How Will You Measure Your Life?

Clayton M. Christensen presents a set of personal guidelines that have helped him find meaning and happiness in his life.

Favorite quote from the book:

The theory of motivation suggests you need to ask yourself a different set of questions than most of us are used to asking. Is this work meaningful to me? Is this job going to give me a chance to develop? Am I going to learn new things? Will I have an opportunity for recognition and achievement? Am I going to be given responsibility? These are the things that will truly motivate you. Once you get this right, the more measurable aspects of your job will fade in importance.

“What has to prove true for this to work?”

Everything related to strategy inside a company is only intent until it gets to the resource allocation stage.

A strategy — whether in companies or in life — is created through hundreds of everyday decisions about how you spend your time, energy, and money. With every moment of your time, every decision about how you spend your energy and your money, you are making a statement about what really matters to you.

The person you are at work and the amount of time you spend there will impact the person you are outside of work with your family and close friends.

That’s the lesson I learned: it’s easier to hold to your principles 100 percent of the time than it is to hold to them 98 percent of the time.