There Is No Tomorrow

How Executives Over Forty Can Reinvent Themselves

9 min read

I wrote a new book, “There is No Tomorrow: How Executives Over Forty Can Reinvent Themselves,” and this is the introduction. I hope you enjoy it.

INTRODUCTION

There is no tomorrow.

I was startled when his arm fell from the body bag. The coroner didn’t flinch. He turned, gently grabbed my father’s wrist, slipped his lifeless arm back into the bag, and zipped it closed. Until that moment, I don’t think it had dawned on me fully that my father was gone.

As a boy, he would grab my brother and me from behind, bear hug style. He’d grab us both up in one fell swoop. His arms always felt massive — solid and steady. My brother, Mark, and I were the only ones in the room with the coroner. I’m not sure if he saw what I saw — if he did — we never spoke of it. But it stuck with me. It was real. Dad is gone. Our hero is mortal. We’re all mortal.

Death is a shock to the system. You can let those moments destroy you. Or you can harness that pain, stare back at it, and feel the lesson it’s taught you seep deeply into your bones. I’m telling you this story because if you’re over forty, you’ve lost someone close to you. You’ve most likely confronted your mortality. If you haven’t, I hope you do today. I hope you can embrace this stoic philosophy and your limited time there.

I’m not here to scare anyone, but if you’re over forty, while there is still plenty of game to play, that awareness can offer heightened clarity and purpose to your life. If you haven’t thought about death — your death. Here’s your shot over the bow. You don’t have the luxury of being twenty-five and confused and or thirty-five and spending time dealing with toxic people. You’re over forty. And if you haven’t already — it’s time to grow up and realize this moment is urgent. The alarm bells should be ringing. The time is now. There is no tomorrow.

Keep up the good work.

Forty-eight hours earlier, I had been visiting with my father, and as I said my goodbyes, he called out to me and said, “Chris, Keep up the Good Work.” It was entirely out of context and seemed an innocuous statement at the time. I chuckled and said: “ok, Dad, I love you, bye!” Less than twenty-four hours later, he was dead. “Keep up the good work” were the last words he spoke to me. It’s become my life mantra.

Those words have helped me through the most challenging times in my life. They seem so simple and almost silly, yet they buoy me in difficult times, reminding me that I'm usually doing something right no matter how down I am on myself. I recalibrate and lean into that. I want to take my father’s wisdom and pass that energy to you.

So here it is. This is your wake-up call. This reminds you that there is no tomorrow and that you must keep up the good work and persevere. The world is a mad place. But there’s still time. You can reinvent yourself — even after forty.

Find the one thing you’re doing right, and keep it up. No matter how small it may seem. Keep doing that one good thing. Don’t wane. Summon all the energy you can, recalibrate, and keep it up. Be gentle with yourself.
Maybe you’ve had a tough go of it. You’re doing the best that you can. You’re giving it your all. It will get better. You deserve the best that this life has to offer.

Don’t be idle. Don’t take anything or anyone for granted. Lean into the good things in your life and take good care of those things. Let the bad things roll off you. Surround yourself with people who lift you up. Put yourself in situations that highlight your strengths. Find work that fulfills you. Love the people who love you. Cut the people out of your life that bring you down. Take good care of the most enriching relationships in your life. Take good care of yourself.

Nurture your mind by reading books. Nurture your body by allowing yourself to recharge — and sleep. Be kind to your mind, and allow for there to be space and meditate. You’re doing great. You’re going to be ok.
In this book, I invite you on a journey that is not mapped out in comfortable, straight lines but in the meandering trails that we carve through our challenges and triumphs. Each chapter is infused with the essence of my father’s parting wisdom, encouraging us to press forward even when the terrain of life becomes rugged and the finish line seems just out of sight.

We will delve into concepts that challenge traditional self-help doctrines, pushing against the grain to uncover deeper truths about personal development. From redefining failure to questioning the unyielding chase for technology-driven productivity, each page turns over a new stone on the path my father’s words have paved for me. It is a path that acknowledges the intricate tapestry of human experience — the joy, the pain, the successes, and the failures.

Self-improvement is an ongoing process of becoming, a series of actions and decisions that define our character and destiny. As we navigate this process together, I share not just the principles and strategies for a life well-lived but also the personal anecdotes and reflections that have shaped my understanding of what it truly means to understand that the time is now, there is no tomorrow, and you must keep up the good work.

My promise to you.

I won’t indulge you. I’m not here to support you when you’re going down the wrong path. I won’t help you avoid discomfort and attain a life of luxury that we’re inundated with on social media. I’m not here to sell you a roadmap to wealth beyond your wildest dreams. Leave that to the children. You’re an adult. You’ve seen some shit in your time. You know you must recalibrate and refocus. That’s why you’re reading these words right now. If you’ve ever felt underestimated, dismissed, or doubted yourself, this book is for you. I’m here to be your motivator, pillar of strength, and unwavering support system. Come back to these pages whenever you need a gentle push in the right direction, when the world seems dark, and you feel alone and adrift.

