In his book Aspire, author Kevin Hall talks about Gerald Bell, a professor at University of North Carolina who conducted a survey studying the lives of 4000 retired executives.
One of the questions he asked was: If you could live your life over again, what you do differently?
Their top response, Hall writes, ranked far ahead of all the others. It was: I should taken charge of my life and set my goals earlier.
(By the way, in case you’re interested, the other answers in the survey were:
2) Taken better care of my health.
3) Managed money better.
4) Spent more time with family.
5) Spent more time on personal development.
6) Had more fun.
7) Planned my career better.
8) Given more back.
Also by the way, Gerald Bell co-wrote the best-selling book with Dean Smith called The Carolina Way, about UNC basketball.)
Back to the survey. What can it teach us?
Maybe one of the eight most common responses resonates with you. Or maybe you’ve got your own number one answer. Either way, it’s not to late to correct your course.
You can start taking better care of your health today.
Or giving back more.
Or putting greater focus on those who are closest to you.
Or taking charge of the life in which God has made you a steward.
No point in waiting until after retirement to identify your life’s greatest should-have … unless, of course, you’re already retired — and then there’s no point in waiting one more day to begin living each day according to what matters most.
One more by-the-way: This phrase, If I Had It To Do All Over Again, is best summarized in this song by Dallas Holm.
