Dr. Githinji Gitahi #50years 50lessons Early in 2020, I was having a conversation with my wife Kagendo on what it really means to turn 50. We both agreed that it was a significant milestone that warranted celebration. She had grand ideas on organizing a photoshoot, I think to signal the end of my youthfulness. You know, turning 50 years is a big deal! On one hand, it can be halfway to a life of 100 years or a three-quarter way to an average life expectancy of 67 years. This is why the light conversation developed into my contemplating on what it really means to be 50 years old. Now thinking back to that time, what really struck me was the question 'How did I get here?" There was the obvious life trajectory through physical growth, friendships, relationships, fatherhood...all equalizing biological aspects, but there are other values, experiences, and behaviors that set me off on my leadership journey. Having been born in a rural village in Othaya, Nyeri, to a mother of nine, with no media exposure and very little exposure to the outside world beyond my village, I was of low, local ambition. At one point, access to bread was my biggest ambition, and my career desire was to own a bakery so that I would have an endless supply of bread for my own consumption. I can't claim to have had a well-thought-out plan, or a premeditated career path. My leadership journey started with cumulative learning from interactions and relationships with my family, community, colleagues; but it was the relationship with my mother that I attribute the greatest character development. But reflecting back, certain values, experiences, and behaviors in concert got me where I found myself as I turned 50. It was clear that it’s this set of values, experiences, and behaviors that I needed to reflect upon. It was this set that I needed to document and best if the outcomes of my reflections were alongside my wife’s imagery of the end of my youthfulness. I'm so honored that so many of you engaged with me directly and through social media as I shared the lessons, and that you found them valuable. You shared stories of your own, debated some, and shared many of them across all platforms and it wasn't long before I started to receive requests for a book. This is why we have shared this PDF with you, as I conclude my 50th year and turn 51. How time flies when you're having fun and living with purpose. These lessons have inspired the next journey of learning and growth; not in the form of training or teaching, but in facilitating authentic leadership conversations, because I truly believe that we all have our own sets of values and experiences that we can all share and learn from. Welcome to the future of authentic leadership conversations. Visit www.theleadershipdialogues.com Register to our database to receive updates. Photo credits: Michael Murage Murimi & Kagendo Githinji's archive. FORWARD