About four years ago, I reached a point in my career when I really needed clarity about what was going to come next.
I had experience, options and responsibilities. What I did not have was a clear way to evaluate the possibilities in front of me.
I used Clarity Breaks™ to create space for the clarity I gained. Stepping away from the daily work gave me room to think instead of forcing an answer between meetings and responsibilities.
In that space, I worked through the process in this article. It helped me look honestly at the work I cared about, the things I was good at and the financial realities of the life I wanted to build. I added a long-range financial model and used the discipline of the EOS 3-Year Picture™ to describe what I wanted life to look like three years into the next chapter.
That work helped me decide to become a Certified EOS Implementer®. I can happily report that becoming an Implementer was a good decision for me. The tool did not remove every uncertainty or make the decision for me, but it made a real difference in my life by helping me see the choice more clearly.
If you are at a similar point, I hope it helps you, too.
Start with three circles
The starting point is Jim Collins’s Personal Hedgehog Concept. Collins applies the familiar three-circle idea to an individual’s work:
- What are you deeply passionate about?
- What are you naturally suited to do exceptionally well?
- What can provide the economic engine your life requires?
It is tempting to jump straight to a job title or business idea. Resist that for a little while. Work on the circles separately first. You are trying to understand yourself before you start defending a particular answer.
Circle 1: What work gives you energy?
Look past industries and titles. Think about the work itself.
- What parts of an ordinary week make you feel engaged?
- What kinds of problems do you enjoy solving?
- What would you still care about when the work becomes difficult?
- What repeatedly drains you, even when you can do it well?
- Which moments in your career have felt most meaningful?
Passion does not mean every task will be fun. It means the underlying work matters enough that you are willing to carry some of the hard parts.
Circle 2: What are you unusually good at?
Separate proven strengths from interests you would like to develop.
- What do people consistently rely on you to do?
- Where have you produced strong results more than once?
- Which skills feel natural to you but difficult to others?
- What kind of work, business or responsibility could you realistically become exceptional at?
- Which strengths are supported by evidence, and which are still hypotheses?
This is not a request to be humble or impressive. It is a request to be accurate.
Circle 3: What economics must work?
The economic circle is not simply, “Can someone pay me to do this?” The real question is whether the work can support the life you are responsible for and the life you want to build.
That is where I found it useful to go beyond the original three-circle exercise.
Add a simple 10-year financial model
The detailed 10-year model and the personal application of the 3-Year Picture™ that follow are my practical additions to Collins’s three-circle exercise.
Start with rounded numbers. You are building a decision model, not preparing a tax return.
List:
- Current assets and debts
- Normal household costs
- Major future expenses you can reasonably anticipate
- Saving and investing goals
- Existing investment or other income
- A spouse’s or partner’s after-tax income, if applicable
- Which income sources would continue if your work changed
- Any planned asset withdrawals
- The estimated share of gross job income available for household use after taxes, benefits and payroll deductions
Then build the math year by year for 10 years.
Keep the categories clean. Assets are not the same as spendable income. Business revenue is not the same as personal take-home pay. Do not count the same investment return, distribution, withdrawal or business value twice. Label every assumption and every unknown.
The minimum annual income is the output, not an input. For each year, add your household cash needs, subtract continuing after-tax income and any planned asset withdrawals, then divide the remaining requirement by the share of gross income available for household use. The highest result across the 10 years is the minimum annual gross income your next job must produce.
I built a 10-Year Minimum Income Model to make that calculation easier. It has one headline output. Whatever you choose to do next must produce at least that amount.
The model is a planning exercise, not a promise. It may tell you that an exciting option cannot yet support the economics of your life. It may also show you that an option you assumed was out of reach deserves a closer look.
If the decision affects shared finances, the assumptions need to be discussed and agreed on with your spouse or partner. A financial or tax professional can help you test the parts that require professional judgment.
Use the EOS 3-Year Picture™ for your life
EOS uses the 3-Year Picture™ to help a leadership team make a future date vivid and specific. I used that same discipline personally. Choose a specific date three years from now. Then describe the future you want in present tense, clearly labeled as a desired future rather than a prediction.
Include the numbers:
- Income
- Savings and investments
- Debt
- Assets or business value
- The contribution required from your work or business
Then describe the life around those numbers:
- What are you doing professionally?
- What does a normal week look like?
- What are you building that will matter beyond the three-year horizon?
- How are you showing up for your children, if applicable?
- What does your relationship with your spouse or partner feel like?
- What observable signs would tell you this future is actually happening?
Separate personal intentions from outcomes that require another person’s agreement. You can decide how you want to show up. You cannot unilaterally decide how a relationship will feel or what another person will choose.
Finally, reconcile the financial part of your three-year picture to year three of the 10-year model. If the story and the math disagree, do not smooth over the difference. That tension is useful information.
Evaluate opportunities against the whole picture
Only after the circles, the model and the three-year picture are clear should you compare specific opportunities.
For each option, ask:
- Does the work genuinely fit what gives me energy?
- Does it use proven strengths, or does it depend on untested assumptions?
- Can the economics work, including the capital and ramp time?
- Does it move me toward the three-year picture?
- What evidence supports the opportunity?
- What would I have to stop, change or risk?
The strongest option usually fits all three circles and supports the three-year picture. An option that fits only one circle may still be worth exploring, but it should not be mistaken for a complete answer.
Before making a permanent decision, identify a responsible 90-day experiment. Talk with people doing the work. Test a small offer. Shadow the role. Build a sample. Price the economics. Notice what gives you energy and what does not.
The goal is not to eliminate uncertainty. The goal is to replace vague possibility with better evidence.
Use the guided AI prompt
The guided AI prompt turns the process into a one-question-at-a-time conversation. It links to the 10-year model, waits for your answer before moving on and withholds recommendations until you have worked through the complete process.
Use an AI tool approved for the information you plan to share. Rounded figures are enough. Do not enter account numbers or other unnecessary sensitive details.
Give the process room to work
This is not an exercise to rush through in one sitting. Take a Clarity Break™ or several of them. Collins recommends working on the circles independently and seeking perspective from people you trust. I think that is good advice.
Let the process show you tensions instead of forcing quick agreement. Revisit your assumptions. Ask the people closest to you what they see. Use small experiments to learn before making a large commitment.
Four years ago, this work helped me see a path that fit the work I cared about, the strengths I had built and the life I wanted. It led me to EOS implementation, and I am grateful it did.
Today, as a Certified EOS Implementer, my goal is to help 100 teams graduate by 2035, equipped to keep running on EOS on their own. I am based in Meridian, Idaho, and work with teams in the Treasure Valley and across Idaho, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, as well as virtual teams.
If you are trying to decide what is next, you do not need to have the answer before you begin. You need a process honest enough to help you see it.
*Sources: Jim Collins, “How to Find Your Personal Hedgehog Concept”, EOS Clarity Break™ and EOS 3-Year Picture™. The detailed 10-year financial model, personal application of the 3-Year Picture™, opportunity comparison and AI-guided process are Ben Johnson’s practical additions. EOS®, Entrepreneurial Operating System®, Clarity Break™ and 3-Year Picture™ are trademarks of EOS Worldwide. This article is educational and is not financial, tax, legal or investment advice.*