Test with real prospects (even for free) before starting a two-year training. Invest 20% of your time in a new activity that inspires you.
- Analyze how you spend your current time: What energizes you, what drains you…
- Find out what motivated you in the past.
- Ask yourself the question “Who do I want to be? “. Every activity transforms you. If you know who you want to become, the activities you choose are vehicles to accompany you in your transformation. Writing and coaching are my two vehicles to help me become the best version of myself.
4/How not to explode on the way?
When you do find what you love (and sometimes even when you don’t), you tend to spend all your time on it.
The author reminds us that to last, you have to give yourself time.
“If you’re not able to stop at a consistent time each day, you’re not ready for the marathon.”
It’s straightforward but it’s crucial. Michael Hyatt in his book Win at Work and Succeed at Life gives three constraints that allow to last…
- I start at X and not before
- I finish at X and not after.
- I don’t work on weekends.
What are your constraints? (Want to be more productive and happy? Try these 3 constraints.)
Conclusion
Thinking long-term is key to finding success and meaning in your life.
This book is full of practical ideas to improve this skill.
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