Every so often it’s worth stopping and asking a simple question. Or more...
Not about the future.
About the past.
Many years ago my mentor asked me eight questions. They were deceptively simple questions. The kind that seem obvious until you actually try to answer them honestly.
Questions like:
- What activities do you like doing?
- What skills do you want to use?
- What impact do you want to make?
- Who do you want to work with?
- What do you want to learn about?
- What values do you want to live out?
- What environment do you want to work in?
- What does success look like?
And.... Back in 2009 my answers were fairly predictable.
I liked talking. Writing. Playing with big screens and technology. I wanted to use my public speaking skills and teach people things. I wanted to become slightly famous and improve my bottom line.
Success looked like two houses, two offices and living near the beach.
Then eight years later in 2017 I answered the same questions again.
Something had shifted.
I still loved talking and inspiring people. But my answers had become less about ego and more about meaning. I wanted to inspire people and be inspired myself. I wanted to learn about AI, raise my daughter well and understand myself better.
Success had changed too.
Instead of offices and property portfolios, it had become something simpler.
Living somewhere warm. Somewhere safe. With a happy family and no real money worries.
What’s interesting is what happened next.
Looking back now, nearly another decade later, I realise that some things changed dramatically.
And some things didn’t change at all.
The activities stayed the same.
Talking.
Writing.
Explaining technology.
Teaching people things they didn’t know before.
That thread runs through everything I’ve done over the last 20 years.
The difference is the topic evolved.
In 2009 it was digital marketing and social media.
By 2017 I was already fascinated by artificial intelligence. I wrote that I wanted to learn more about AI long before it became the headline topic it is today.
In fact around that time I was involved in co founding an HR tech AI platform called YourFlock that experimented with its own proprietary dataset and what we’d now call a specialised or small language model.
At the time most people didn’t really know what that meant.
Now organisations everywhere are trying to do exactly that.
But perhaps the biggest change wasn’t technological.
It was personal.
In the last few years life has become… more real.
I’m a single parent raising a brilliant neurodivergent daughter. We’ve spent two years navigating diagnosis, support systems and getting the right help in place. If you know anything about the UK education system you’ll know that’s not a small job.
At the same time I’ve been rebuilding my own health. Losing weight, managing blood markers and trying to live by a principle I talk about often:
Health before wealth.
It’s amazing how priorities sharpen when life gets complicated.
But here’s the interesting bit.
Despite all of that, the core of the work stayed consistent.
Today I spend my time explaining complex ideas about artificial intelligence and the future of work.
I speak to leaders about how AI is changing organisations.
I run training sessions to help teams actually use these tools.
I write books and blogs about what I call the Fifth Industrial Revolution.
In other words…
I still do the same thing I always wanted to do.
Talk.
Teach.
Translate the future so people can understand it.
And if I’m honest, the definition of success hasn’t changed that much either.
These days success looks something like this.
Meaningful work that helps people understand the future.
A stable income from speaking and training rather than constant hustle.
Time and energy to stay healthy.
Supporting my daughter as she grows into an amazing human.
And within the next few years, hopefully spending more time somewhere warm.
Preferably near a beach.
So had I succeeded?
In some ways yes.
I became Dan SODERGREN a highly paid keynote speaker and trainer about Ai and the future of work. I’ve spoken to tens of thousands of people around the world. I’ve been on the BBC many times. I’ve written books about technology and the future of work. And especially The Fifth Industrial Revolution...
But the bigger lesson is this.
Success rarely looks exactly like the picture you had in your head eight years earlier.
Life edits the plan.
Responsibilities change it.
Reality reshapes it.
And sometimes that’s a good thing.
Because the real goal isn’t to achieve the exact vision you once wrote down.
It’s to keep moving in the direction that matters.
So here’s a small suggestion.
Take five minutes today and answer those eight questions for yourself.
Write them down somewhere.
Then come back to them in a year.
Or eight. Or eighteen...
You might be surprised by what stayed the same.
And what changed.
As for me…
I’m about to turn 50.
Which feels like a pretty good moment to ask the questions again.
And see where the next chapter goes.