It’s easy to get caught up in the crisis of the day and to be in continual reaction mode, whether it’s our career or family. Who has time to think about our preferred vision for our lives...often until it’s too late?
This thought made me consider a book I’d recently come across: Living in More Than One World: How Peter Drucker’s Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform Your Life. Drucker, who died in 2005, is considered to be the “father of modern management.” The book’s author, Bruce Rosenstein, applies Drucker’s principles to individual self-development by encouraging the pursuit of a more multidimensional life. His book is based on more than 20 years of research into Drucker’s life and thought, including several interviews with him.
Rosenstein writes that Drucker personified the value of creating and living a “total life” with diverse interests, relationships and pursuits—what Drucker calls “living in more than one world.” The idea is that when you have a setback in one area—suffering a layoff, for instance—you can soften the blow by developing other areas of strength and support. You can also add new meaning and dimension to your life by getting involved with outside activities such as volunteer work, which can create an entirely new network.
Ultimately, Drucker saw selfmanagement as an ongoing discipline, requiring self-knowledge, introspection and personal responsibility.
“Start now to think of yourself as the CEO of your own life and career,” Drucker said. “Take accountability for your decisions and actions. Know who you are, what is important to you, and how you will contribute at work and in the world. Finally, take a deep breath and don’t expect everything to happen at once. Start where you are and move towards your total life, one step at a time.” — Keith Griffiths, editor in chief
