How Culture Can Shape an Intentional Life & Career

I have had a few ask about what the 1914 represents in the “GP” monogram. It is the year the Panama Canal construction was completed in Central America. It’s a tribute to my family’s heritage with my grandmother who is Panamanian who met my grandfather, an American, while working in the Panama Canal Zone in multiple jobs as part of the US presence there. After meeting my grandmother, my grandfather, a WWII veteran, started raising a family in Panama, including my mother who was born there and moved to the US when she was five. My grandmother traveled and moved permanently to the US, making her way over by plane. For more on her story, please see this college paper, outlining her story, based on an interview written thirteen years ago, when my grandmother was 82 - Victoria's Story - Immigration from Panama to the US.

I take a lot away from my grandmother's story. Victoria of course had a significant transition when moving to the US, leaving all her own family and friends, her entire life as she knew it, to move with Robert (my grandfather) to start their new life. The trust, resilience, and courage it must have taken had to be tremendous. The faith and love in that relationship and future, must have been powerful. How does that translate in life for me today? It reminds me to have faith in the future, curiosity with what’s in front of me, continue learning, and continue pushing forward with what’s important and be relentless to get there, while remembering, that journey on the boat is one step that matters along the way, not the end destination.

When I reflect on the takeaways from Victoria’s story, I consider multiple aspects of how this applies to my own growth and development, and becoming the person I want to be, which may bring some relevancy for you as well.

Consider the Parallel

• Value of putting yourself out there, breaking through your comfort zone

• Raising your perceived ceiling in life

• Going to get what you want

• Not settling for the status quo

• Intentionality with life, not allowing life to drive you, but you drive life

Why

• Family and friends

• Your own fulfillment and enjoyment

• Live your dreams

• Do something rewarding and worth your time

• Step up to match your full potential

If you have interest in living towards your potential, I have had success with creating a map of my interests, abilities, and experience, and identifying how they match up with where I want to be with goals and the vision for my own life. Building an intentional vision takes some time, but the value gained is undeniable.

How to Create Your Intentional Life

1. Map out your priorities to find your “Hedgehog”, in the words of Jim Collins

2. Consider what you do now and want to do soon - goals, expectations, and vision

3. Identify who your advisors are, whether they know it or not- who are you modeling to help get there or taking advice from, to build your own version.

4. Develop your life game plan, vision board, your ideal path. Below is an example Matt Gray assembled for his own life

5. Discover, realize, and align on how you will execute on your plan, by breaking your vision down into fundamental steps to achieve your journey and future

If you doubt the value in building your vision of the future and the steps to get there, take one hour to walk through it, and then try to tell me it’s honestly not helpful. You won’t be able to dismiss it. You will have the direction laid out all in front of you, with clarity on the steps to get there, or at least a start, leaving you with no choice but to to go out and do it. Removing all excuses besides fear is great, but remember that fear is often what holds us back.

But that vision is giving you the ultimate roadmap to focus, clarity, and conviction to go after the future you, the life you are meant for deep down inside. Sounds a bit woo-woo, you bet, but it’s real. Vision and roadmap execution is how we do everything else in business, school, and in many parts of life, but we discount the time and importance dedicated to our own life. Sure it'll change, you'll take a varied route, but the plan keeps you focused on what's important, not all of life's distractions. Would you rather have a plan that changes, that gives you a chance to achieve your dreams, or just ignore those dreams so your plan doesn't change?

Get on that boat and set sail on your voyage towards your full potential, you. You won’t regret trying, but will regret what you don’t try. And when things get tough, think of the story of Victoria or someone in your own life, and consider why it was worth it to them for the steps they took towards their dreams.

"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

- Mark Twain

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