“Greed, for lack of better terms, is good…Greed works!” These were the words of the character, Gordon Gecko, at a shareholder's meeting in the 1987 film Wall Street. Gecko was a corporate raider who bought companies and sold the pieces off for great financial gain, regardless of the jobs lost, careers ruined, or families impacted. His was a "survival of the fittest" mentality, with greed as the impetus, and his financial reward as the ultimate indicator of success. Flash forward 20 + years to the aftermath of the Enron meltdown, the Arthur Andersen fold and the recent Bernie Madoff-ponzi scandal, just to name a few. Apparently greed does work. It works to destroy! It worked to destroy thousands of people’s livelihoods as they were left without jobs, 401Ks and retirement funds. It worked to destroy families, torn apart by the financial devastation; municipalities, left nearly bankrupt; philanthropies, forced to pull back their charitable funding.
Greed is one of the two great destroyers. It is always preceded by its partner in crime, ego. These two, greed and ego, are at the heart of a vast majority of the problems faced by individuals, families and businesses. In fact, ego and its insatiable desire to be fed, leads to the hunger for power, fame and wealth that often cause people to abandon moral principals in favor of personal advancement.
The current economic crisis is a result of greed in many ways. We are a credit-based society, where we look too much to what we own - whether a house, a car, clothes, beauty aids, etc. - to help us feel better about ourselves. We think we are somehow more complete, better, or in a higher social class if we have more. This is all driven by ego which, in turn, sets greed into motion.
Ego is focus on self. It is an inward focus for personal advancement, personal gain of wealth, power, etc. There are many personal development programs that prey on ego. They tell us to dig deep for the “personal power” that will lift us up financially, physically or career-wise. If wealth and fame were the answers, we would not see all of the casualties of the ego-driven life like Marilyn Monroe, John Belushi and Michael Jackson, who had the fame and all that money could buy. They had all of the ego-driven “stuff” of this world, but they lacked the inner peace and self love that comes from a strong relationship with their Creator.
I have heard it said that "ego" is actually an acronym that stands for “Edging God Out.” I have always felt that this is so true because ego is the individual’s assertion of his or her personal agenda for gain, regardless of the impact upon others. We push God and His plan for our lives aside, in order to pursue the trappings of society that are fueled by ego and greed. With God at a distance, we do not listen to His voice or our conscience, which lead us in a positive and loving direction. Instead, the focus is purely personal.
There is a Chinese proverb that says, "If you want to be happy for an hour, take a nap. If you want to be happy for a day, go fishing. If you want to be happy for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want to be happy for a lifetime, help someone."
It seems that in times like these, when the global economy is in shambles, we need to look up for some spiritual guidance, as well as the courage to act, in order to move closer to determining God’s plan for our lives. It is a focus up and out - to help those around us with greater need than our own - that will give us the peace and love we need, but are not aware enough to pursue.
Love and peace serve to create, nuture and, ultimately, fulfill. They are the pursuits that will give us something lasting to carry through the difficulties we encounter. The pursuits of ego and greed will simply fuel the desire for more: more money, more stuff, more fame, more power…just more! If you take the time to reflect, meditate and pray for God’s guidance, you will realize that pursuit of the higher orders of love and peace will improve your own life and the lives of those around you. Love and peace fill us with the creative capacity to improve the world around us. The advertising all around us that plays on ego and greed keeps us focused on material gain and ego gratification, which only lead to more want and less fulfillment. If you really want more in life, it is quite simple: require less.
Life is a team game, not an individual sport. One of the great ironies of life has to do with getting more from life. Whether in sports, business or personal life, the more you help others achieve their goals, the more you will achieve your own. Victory and success are not the result of a focus on one’s personal performance, statistics or accomplishments. It is not about watching the scoreboard or creating your own highlight reel. You will realize great victory and reward by focusing on teamwork. As the saying goes, "there is no 'I' in team."
Bill Walsh, the Hall of Fame coach of the San Francisco 49ers who recently passed away, was in the process of writing another book, which will hit the shelves in August. The title is The Score Takes Care of Itself. Bill Walsh had a regular-season winning percentage of .609 and a playoff winning percent of .714. His system produced three Super Bowl champions. You would think that with the immense pressure in the NFL to either win or be replaced, that winning is all a coach would think about. Ironically, Coach Walsh didn’t focus on the score and winning. Instead, he felt that if his people worked as a team, helped each other, and each person in the organization worked to meet a standard of excellence, the score would take care of itself.
Have you ever noticed in a conversation with a people obsessed with ego and greed, that they will use the words "I," "me" and "my" in nearly every sentence. Whenever the conversation wanders away from their favorite subject - themselves - they will pull it back by saying something like, “Yeah, that happened to me, too…but my situation was much worse because…” The conversation quickly shifts back to how the particular topic has affected them in their lives.
So take some time to think about what is consuming your thought life. Is it consumed with what you want, or is it focused on what you can give? Is there something you can do to help someone who is less fortunate than yourself? Maybe you know someone who is without a job or in a financial crisis that can use a kind word, or maybe you can provide a contact, a recruiting source, or some financial guidance. My experience has been that when I focus on helping others overcome their difficulties, mine seem to fade into the background.
In the final scene of Wall Street, Gordon Gecko is escorted off to prison after his oversized ego had led him to believe he was above the law. The young protégé of Gecko, played by Charlie Sheen, finally realizes that ego and greed destroy. His lets his conscience lead him and he ultimately chooses to follow his heart. Sometimes movies are a great mirror for real life. Did you ever notice that, like in this movie, people who are consumed by ego and greed end up alone? If you focus outwardly and make an effort to help others, you will be surrounded by friends and loved ones and you will grow and be fulfilled.
Love is good! Love works!
No comments:
Post a Comment