A Success Story

     Recently I was Facebook chatting with an Australian friend. He told me that in four years from now he could be making 400 grand a year as a business consultant, but he doesn’t care... he wants to give it up. Another friend from London was in the same position last year and also walked away from the lure of big money.  Some people would call them fools, they both admitted to me people have done just that, but personally I see something valiant in their position.  They want to live authentically for themselves.

      Really, success... WTF is it anyway?   I’ve met more than a few people who wanted to enjoy the status and the power often associated with having money. People often are envious to those with money and grant a shocking level of deference.The question each person needs to consider though is to what level are you willing to compete for that power?... as competition is more brutal and unscrupulous the higher ones ambition is. An interesting juxtaposition comes when people who thrive off that competition meet their opposite: open minded artists, travelers, and dreamers. All of sudden what they deem success doesn't apply, it’s no longer what one has but rather who one is; relationships are no longer hierarchical and based on power, but rather equalitarian and based on intellectual and emotional connection. The divergence of aim is often why these character types dislike one another. So what if from societal pressure you began one pursuit only to realize it was the other variant that you were more connected with?  That was the issue my friend was having...

     

    Other topics arose as well, we also discussed what we felt we should try to do in the future. Both of us had the same issue with making a definite decision for what to strive for in such a vast world of possibility.  When complete possibility is there, the dreamers’ mind can soar... Maybe it soars under the wings of pretence, but it soars none the less. In contrast, when a direction is chosen, as my friend had felt he had done, artistic impertinence rears its ugly head and stands affront to the plan questioning every aspect of it. In some cases this is the engine that drives an artist to never give up on their real dream... in others it destroys their life. If you prick holes in every plan, the possibility looms of doing nothing. Finding the balance between these two contending realities has been the most difficult balancing act of my own life.   

        
   When you are a questioner to things around you; you can’t just turn that quality off when it suits you. To some walking away from a golden ticket for your future is crazy, but the thing is if it isn't making you happy then what’s the use of that money anyway? Being true to who you are inside... is the only real vehicle to happiness. The biggest sham going is living a different internal life from what one presents outwardly. Schools seem to channel people to conform, at least in my school experience, even if it doesn't fit them inside and I think that leads to situations like my friend detailed. He felt, he had to pursue the money. I have to quantify this all if the competition is for you, and you have special skills for it that’s fine if it’s what you want. BUT – to my friends that walked away from the competition to be who they are... it’s a commendable thing, and though others would never be able to grasp it, I tip my hat to them.