“I want to put a ding in the universe”
Steve Jobs
Have you ever asked yourself the question: What are you working for, after all? What is it all for?
● To finance that mochaccino a day that helps you work, rest and play?
● The detached house with a swimming pool?
● That fabulous pair of shoes?
● That extra shiny BMW?
● Your 5* holiday with fully-staffed kids club?
● The private school for your kids?
And when you have these things – what then? Do you need another item, a better gadget, a bigger material goal? It’s a proven fact that acquiring more and more ‘goods’ gives less and less satisfaction, until you become so jaded that every new purchase provides only days, hours or minutes of excitement before you become acclimatised to it, and need another ‘thing’ or experience to fill the unsatisfying hole in your life.
I hate to break it to you, but you know all the shit you have been working for? None of it really matters.
So stop working your whole life to pay for stuff you don’t need and start working for something that really matters!
If you want to know why, go and sit in an African village for a day to see how much real happiness costs. Or more simplistically, we all know the story about the baby who gets more pleasure from playing with the box and wrapping paper than the expensive toy that came in it. It IS possible to be happy with very little.
You can either wait until the last minutes of your life to find that out, or you can take my word for it, and start doing something useful instead.
Moreover, if you have the resources – and by this I mean time, skills, ideas, and not even money, necessarily – you have incredible power to make a real difference in the world today.
This is the kind of thinking that has caused Bill Gates to put his money where his mouth is with the intention of eradicating polio in the world, and his further aim to find a cure for other diseases. However, Philanthropy is not just for multi-billionaires. You too, can give back to the world – and not just for the feel-goodness to make you pleased with yourself, but to leave a legacy and a better life for others. Instead of striving for more and more for yourself, recognise when you have ‘enough’ and share your success with others.
Maybe you work your arse off for material things that you think will make you happy in the future. Yet, happiness is internal.
Why not be happy now, and work for more meaningful things that will have an impact on the world and make people’s lives better? So many people say they’ll be happy when… they are rich…. when they’ve settled down with a family… when they’ve made their first million… when they are mortgage free… when… sometime… never.
The simple fact is, happiness is a journey, not a destination. So it’s worth aiming for something bigger than yourself to really make your mark on the world, and to create a better world. Develop a drive to help others and focus your sense of purpose on goals and actions that will benefit of other people.
What if I called you selfish?
Would you be outraged and upset, if I accused you of only working to achieve material success for yourself and a tiny few – probably just members of your close family?
How would it feel to use all that you have to benefit a great many people? To solve huge problems, or transform the lives of hundreds, thousands, or millions of people? To raise the bar, and your reach, to soar to new heights. with a visionary sense of purpose and an active application. Create REAL change for the better in the world!
You are uniquely placed to transform the world! You have strengths, skills, relationships and resources that could really make a difference to other people’s lives. So why the hell are you not using them today?
Why are you waiting to give tomorrow, when you can give, and have an amazing impact today?
Get out there and stand for something that you really believe in! Find a problem in the world that you find outrageous, unjust or intolerable and use your time and money to do something about it! Get passionate about solving local, national or global problems! Inspire those around you to live a better way.
Lead from the front. Others will follow. Stand at the open door and take a leap of faith. It only takes one person to make the change, and that person is you.
If the above topic, or indeed any of my blogs are of interest to you, then contact me and let’s talk! Drop me an email at getintouch@marcwinn.com.
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… and your chances of finding real contentment this way are much higher than anything you’ll find in the FT’s ‘How to spend it’.
Exactly what I needed to hear! We can lose sight so easy on stuff that on closer inspection is temporary satisfaction. My happiness is derived from helping out where I can family; friends; acquaintances. Good post!
Marc, the line that really speaks to me personally is:
“Get out there and stand for something that you really believe in!”
I believe in “better.” As in, today could be better than yesterday; which, incidentally ROCKED!
Thanks for shouting loud enough for us to hear you all the way on the other side of the planet!
I am loving the energy guys. You can do this!
I hate to break it to you, but making a difference in the world today? None of it really matters.
You’ve evolved from placing yourself at the centre to ascribing value and meaning to benefiting others. It’s the same story on a larger stage – your own sense of purposefulness created in and by your own mind for your personal satisfaction.
I agree that happiness is not a destination, but it’s not a journey either. There’s one more piece to the puzzle you need to find that simply IS HAPPINESS. There is no road that leads to it and you get there without action. If there was a sign ot would be pointless.