A few years ago, I discovered Graham Stephan on YouTube. He got his start in real estate and makes a lot of videos about investing and managing your money. I love his style; he’s clear, compelling, and doesn’t include too much fluff.
I noticed a new video from him that I just watched this week and was drawn in by the more natural, talking-directly-to-us vs. his usual planned and scripted video. He went into detail about how the scope of the work he’s created had become overwhelming and all-consuming. It was engaging to hear this very personal account of someone who, otherwise, I might never have assumed struggled with these things.
One comment he made really stuck with me though: he said he sought the counsel and advice of other very successful entrepreneurs as he struggled with how to keep up with the pace and ever-moving finish line, and they consistently came back with advice like “Hire out!” or “Get a team in place!” – the kind of advice that pointed to simply building more and more.
I could sense from his delivery that this was probably not what he wanted or needed to hear. And when I thought about these pieces of advice, I thought…for the sake of what??! And, were any of these people even listening to him?
Here he is, quite successful and, as he’s indicated in some ways or indirectly communicated in others, quite wealthy, and yet not very happy or healthy. And people are simply telling him how to ignite his success, without considering the cost to him – or even if he has any desire to build or grow! Perhaps he has everything he needs!
And it hit me how, in our culture, there is never a finish line. Never a place of “good enough”. It is one long, tiresome treadmill – one that most of us stay on voluntarily, even if not consciously – that only ends with death.
Though our economic systems have morphed and evolved and moved us forward over time, I think we’ve strayed away from a crucial inquiry about our use of this system: For the sake of what?
