For forty's sake

To mark turning 40 this month I want to do something a little different at this point of my life and career to honor the countless people who have invested in me to elevate my life and lift my career.

I want to offer 40 minutes to 40 people over 40 days in the year ahead to be a sounding board - to listen, learn about your situation and aspirations, and share anything I think that might be helpful to consider, read, watch, or do, either professionally or personally to help accelerate your potential and meet your goals.

I was inspired some time back by @Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn and how he wanted LinkedIn to be a platform that would elevate the lives of others beyond just one's immediate network, and with this in mind I make this offer to my network and to those in my network's network who come across this article over the coming days.

The work I do causes me to think deeply about lifelong learning and if you'd like to see examples of resources that I might recommend during our conversation have a look at this article.

21st Century Competencies - Mapping Resources to Skills for Lifelong Learners

I am deeply thankful for the opportunities I have been given and the generosity of employers, mentors, coaches, colleagues, and friends and want to use this birthday milestone as a way of looking outward and lifting others. If connecting in this way is of interest to you here is how I think this can work:

1. Let me know you are interested in the comments below or via direct message as this is a first come-first-served-offer. (We can already be working together or connected but haven't had an opportunity for this type of discussion before.)

2. Complete a short questionnaire (e.g when would suit you to connect etc.) and reflect on some key questions I will share with you in advance of when we speak via video call.

3. Follow up with me a month after we speak to let me know if our connection was helpful and if I can share about our conversation (either by name or anonymously) in a future article that may help others in your situation.

Finally, one important point - this offer does not infer a contract of any type between us or commit either you or me to future meetings or support. I'm not offering to be your lifelong coach, but I am offering to be a once off 40 minute sounding board that might just be want you need at this point in time.