The Dog Chasing The Car
Finding wealth where the car stops
They say, “Success has many parents, but failure is an orphan.” Looking at popular posts on Linkedin and Twitter, many parents out there are promoting their theory of raising that kid called Success: 10 steps to do this, 6 traps to avoid… and so on.
In some way, we all want a shortcut to success, an easy solution, and a proven script to follow that’s easy to achieve and allows us to win within a short timeframe. But this idea comes from mechanical or structured thinking, the dominant mode in business.
AND THEN THE CAR STOPS
But what happens when you reach that goal? You might have increased some sales numbers or fulfilled a deadline… but what is left? Are you a changed person? Probably not. You are just starting the same process again, chasing the next car until you check out and call it burnout.
But there’s a different approach from this mechanical concept; the philosophical model touches on essential areas of how we operate as humans. CG Jung said we are driven by two energies, the Ego and the Soul. For most of our lives, we follow the Ego model, building our careers, collecting titles and trophies of success, and worshipping money as the sole metaphor for success or “Wealth.” However, this system is bound to fail at some point. It typically happens after your second marriage, third house, first boat, or somewhere around age 50. We either leave voluntarily or get spit out and replaced by the next Ego hustler chasing “the car.”
REDEFINING WEALTH
If, however, we turn the ship around at some point and focus more on the “Soul,” that’s where we can grow endlessly and even reach a state of fulfillment. Here “Wealth” is not just a synonym for money and material things, it becomes more a token of a different operating system that includes Social (relationships), Physical (health), Mental (health, knowledge, faith), and Time (freedom).
“It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” — Krishnamurti
Now don’t get me wrong, making money is important to some degree since it covers the basic needs, food, shelter, etc., and allows us to live more or less without troubles we would run into otherwise if we didn’t have any money, at least here in our Western society.
So where should we go? Instead of setting a time goal to accomplish something that might only be a Band-Aid on a deeper wound, why not go further? Create a path to break through the blockage of the Ego and find a way to balance the five aspects of wealth. I repeat them since this is so important to me:
Money is one of many types of wealth. In reality, there are five types:
· Financial (money)
· Social (relationships)
· Physical (health)
· Mental (calm, knowledge, faith)
· Time (freedom)
Now, I can’t give you a 5-step formula or shortcut for achieving this, only this suggestion: It requires curiosity, creativity, and courage. If you can navigate those waters with an open mind, you can end burnout and endless craving and maybe enjoy the wealth a sunset can deliver, find time for a conversation with a friend, a run on the beach, or simply the fact that you look damn good for your age.
ABOUT US
Marc Posch + is a branding and design agency in Los Angeles that works with founders, leaders, and innovation teams in times of transition and growth. Together, we transform ideas into brands worth rallying around and energize salespeople. Sleeves up, coffee in, Zoom on. Let’s go. | MORE
See you next week! Let’s make history. Yours, Marc Posch
Marc Posch/Opus, Los Angeles | +1.213.446.7986 | MarcPoschDesign.com
