One of my mentors wrote a wonderful blog post this morning reminding people the only two days that really matter in life are today and three years from now.
I think of that often when wondering what my life would be like today if only I had made the changes I needed to make three years ago and put in the work necessary to advance my plan. I am certain my life would look drastically different.
If I had changed just one thing in my life, then everything else likely would have changed, too.
Three years ago last Friday marked the third anniversary of when I shut down my former business, RV Daily Report. My passion for pursuing a daily newsletter for RV-related business owners had diminished greatly and there was no longer any joy in the job.
It would be easy to say I should have launched Forward From 50 three years ago. Then the platform would be operating at peak efficiency today and I would have been able to change many other lives in the process, including my own. Yet, it would have been impossible for me to have begun this venture three years ago.
I had to go through a dark period where I struggled with identifying a purpose for my life. That was the only way I would have truly understood what others over 50 are experiencing in discerning a purpose for their lives. Yet, there are steps I could have taken three years ago that would have put me in a better position today. I could have:
- Read more books
- Listened to more podcasts
- Taken more courses
- Established more connections
All of those things would have better prepared me for what I’m doing today — or something entirely different. Instead, I wallowed in self-doubt and self-pity. I went through the motions of doing just enough work to keep me fed and the bills paid. I lived day-by-day with little thought to what the future would hold.
Like the old saying goes, what’s the best time to plant a tree? Twenty years ago. What’s the second-best time? Today.
In his blog, Vincent Pugliese describes why he thinks today is important. First, if you don’t have to work out of desperation, then you shouldn’t need much.
“Can I buy food? Sure. Can I pay the bills today? Yup. So today is good. If today is only one of the two days that matter, we are already halfway there,” Vincent wrote. “There’s no need to stress, act out of character or do anything desperate that compromises our integrity.”
If everything is good in your life today, then the next most-important day is June 27, 2025. That’s because if your actions today are focused on making three years from today exceptional, then those actions will influence what your future looks like when it arrives.
Yes, you could binge watch another television series today and the first step on a three-year journey will comfortably pass by with no added stress or concern. However, if you invest time today in hopes that June 27, 2025, will be significantly better than it is today, then you are almost assured of that outcome.
Of course, something unexpected could throw a wrench in the plan. There are 10,000 things beyond your control that can thwart whatever plans you make today.
But, if you chose to do nothing different today, you are absolutely assured that nothing in your life will change for the better three years from now. If nothing changes, then nothing changes. If you’re standing still, you’re actually moving backward as the rest of the world advances.
Those are cliche sayings, but true nonetheless.
You don’t need to fully understand your purpose to get started on a better life today. Like I noted before, you can work to improve yourself and learn new skills. Like Vincent advocates, you can freely give of yourself today to build a powerful network long before you need it three years from now.
I cringe when I think of all the time I wasted in isolation after the world shut down for COVID. There was so much I could have done back then that would have had a dramatic, positive effect on my life today. But, I chose comfort and convenience over challenge and growth.
That being said, there is certainly something I can do today that will bear fruit three years from now. You can too. Changing one thing today changes everything in the future.
You can read Vicent’s full blog at www.totallifefreedom.com.
After closing his business and enduring several painful years of uncertainty regarding what to do with his life, Greg founded Forward From 50 to help men and women over 50 to live more purposeful lives by pursuing things they are passionate about. A Wisconsin native, Greg currently lives in Arizona.