The system has failed you, don’t fail yourself.
– Billy Bragg
Five Years. Not a lot. But, what if it’s all you’ve got?
For some, even making a 5-year plan is unfathomable.
Look back at a plan, a company, a lifetime in a 5-year chunk. Is it easily delimited into neat segments that flow from one to the next? Or, are there vague transitions and unclear origins where one ends and another begins?
With the speed of innovation and technology advancements mixed with rapidly changing tastes & trends, does it even make sense to have a 5-year plan? Perhaps 5 months is more suitable?
When I applied to college, 4 years at one school seemed such a long time and I could not envision what I would be — wanted to be — doing one year after graduation.
Most applications I prepared included well-structured, humdrum, and uninspired personal essays that were what I (or my parents) thought admissions committees would want to read.
I bargained with my parents that for the last application, I would submit something entirely personal and of my choosing. I had already sent off a half-dozen applications to a mix of “safety” and “long-shot” schools and the last one was also thought to be a slim chance of getting in so they so have at it!
David Bowie’s song “Five Years” is what I analyzed for my essay and framed from the perspective of a high school senior facing an uncertain future (not necessarily the end of the world as the song declares).
Last essay written; last application sent; first acceptance letter received.
I started that fall at the University of Chicago and after the Common Core, I thought I’d be an English or Humanities major. Five years later I was a researcher in transplant surgery & immunology.
David Bowie wanted to be famous and he saw music as his best option. I do not know if he set milestones or specific goals but I tend to think he was more driven by curiosity, creativity, and willingness to change and allowed that to shape any plan — five years or otherwise.
A personal path and growth trajectory are obviously different from how a business must operate and clear milestones help guide and measure results, but why not always have a singular vision and a few core tenets always driving one day into the next?
The plan or system may fail, but if true to yourself you’ll have success.
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If you’re curious, you can find My Five Years of Bowie here (it begins with an alien and ends with scary monsters…)
