Time Horizon
Choosing the correct time horizon matters.
If I am under the assumption that I will be a CEO of a Fortune 500 company in the next 3 years, then I will not achieve my goal and will view myself as a failure for not reaching it. Instead, if I extend my time horizon out to 30 years, there is no reason why I can’t achieve that goal. I have taken necessary the steps such as majoring in business, have set myself up with an excellent job coming out of college, and have a passion for what happens in the business world.
It’s extremely easy to get wrapped up in the now, or even the 3 months from now. I know I’ve done it when I didn’t have an internship, or when I was unsure what my final grade was going to be in a class. I will continue to do it. It’s human nature and there is nothing wrong with it. Everyone goes through periods where they aren’t sure how one thing is going to turn out and they think that whatever happens from that decision will change their life for the worst. I distinctly remember thinking that I did not do well on my finals the semester before I applied to the business school. I did what any other one would in that situation, plan for the worst. I looked at different majors I could do instead of business and the career options that they would give me. Fortunately, I did do well and got into the business school.
Even though this situation did work for me in the end, there have been other times where it didn’t. I was set on getting an internship at a big bank in New York for my summer internship before my senior year. I believed that I put in the requisite time and effort that was needed to land one. I sent out cold emails to anyone who email address I could get, studied all of the banking interview questions, and had the calls with the people that responded to my emails. Even if I didn’t land one of the major banks, I would have still ended up somewhere, right? I saw my friends get their interviews and offers in New York, and I didn’t land a single interview. I didn’t get the chance to prove myself as something more than a resume that was discarded with the rest.
If I left my time horizon at 3 months, which during that time it was set at, I felt as if I lost. It was drilled into my head that you get your full-time job after your summer internship before your senior year. But of course, my life did continue 3 months after getting countless automated emails saying “Thank you for your time and application. Unfortunately, after much consideration, we are not able to offer you an interview at this time.”
Even though those days and weeks were painful as I kept applying to different places and continued with my cold emails, I did eventually land an internship. It wasn’t the sexiest or coveted position which I planned for, but it was something. I quickly realized that I did not want to go back for a full time position, so I tried to use that summer to retool myself and be equipped for recruiting in the fall. I woke up earlier than I had to in order to continue sending out cold emails. I would have networking calls while I was at my internship or later in the evening. Even though my cold emailing and networking didn’t pay off to get an interview for banking, I did land a job in consulting.
Time is an amplifier. If you practice smart behavior, it will just be amplified with time. If you start investing your money early in stable investments, you’ll be rewarded decades down the road. If you choose to eat a healthy diet and exercise, you’ll be rewarded decades down the road. If you choose to try and learn something new every day, you’ll be rewarded decades down the road. The opposite can be said if you waste all of your money, don’t live a healthy life, and don’t challenge yourself intellectually. The result will just be amplified with time.
It’s easier said than done. There will have to be daily decisions made, which aren’t always fun or enjoyable. You’ll have to make the decision to continuously put your money in your investment account rather than spending it, or going to the gym when you don’t feel like it. There are times where we all slip up and probably spend a little too much on something or eat an unhealthy meal. We are not perfectly programmed economic robots which make the logical best choice for ourselves every time. Go ahead and enjoy a bag of chips every once in a while, or go out and get yourself a nice luxurious item. What matters is that these daily decisions are made less frequently than the ones which must be made to get to the result you want.
I want to briefly discuss one of my best friends and one of the most positive influences in my life. School has never been his thing since I’ve known him in middle school, but he stayed the course we were all on because that’s what you do. Eventually, it came to the point where he realized putting in the time and effort to graduate with a kinesiology major to become a personal trainer wasn’t for him. He couldn’t bear the thought of taking the classes and putting in the required effort for a career that he knew would not be satisfying for him.
He has always had an interest in tattoo’s and had gotten back into drawing during college. He decided that he would stop going to school and instead pursue a being a tattoo artist. I admire his courage and his ability to break the traditional mold and create his own path to a successful life. I want to highlight him because he has not landed an apprenticeship yet. If he’s under the assumption he would be the most prolific tattoo artist in the next 3 years, there is no chance of achieving that. How could he become the best tattoo artist if he doesn’t have an apprenticeship yet?
Good thing for him is that his time horizon isn’t 3 months. He has been a major reason why I have a longer time horizon now than I did before. He’s expressed to me the struggle he feels currently not having an apprenticeship yet, but that has not discouraged him in the slightest. He has worked on his art, perfecting his craft, for countless hours a day for the past year and a half. He has made solid connections in the local tattoo scene that will pay off in time. Even though he doesn’t have something yet, he is overqualified and prepared for when he lands his apprenticeship. I have more faith in him than anyone I know becoming successful in his craft because he loves it and has put in more time and effort than anyone else I know.
So next time something doesn’t go your way, try and expand out your time horizon. It doesn’t have to be 30 years, but something that is longer than a couple of weeks or months. Have you exhibited behavior in the past which you are proud of and think you are on the right track? If so, keep on your current track and reevaluate after some more time passes. Your opportunity will come if you keep pursuing. If you don’t think time will help your cause, then maybe it should be time to reevaluate. If adding time to your current path based on your decisions doesn’t look too rosy, then retool and attack when you are ready.
Now all of this comes from a 21 year old who has his whole life ahead of him and has not proven much yet. I have nothing but time ahead of me, but I do truly believe if you continuously work towards something, it will eventually come to fruition assuming you put in the requisite amount of effort. Hopefully, I can look back on this post in 30 years and see that taking a longer time horizon does pay off.
