On choosing what to do

Post-college, I spent 9 months working at McKinsey before leaving. Here’s a framework for choosing what to do in life that I wish I had before starting:

Think about the last time you felt at your best. When was it and what were you doingthen?

(Let’s walk through the exercise together. I’ll be 21-year-old lost in the sauce Monty.)

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I felt at my best working on my last startup, Ascend.

●    I could have a hypothesis about the world and be proven right/wrong about it on a weekly basis. I had enough stimulus that I could then use to learn about myself and the world.

●    I was able to work with teammates and clients I genuinely loved. I’ve gone back to Vancouver and karaoke’d many times with previous clients, who I respected and admired outside of work.

The first two were present many times at McKinsey though. So what was missing?

●    Ah, I also had agency over what I would focus my time and energy on. I couldn’t always choose when and what I had to do, but on a macro level felt like I could choose what I spent my weeks on.

I’d now distilled the ingredients I needed to feel at my best: a high-growth environment, the ability to spend time with people I truly cared about, and agency over what I did every day. These became my truths. What makes me tick independent of the situation I’m in.

Now, find your high school lover turned best friend of 10 years. Or your brother. Or anyone who’s known you for the past 5+ years.

Spend an evening thinking through all the past experiences you felt at your best in across work, your love life, friendships, anything under the sun. Distill what made you feel at your best.Put all of this on an excel sheet and you’ll start seeing the same traits popup across dozens of experiences.

You now have the list of the things that need to be true for you to feel at your best. Some of them will probably changeover time, many will stay the same.