By the end of the book, you will learn how to embrace discomfort as a lifestyle. Redefine failure and limit all the positive thinking junk you’ve been fed in your newsfeed. I won’t lie to you. I certainly won’t push you to the relentless pursuit of your passion. Passion is for people who don’t have to pay rent and live life trapped in the confines of their myopic utopia, found only in an Instagram feed.

Instead, I will tell you passion is developed through a relentless pursuit of mastery through consistency and dedication. It hurts. But by the time you get to that part of the book, you will have fully understood that discomfort is good. Deep down, you know this. I’m just here to remind you. You’re welcome.

I won’t criticize you for not continuously seeking to improve yourself. If you’re currently doing this — cut it out. You’ll flare out like a bottle rocket. I know because I’ve done it to myself. I’ll share those stories, and maybe you’ll believe me. If you don’t, there’s nothing I can do about it. But know this — if you push for constant self-improvement, you will consistently tell yourself, “I’m not good enough.” Don’t do that. OK?

You may have a preconceived notion that reinvention completely changes who you are. Your ability to turn that idea upside down is the key. It’s about finding the real you and recalibrating that you with the career and life that chooses you. Not the other way around. If you find that misaligned with what you think you know about the world. Then please return this book. You won’t hurt my feelings. I know I’m right. It will just take you twenty years before you realize I was right. That’s fine, too. I’m not going anywhere — but be honest — do you have twenty years to spare? Didn’t think so.

When I was a boy and I’d fall, scraping my knee, my mother would cradle me and softly say, “Give me the pain, baby.” In the same spirit, I extend myself through this book. Please pick it up, and in doing so, pass your pain to me. Allow me to be the one who whispers encouragement, who offers solace and wards off the shadows of doubt by assuring you that everything will be okay. Shift your burdens onto these pages.

Let them wash away so you may begin to see your true self. Let this book become your secret weapon. Keep it close at hand, and when you glimpse its spine on your shelf, hear my voice reassuring you to keep up the good work and reminding you to act now because there is no tomorrow. Let this book guide you if you are straying from your path. Let it nudge you onto the right track to tap into something greater than yourself. This guide shows you how to flow with life like a stream under the sun’s warm embrace, lift you from the mire of obsessive thinking, and elevate you above the spiraling doubts of impostor syndrome. This is not just my journey or my father’s legacy; it’s also part of your journey. Let’s do this together. We’re too old for platitudes and pleasantries.

Be Discoverable.

When I was ten years old, I played on a baseball team. I wasn’t a shy kid but wasn’t incredibly confident in my abilities then. I complained to my dad that none of the kids on the team even knew my name. I didn’t attend school with them, so I felt like an outsider. Despite this, I loved playing baseball — and my coach gave me ample opportunities to shine.

One afternoon, I realized I was missing my dad. He worked long hours and had trouble attending some of my games. It was a sunny afternoon, and as the seventh inning began, I stood in the on-deck circle. Then, my dad showed up. He had rushed straight to the game from the train station and was still wearing his suit. I couldn’t have been happier. He passed me a piece of cinnamon Trident (don’t ask me why I remember this) and encouraged me to swing away. “Hit it just like we practiced in the backyard,” he said. I made my way to the plate and smashed my first home run. Afterward, as we returned to the car, Dad said, “I think they know your name now.”

This lesson was striking.

There’s a time to be noticed in business, as in life. Now more than ever, technology allows you to be seen as an individual executive. Imagine if I’d hit that home run and nobody was there to witness it? That’s the equivalent of knowing your business but not sharing your knowledge with your community.

When the only people in your life who know how good you are at your job are your boss and colleagues, it’s time to reassess things and get to work.
That is why you’re reading this right now. You’ve probably hit a wall in your career. You may have learned that some people around you have skills you don’t, and you need to polish those up. Perhaps you’re just dealing with a curmudgeon of a boss. Maybe you’re bored. Possibly, you need to make more money because the kids are about to go off to college, or perhaps you’re about to become an empty nester, and you’d like to travel.

Whatever your reason, you’re here. Congratulations — you did it. You figured it out. Starting now, you can move forward with the clarity you’ve never felt before. I’m going to share three secrets with you. Those secrets, while simple, are the anchor to everything that we’re going to talk about throughout this book.

You’re in control. Focus. Technology is fuel.

We’re in the beginning stages of what will hopefully be the best years of your life. You have your health. You have your mind and your faculties about you. Perhaps you have some kids, and maybe you’ve even got a little money in the bank. But there’s always time for improvement. There’s always room for what’s next. There’s always that hunger to fulfill, achieve, excel, and take yourself to the next level. So, if you’re sitting there and nodding, say, ‘Yeah, Chris, I get it, man.” If you understand that feeling, you’re nowhere near slowing down if there’s still a fire in your belly. If you still have the energy to do big things in your life, Then we have work to do.

Cue the Rocky music.

You can buy the book on Amazon here.

Keep up the good work,

Chris