Power, prestige, and prominence capture most moderns attention. We want control and seek it with a vengeance. We want the “freedom” that comes with being on top and seem to not even notice what it’s costing us on the way up. Isn’t it funny that we focus so much time and energy on the “price” side of the equation everywhere but here.
We remember what it felt like to be told what to do, to be under another’s thumb, to be looked over during some tryout for “some thing” that we really wanted, that “some thing” that we tell ourselves would have guaranteed our happiness. AND so we make ourselves a promise. With all our strength, with nary a smile, and with every fiber of our being, we promise ourselves…
NEVER again.
We pursue power, prestige, and prominence with a laser like focus. We know there are real costs involved but, somehow, we maintain our sanity by only focusing on “our number.” Real relationships and real heart passions are put on the back burner. Regardless the price tag, we chase and push ourselves toward the top. We just keep climbing. Once we’ve arrived, we tell ourselves, then we will pay back those relationships that we’ve put on hold and we’ll recover our hearts that have been left out in the cold.
The truth is that most of us arrive, late in life, with our relationships lukewarm and barely on the stove. AND, sadly, with hearts that can only be described as stone cold. The time for those luxuries simply never arrived. Yes, humans are supposedly a rational species. We are, however, even more rationalizing…
Many never arrive at a powerful, prestigious, and prominent position that satisfies their ambition. Some, however, seem to always get what they’re after and end up with the corner office and all the toys. Here’s the truth though about seeking and striving for these, three P’s. Regardless of our landing spot, be it high and mighty or low and laboring, we seem to often miss the real point. We miss the most important “P.”
Here’s a snippet from Os Guinness in his intro to Entrepreneurs of Life. Check it out…
“As you know, I have been very fortunate in my career and I’ve made a lot of money – far more than I ever dreamed of, far more than I could ever spend, far more than my family needs.” The speaker was a prominent businessman at a conference near Oxford University…A single tear rolled down his well tanned cheek.
“To be honest, one of my motives for making so much money was simple – to have the money to hire people to do what I don’t like doing. But there’s one thing I’ve never been able to hire anyone to do for me: find my own sense of purpose and fulfillment. I’d give anything to discover that.”
Which “P’s” are you chasing with your whole heart?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Tell me more…
BUILT TO LEAD 