I was upgraded to 8.0…

On my birthdays since 1975, my two sons (who are honest!) have been the ones to decide whether I get to ‘upgrade’.

This story began when I turned 70. The thing is that I was afraid to tell other people. What if they thought I was too old to work with? Hmmm. At the same time, I thought it was cowardly. Not my style. Then I realised I could say, ‘7-0’. It sounds better. After I’d been doing that for a while, a younger consultant said: ‘You’re certainly not 7-0. You’re 7.0!’ I bought into that straight away 😉

A few years later, I realised it didn’t really feel right for me to decide on my own whether I should upgrade. What if I’d become a bit senile and wasn’t keeping up with developments, but still thought so? Then I shouldn’t be the one making the decision. That’s why it should be my sons’ job. They agreed to the suggestion. My wife can’t make that judgement, as she’s my age…

This year, my sons refined the procedure a little further. They put forward some conditions under which they’d look favourably on an upgrade to 8.1. Hmmm. We’ll have to negotiate that, as we need to agree on the objectives…

We’ve been doing it this way for several years now. It feels good. It gives me a sort of incentive to be curious and to learn new things. And to look after my health. Last year I was put to the test. I was in hospital. First for three weeks. Then for a few more weeks later in the year, until it was established that I was gluten-intolerant. I’d also suffered an adverse reaction to a drug because of immunotherapy. I’d been given this as a preventative measure following a previous skin cancer, which had been cured. Whilst in hospital, I ran my business using my mobile and iPad, with the help of my sons. Modern times…

I’ve now made a full recovery. I jog 4 km twice a week and go to the gym twice a week as well.

Over the past year, I’ve launched the online shop humanguide.nu and the newsletter HumanGuide News.  I’m also writing blog articles more frequently for my website humanguide.com.  I really enjoy that. It’s great to share what I’ve learnt over the years.

Within a few weeks, I’d gained over 200 subscribers to the newsletter. Several were former clients. This now means I have a responsibility to maintain a high standard in the newsletters. I really appreciate the subscribers, as they are what you might call ‘warm contacts’ who are interested in my contributions, so I intend to get in touch with some of them to explore opportunities for collaboration.

However, I don’t have any performance targets, as I don’t want to have a performance based self-esteem. A great many peoples suffer from this. I believe more in having a value-based self-esteem – for example, that it is OK simply to exist and to respect others. 

Instead, I am driven by my ‘jackpot’ activity, which is based on the results of my HumanGuide test. It is because, of the eight core dimensions in the underlying personality theory, I place a high value on Imagination, Structure, Quality and Power. In that order. Once you’ve formulated something like this, it even helps your subconscious to stay on course. My ‘jackpot activity’ is: Solving complex problems for the greater good of society. I’ve been doing this ever since I started developing the HumanGuide concept. 1986. And I’ve become a passionaire about it in the process 😉

Here you can see the eight basic dimensions, with a few keywords for each.

Why not identify your own ‘jackpot’ activity, which can then serve as a guiding light for your life, given that personality remains relatively stable over time? Then you’ll have a clearer idea of 

• What sort of job suits you?
• What sort of personality would make a suitable life partner – in other words, you should have a partner with a similar personality, so that you’ll want to do things together when you both have free time. At work, however, you should be different, so that you complement one another

As a bonus, you’ll find it easier to collaborate with others, as you understand them on a deeper level.

I’m working on my succession plan, so the HumanGuide concept lives on, but that doesn’t mean I’m giving it up. I intend to work with the concept at my own pace, for as long as I can.

Over the years, I’ve come across some fine examples of ageing well; for instance, a few years ago we were due to go on a trip to Cambodia and Burma. It turned out that the guide was 82 years old. ‘Goodness me,’ I thought. He was brilliant. He’d been working in tourism since he was 17. I persuaded him to write his memoirs. The title was *Around the World in 80 Years* 😉

A friend of mine turned 100. He’d become very interested in Szondi’s theory in his youth, and that interest lasted a lifetime.

Peter Drucker, a legendary figure in the world of management, is said to have carried out consultancy work at the age of 95.

I have several examples. My conclusion is that those who have a strong interest lead an interesting and fulfilling life. It is, of course, also important to cherish one’s friends and important relationships. And one’s health 😉

I also have examples of the opposite, when people set out to become a ‘happy’ pensioner. In those cases, I believe it’s largely about wanting greater freedom by no longer being employed. In my view, that isn’t enough as a goal. It’s about finding a meaningful interest that, in some way, benefits others. Happiness research suggests that you become happier by helping others rather than just yourself… 

For a good life,

Rolf

P.S. Just to let you know, I was thinking about how I should prepare for my 80th birthday party. One of the things I did was to organise a quiz about my life. It was interesting and fun. A clear theme was my ‘bubble jumping’, which I’ve written about on my website. It suggests a sense of curiosity 😉 I’d like to encourage you and others to do the same when you reach a milestone birthday. In Sweden, there’s an app for this called tipsrundan.se

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