How Will You Measure Your Life?

In the distant past, I wonder if people thought of careers.
Everybody did what they were good at (specialization of labor) and made a
living out of the best skills they had. People improved their skills
(materials and methods), invented new skills (Eureka moments!) and
taught their skills (write a tablet!) to the next generation and
hopefully it made them happy. Dose it not apply anymore?

In the distant past, people were polygamous. They raised multiple
families depending on how much they could provide for the offspring.
Now people are locked into monogamous relationships by the society,
perhaps a sign of a mature society. Now you hopefully love your spouse
(after all the years of arguing or tolerance) and love your kids’
upbringing and progress and love to see them become good citizens which
should make you happy.

Is staying out of jail the only motivation to do no wrong? Being
just within the law by the skin of your teeth could be as harmful to the
society as you have broken the law (when you go to jail). I am pretty
sure some of those financiers in Wall Street did it recently with grave
consequences.

Atul Prabhakar

May I suggest that there are two Purposes in Life?

1st – The Basic Purpose in Life that is common to us all, and
established by a greater power than ourselves, which involves a search
for eternal truth .

2nd – One’s own Purpose in Life that is unique and common to one’s
talents, abilities, interests, priorities, beliefs and values; to be
established by our our own introspection and agency.

I know what the first truth is, for I have found it. It is profound, simple, grand, and glorious!

However, rather than tell you what it is, I know that in order for
you to find and recognize it, I must use the same teaching strategy
Professor Christensen used in Silicon Valley, and let you find it for
yourself.

I will tell you, as the Professor did, how others found it.

I know of a group of military men who desired to know the truth.
They prayed for guidance and enlightenment and went where they were led
— to various meetings, to books which they read, and they listed the
things they felt would be required in finding the truth. They came up
with a list of 17 items they all agreed would be necessary.

They separated after being discharged from the military, going their
various ways and did not keep in touch, but each continued the search.
They reunited years later, and to their surprise they had all found the
same answer.

My own case is much the same: prayer; searched where I was led to
look; and acted upon the promptings I received — I found the same
Purpose in Life the veterans had found; however, I didn’t learn of their
search until after I had found the truth and entered into the same
organization and circle of eternal love, friendship, and increase they
now enjoy and celebrate!

So the answer is: Believe there is a higher power; prayerfully
enlist that power to lead you in your search; TRUST the promptings that
come to you, and follow them.

A very good counter-point to this view is presented by David Brooks
in his Op-Ed in NY Times on August 2nd, 2010, where he posits the
concept of Summoned Life against Prof. Christensen’s concept of
Well-planned life.

Mr. Brooks emphasises the context of life’s situations and tries to
find answers to questions like “what are these circumstances summoning
me to do? what is needed in this place? what is the most useful social
role before me?”

For those who care to read the other point of view, you can follow the link given below:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08…

Thanks

On
the other hand and with all due respect, i can’t help noticing how such
paradigm shifts occur AFTER an economic crisis. What i observe beyond
this article is a tendency to educate people to focus on personal lives
since growth and opportunities expected BEFORE the crisis will never
materialize.

It reminds me of an anecdote where a journalist
spoke in front of a crowd of Chinese students explaining the importance
of ecology, recycling and being humble towards Mother Earth. And one of
the students complained how that is being taught after the Western
Civilization spent all the resources.

With a stretch i could say
how banks and mismanagement caused the world economic crisis and we, the
aspiring managers, should now explain to ourselves and our reports how
to be humble and satisfied with what we’ve got.

Thanks for reading.

About 800 years ago, in ancient Japan there lived a samurai who, by
the medical standards of his time, is a skilled physician, and by his
martial exploits, a master swordsman. Owner of the skills of life and
death. However, it was not these attributes that made his life a
“lighthouse” to me. It was the principles he struggled and fought for
and how he served the mentors and loved ones he treasured. (Sincere
apologies for the lengthy comment. It won’t always be like this).

One of these struggles began when his Lord, upon the machinations of
their enemies, was influenced to force his retainer to choose between
his fief or… his faith. Fatal. Without one’s faith, can one still live
with honor and dignity? Without a fief, how would he feed his family? A
life of begging awaits them. A crucible.

“Out of the night that covers me

Black as the pit from pole to pole..”(1)

He chooses faith…., thus they went down that dark, dark blackness of hardship.

“I thank whatever Gods maybe,

For my unconquerable soul.”(1)

As a family man myself, I can only imagine the depths of his
lament…“What would happen to us now, …I have failed my wife and our
beloved children.” Yet… he didn’t complain. Nor sought survival by being
a ronin. Karma is karma.

“In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody but unbowed.”(1)

“Really what is true hell or heaven in this life?” Seeing him in
what seems to be a pitiful state, his friends, and his religious mentor
petitioned his Lord for forgiveness. “Who is nobler? The one who
forgives; the one who suffers by upholding one’s principles; or those
who suffer for others?”

“Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the horror of the shade..”(1)

One day his Lord became sick. Very sick. Death was inevitable
perhaps. Summoned, reportedly he rushed to his mentor’s side. With a
heart devoid of bitterness, he sincerely offered his services. Perhaps,
despite the hardships they’ve embraced, he and his family choose to
remember only all his master goodness. Duty. “Giri”.

In today’s society, do let’s explore the moral meaning of
rationality. “Isn’t this Lord, the root of all his suffering? Why not
just let him die? Death comes to us all anyway. More than that, surely
he must realize that should his Lord die under his care, his death may
even be blamed on him!” “No!” He served his sick Lord perseveringly.
Perhaps if he did fail, he too would have wanted to die by his lord’s
side. Loyalty. Honor. Skills and the Arts. All these reach their heights
when they serve eternal values.

“And yet the menace of the years,

Finds, and shall find me unafraid.”(1)

“What constitutes a fulfilling life? What is true happiness? Is it
found in some lofty realm of intellectual utopia; in the comfort of
one’s fief; or victory in bloody combat?” In this samurai’s life, he
found it by nourishing the bond between mentor and disciple; between
comrades and family. He found it by repaying debts of gratitude.

Happiness is a life condition, a choice, not a mere event between
bouts of sorrows. After a prolonged struggle, his mentor recovered. They
restored their bond and it endured forever.

The choices he made; the suffering and lament; the renewal, all
grand testaments to the nobility of the human spirit. He is Shijo
Kingo.…. Shijo Nakatsukasa Saburo Saemon-no-jo Yoritomo. The swordsman
and doctor who embraced his fate using compassion to defeat the hate;
for above all, he is Nichiren Daishonin’s disciple.

“It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.”(1)

(1)from the poem “Invictus” written by William Ernest Henley (1849-1903).Wikipedia.

Modern business seems to destroy
lives and societies at an alarming rate. In many ways it is an
invisible problem since the cumulative effect often isn’t obvious until
it is too late. Any economy based on greed as its driving principal is
doomed to eventual collapse. If we don’t build individuals and
businesses that put the goal of creating a better society above
individual greed, I fear for the future of our country and world. I
applaud Clay and HBS for recognizing this and working to reverse the
trend.

Clay sits on the Board of Advisors at Vecna
Technologies, and his insights have helped us to build a company based
on real values that stand the test of time and help to make the world a
better place for everyone. Thank you Clay for sharing your time,
experiences and insights with the rest of us.

Rick Warren on a life of purpose:
http://www.ted.com/talks/rick_…

Jeff Bezos on What matters more than your talents:
http://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_…

Enjoy!

greetings from Azerbaijan,

Jim Volp

http://techceo.wordpress.com/2…