Tag Archives: forte

Relaunching Yourself At 40

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Dreading your 40th birthday? I did. But I survived and even thrived because I practiced one of the most critical leadership skills: framing the problem or issue so you can better cope with it, learn from it and grow because of it.

What if I saw myself at 40 stepping onto a launching pad rather than onto a guillotine?

A launching pad? How absurd!

Tell that to Jules Verne, the visionary author who saw deep into the heavens (From the Earth to the Moon), deep into the sea (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea), deep into the center of the earth (Journey Into The Center of the Earth) and deep into the center of me. At least it seemed that way.

(This is adapted from Mint 3 in
THINKING Like a Leader,
Featuring 77 Leadership Mints).

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Are You Turning Forty or Forte?

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By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to help you better cope with a perceived personal crisis. Reading time: 3:57.

Dreading your 40th birthday? I sure did. But I survived and even thrived because I practiced one of the most critical leadership skills: framing the problem or issue so you can better solve it.

Even if you’ve already turned the BIG 4-0, this framing concept can work for you.

Let’s examine the problem of turning 40 as initially presented: Sure, I was getting older. But, could I also be getting stronger? You decide. Here’s how I framed the issue.

At 40, I thought of myself stepping onto a launching pad — not onto a guillotine. A launching pad? Where did I get an absurd idea like that? From a visionary author who saw deep into the heavens, deep into the sea and deep into the center of the earth.

Jules Verne helped me see deeper into the center of me.

There on page 117 in his book From the Earth to the Moon, Jules Verne is describing the first manned moon launching 104 years before Neil Armstrong.

38…39…40 Blast Off

And significantly - even poignantly - Jules Verne launches his man to the moon with a count UP …38…39…

You guessed it. At the count of 40, the rocket ignites, propelling the fictional astronaut to go higher, faster and farther than any other human has gone before -to the moon. Blast off! At 40!! Continue reading →