A couple of days ago I got this tweet from @dangoldesq (you can click on the screenshot, captured from CoTweet, to enlarge.)

After I got over the initial giddiness of being asked, included in such awesome company, and be called a GTD guru, I read Daniel’s post and spend a bit of time thinking about the question he ends the post with: “…have you set these [50K] goals and if so, how did you do it? If not, what’s stopping you?”  

When I work with clients who are struggling with the highest horizons of focus (in GTD terms, 50,000 feet), I work with them first to identify consistent, persistent, deeply heartfelt dreams. If an idea pops into your head but doesn’t persist, that’s often a sign that it’s not truly what Howard Thurman refers to as “the sound of the genuine.” One way of learning to listen for and recognizing the sound of your genuine is to cultivate an awareness of what you daydream about. Daydreams can provide windows into what 50K–that “big why”–is for you especially when you identify consistent themes or threads that tie your dreams together.

As you might guess, identifying what your daydreams are suggesting takes some time and as Daniel points out, there’s life and all that goes with it, getting in the way. Even in the busiest of lives, you can still find time to listen for your genuine. I tell people all the time (harp on it, some might say) that you can cultivate your “default mode network” as a means of hearing yourself think, so to speak. (You can read more how to do that here.).

Another way of thinking about 50K may also be to think of it as a time horizon beyond the length of your own life. While it’s sometimes hard to think about dying and not being here anymore, the truth is that all of us will pass on. The “big why” can be thought of, then, as what lives on after you. It’s your contribution to future generations. That might be in the lives of your children, in the causes you supported, or in some legacy you leave behind. By thinking of 50K this way, it can be more easily tied to the “next action” thinking because it gives you a clear path to doing something right now, from making a loan on Kiva to setting aside some father-kid time that will be special and memorable for you both.

In the end, the most important thing to remember is that life is short and fragile and precious. Yes, there are so many urgent things that get our attention yet, in the end, what will be remembered or said about us will be lines like beloved father…or wife…or daughter….or friend. Your investment in those relationships are the most important next actions of them all.

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Wow! Can it really be ThankGoodnessIt’sFeedbackFriday? Woohoo!

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