The Earned Life

About the Author

Marshall Goldsmith is a world-renowned executive coach and author, known for his work in leadership development. He has written numerous books, including the bestsellers "What Got You Here Won't Get You There" and "Triggers." His work focuses on helping successful leaders achieve positive, lasting change in behavior for themselves, their people, and their teams. Goldsmith's insights have been shaped by his extensive experience working with top executives and organizations worldwide.

Mark Reiter is a writer, editor, and literary agent. He has collaborated with Marshall Goldsmith on several books, bringing his expertise in writing and storytelling to their joint projects. Reiter's contributions help make complex ideas accessible and engaging for readers.

Main Idea

"The Earned Life: Lose Regret, Choose Fulfillment" by Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter delves into the concept of living a life of fulfillment, which they term as "an earned life." The book addresses the pervasive challenge of regret and offers strategies to minimize its impact by making purposeful choices aligned with one's overarching goals. It emphasizes the importance of continuous effort and the alignment of actions with a higher purpose to achieve lasting fulfillment.

Table of Contents

1. Choosing Your Life
2. Earning Your Life
3. The Five Building Blocks of Discipline
4. The Lost Art of Asking for Help
5. When Earning Becomes Your Habit
6. Five Recurring Themes to an Earned Life

Choosing Your Life

Goldsmith and Reiter begin by exploring the barriers that prevent us from creating and living our own lives. These barriers include inertia, programming from our upbringing, obligations to others, lack of imagination, the rapid pace of change, vicarious living through others, and the misconception of having "run out of runway." Each of these factors can keep us stuck, yearning for a different life but unable to take the first step towards it.

To overcome these barriers, the authors suggest that we must recognize and leverage our internal strengths such as motivation, ability, understanding, and confidence. They emphasize that these qualities are innate and can be harnessed to break free from the constraints holding us back.

Overcoming Inertia

Inertia is a powerful force that keeps us in our current state, preventing us from making changes. Goldsmith and Reiter argue that recognizing our ability to make different choices is the first step towards overcoming inertia. "When people discover that they have a choice, they are usually empowered to change."

"Inertia is an active event in which we are persisting in the state we’re already in rather than switching to something else. Being inertia’s victim or escaping its gravitational pull is a choice that is solely ours to make." - Marshall Goldsmith

Reprogramming Our Beliefs

Our early programming shapes our self-image and behaviors. The authors encourage us to "deprogram" ourselves by questioning and reshaping these inherited beliefs. This process involves self-awareness and a willingness to redefine who we are beyond the labels given to us by others.

"Our programming’s biggest impact is how proficiently it blinds us to our need to reject it." - Marshall Goldsmith

Navigating Obligations

Obligations to others can often conflict with our personal goals. Goldsmith and Reiter highlight the importance of balancing these commitments without neglecting our own needs. They suggest finding a middle ground that respects both our promises to others and our own aspirations.

"The beauty of obligation is that it directs us to keep our promises to others, implied or explicit. The misery of obligation is how often those promises conflict with the ones we’ve made to ourselves." - Marshall Goldsmith

Igniting Imagination

Imagination is crucial for envisioning a new path. The authors remind us of the transformative power of curiosity and the ability to reinvent ourselves. They encourage readers to tap into their innate curiosity to explore new possibilities and create a more fulfilling life.

"Curiosity is how we prepare to fire up our imagination and picture something new." - Marshall Goldsmith

Adapting to Change

The rapid pace of change can be overwhelming. Goldsmith and Reiter advise against longing for a slower, bygone era and instead advocate for developing resilience and adaptability. "Our failure to adapt to the quickening pace of change blocks us. If we cannot keep up, we get winded and fall behind."