Forever young

There’s a tech millionaire on a quest for immortality. To reduce his biological age he takes hundreds of pills a day, sleeps in a special pod, and eats flavorless food, among many other things. To decrease the odds of accidental early death, he drives his car at minimal speed.

Before he pulls out of his driveway, he utters his pre-driving mantra to himself: “Driving is the most dangerous thing we do.” — source

I want to be nothing like him, devoid of human joys. Ironically it’s kids, who act immortal, seem to have a better grasp on how to spend their days.

So while I don’t want to live forever, I do have some aspiration to enjoy my career for a long time without burning all my fuel too early.

Recently I came across a senior agency person who was uncommonly open to new ideas. He reminded me of some other people I’d met who had crossed the saddle — that skeleton-riddled zone between the late 20’s ascent to the late 40’s executive life — without entirely losing their source of joy. So I posted this to see if any others had a take on how to do that:

Curious for those who have been in advertising for several decades, what’s the secret to not getting jaded? I’ve met a handful of seasoned folks over the years who seem to be able to slow the spin down, not get attached to ideas, and truly believe in the magic. I’d love to know what mystical supplements you’re taking. 🔮

I’m grateful to everyone who responded and I saw a few powerful themes:

Increasing the separation between work and personal lives, especially when kids enter the picture

Enjoying the simple process of making things

Focusing on the relationships over just the output

Getting to work with really smart people

Remembering that doing things live (vs. over Zoom) is actually much more fun

Maintaining perspective of how big the world really is

Stepping outside, of our offices and our bubbles

Finding things to get interested in, beyond just ads

Believing your best work is ahead of you

Even if the landscape has changed, remembering that it’s still cool as hell to get paid to come up with ideas

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I write these posts, 3-MINUTE MONDAYS, every other week. My goal with them is to share a snippet of insight into how to do strategy, build teams, and grow. Comment here or message me on LinkedIn if you want to chat. — Ben