Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s new’ish CEO recently said in an interview about his long career at the company, that the best advice he ever received was from a mentor who told him that he should look at every job or position he currently holds like the one he was meant to be in all along.
“There is no other or better place for you right now. What you do, where you do it and how you do it is what is meant to be. Do your best.”
It is in stark contrast to how so many people I know see their lives. They seem to be continuously driven by what is next. The next role, the next promotion, the next job — the current position merely acts as a stepping stone to the next (big) thing.
I am admittedly guilty falling for this trap. When I reflect back on those moments, the points in time where I was more concerned about what’s next than what is in front of me, I generally was not doing my best work; the type of work I am unconditionally proud of. It is only when nothing mattered more than the here and now, that I produced work I proudly consider part of my legacy.
Where do you stand on this subject? And what would be different if the work you are doing is all that matters right now?