Horsepower and humility
Forfeiting your soul vs. fortifying your soul
When other people think of you, what do you want them to think?
Do you want them to think you’re wealthy? Successful? Impressive?
OR
Do you want them to think you’re a good person? Admirable? Genuine?
Most of us want the second.
But we try to get it with the first.
—-
In his book “The Psychology of Money”, Morgan Housel writes:
“You might think you want an expensive car, a fancy watch, and a huge house. But I’m telling you, you don’t. What you want is respect and admiration from other people, and you think having expensive stuff will bring it. It almost never does— especially from the people you want to respect and admire you …
“If respect and admiration are your goal, be careful how you seek it. Humility, kindness, and empathy will bring you more respect than horsepower ever will.”
When I think of the people I admire the most, they all have the same trait:
They are themselves. Unapologetically and authentically.
The people I admire the most don’t seem to be swayed by external perceptions or expectations. They don’t compromise morals or values or integrity in the name of materialism or hedonism.
They don’t chase status, flash, or acknowledgement.
They’re admirable because of who they are — never because of what they have.
We’re conditioned to want more, more, more, so it’s rare to find someone who’s happy with less, less, less.
And just like with any commodity, the rarer it is, the more we value it.
It’s easy to blame the Instagramification of society for forcing the world into an environment where things = status and status = respect.
But social media has nothing to do with it.
The desire for power, status, and influence are as human as the desire for air, water, and love.
“The superior man understands what is right; the inferior man understands what will sell.” – Confucius, c. 500 BC
“He who is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.” – Socrates, c. 430 BC
“It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more that is poor.” – Seneca, c. 40 AD
“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?” – Mark 8:36
We could keep going.
You get it.
The point here isn’t for you to ditch your Lululemon, wrap yourself in your dustiest loincloth, and set off to do charity work in Calcutta.
The point here is to remind you that what you admire in others is exactly what others admire in you.
It’s OK to want nice things.
It’s great to dream of more.
It’s necessary to make progress.
But always keep in mind that when people remember of you, they won’t talk about the things you had or the trophies you collected.
They’ll talk about you.
I one bothers to stop and think about what you wrote, to identify those people who they truly admire and make them feel good, they'll know you're right. Therein lies the lesson.
Truth