Don’t look now, but summer’s over, and we’re heading into another fall that can feel like the start of yet another rat race. Back in college, I had a poster on my dorm wall that read, “The rat race is over. The rats won.” The message? Traditional markers of success, such as career advancement and financial gain, don’t always lead to real happiness or purpose.
I prefer a different view: get out there, set your goals, run your race and may the winner take the spoils. Michael Dell once shared a more inspiring perspective: “Business is a race without a finish line; you are never done.” He went on to say that you should pick a point on the horizon and keep moving toward it, or risk becoming obsolete, while planting hooks for innovation along the way. Most importantly, he reminded us that culture and shared vision matter most. We can go fast alone, but we go farther together.
Another wise advisor once told me, “They keep moving the goal every time I get close to the finish line.” We can see that as discouraging or as an invitation to keep growing, striving and seeking new goals.
When I sold my business, T3, a few years ago, reporters, friends, and colleagues kept asking about retirement. After all that hard work, hadn’t I earned a rest? My answer was simple: “Hell no!” I see life without a finish line. Recently, I spoke with a childhood friend, a rice farmer in Southeast Texas, who had just harvested this year’s crop. When asked when he would retire, his reply was, “I’ll retire when I die.”
Keep running toward whatever finish line gives your life meaning. It keeps you relevant, curious, engaged and reliant on others to see you through.
Running the race,
Gay Gaddis
Founder. Author. Artist. Trailblazer.
SIGN UP! Receive Gay’s blog posts in your inbox by joining her bi-monthly newsletter.