There was a recent UK Financial Times essay entitled “Knowing what you want is the ultimate life skill.” I love that. We spend so much of our first half of adulthood taste-testing the pu pu platter of life based upon conventional wisdom, community pressure, and family obligation. No wonder we make so many ill-guided decisions about love, work, family, and friends up through our 40s.

I’ll quote the Financial Times writer Janan Ganesh, “Knowing what you want is the ultimate life skill. It is worth more than talent or hard work. It is almost worth as much as luck. Have it, and disappointment is still probable, but on your own terms. Lack it, and you will be done to and acted upon.”

As I’ve said before, it’s ironic that just when we get comfortable in our skin, it starts to sag, which is today’s reminder that what’s truly valuable in life is what’s inside, not what’s outside, or in the words of Socrates, "To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom." And, might I add, happiness.

P.S. Let’s talk about how we can deepen connections with family and friends this holiday season.

Join me, Michael Hebb, Alice Waters, Bruce Feiler, and Monica Guzman on Tuesday, November 22 @ 1pm PT / 4pm ET for a free Live Fireside Chat where we will share insights and tools to help elevate conversations around the holiday table.

Register to attend: http://bit.ly/3EqnUzh