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There is widespread assumption that work gets harder
after 40. But in most organizations, work gets
dramatically easier after 40. The responsibilities may
be heavier, but after 40 you should be valued for your
experience, know-how and judgment, rather than the
ability to work 18 hours every day. Most of the major
rewards of success ten to accumulate after the age of
40, that is, if you do the right things before that
watershed birthday. What are the right things ? First
of all, do your homework. Learn everything you need to
know about your business or profession before 40. I
learnt how to edit a manuscript, as well as the
rudiments of publishing, in my 30s. In short, I mastered
my business at the appropriate age and have simply gone
on to acquire more experience since. Burning the
midnight oil is okay at 20, perhaps even 30, but nobody
should have to lose sleep learning something new at
40-plus.
Next, develop your own style. Before you are 40,
learn what you are comfortable with, whether it is in
the way you dress or simply the small touches that set
you apart. You can experiment in your 20s and 30s, but
establish your own style firmly by the time you are 40.
No one appears more insecure than a man or woman trying
to redesign his or her 'look' midcareer, You like
suspenders ? Fine ! Make them your trademark. You work
better with fresh flowers on your desk ? Display them
every day. Put your emotional life in order, if
possible. It is a great help, when climbing toward the
higher rungs of the career ladder, to be happy in life,
rather to find yourself mired in emotional crises. It is
hard enough to succeed without taking on personal
problems that sap your energy and divert your attention.
Besides, unhappiness is like a disease -- it gradually
eclipses interest in everything else. Of course, all
difficulties can't be avoided, and one has to rise above
them; but those who have managed to put their personal
lives in order by the time they are 40 are generally in
better shape for success than those who have not. So, if
you are going to end a hopeless entanglement or get
married, do it -- before the problems drag on into the
fifth decade of your life. Know your weakness. Accept
the things you don't do well, can't stand, won't do. If
you are not comfortable with numbers, but enjoy creative
work, don't force yourself to sit in a numbers job
because it pays well or because it is what people
expect. Get into the kind of work you enjoy before you
are 40 or you're guaranteeing yourself an unhappy decade
or two after that age -- and probably destroying your
chance for real success. Make a start at putting away
your "I quit" money. Put away the first million you
make. That's your "I quit" money. Nothing is so
depressing as absolute dependency -- the knowledge that
you can't afford to quit your job or take a risk in
changing careers -- that you are stuck. Put enough away
so that you have a safety net. You may never use it but
sometimes the only appropriate response to a situation
is, "Gentlemen, I quit !" -- and you will hate yourself
if you are not in a position to say it. Lastly learn
to delegate. Many people don't -- can't do this, and are
thereby condemned to remain in subordinate position.
Delegation is half of success; a person who cannot
delegate will find himself fatally handicapped. By the
time you reach 40, you would better be an expert at it,
which means you have to pick the right people and trust
them. |
