Instead of working toward retirement, work toward your ideal lifestyle. There is usually a path to get there in a few years instead of a few decades. - James Clear

Your reputation is your most important asset. It precedes you before you walk into the room and lingers long after the work is done.

Observation is a skill, and like any skill, it can be trained and honed.

Even if you're not a negative person, you may be skilled at noticing negative things. Sometimes people are good at noticing the reason things won't work out or have a tendency to fixate on the latest distressing story.

But you can train your eye toward the opportunities each day quietly presents. You can become competent at noticing your good luck: the little moments of joy, the stranger who helped, the small things that went right, the opportunity in front of you right now.

What are you competent in observing? And which types of observations seem to serve your life best?

First, decide who you want to be. This holds at any level — as an individual, as a team, as a community, as a nation. What do you want to stand for? What are your principles and values? Who do you wish to become?