The Good Life

While I realize this is truly nerdy to say, one of the best parts about Tyler going to business school is that I get to take classes again, through his experiences (and textbooks... and we all know how much I love my textbooks!!)  Who needs to wait until September?

In preparation for business school, Tyler ordered a few books from Amazon that Michael brought over to India this past weekend.  One is Mark Albion's More Than Money: Questions Every MBA Needs to Answer.  Skimming through it over lunch, I couldn't put it down.  As a b-school student, I've heard Mark speak quite a few times, so I knew it would be inspirational...but I didn't expect it to still resonate as much as it did -- even five years later.

He starts by likening admission to a top-tier MBA program as a lucky lottery ticket... what are you going to do with it?  He then proceeds with a discussion on risk:

"What are the "riskiest" choices?  Those that don't allow you to become the person you want to be, to live your life full measure.  Survey results of the general population confirm that people's biggest fear is neither death (which ranks third) nor public speaking (second), but "failing to live a meaningful life."  That's our greatest fear, our biggest risk.  And it all begins with not living your life."

He continues:

"I fear not living my life.  I fear looking in the mirror and not liking what I see.  I fear not having the right regrets.  I fear not being the best me, of dying with my music still inside.  Whenever I ask myself: "If I do this, what's the worst that could happen? it's rarely worse than not living my life out loud.

"Of not having the right regrets..." -- I like that.  Certainly something to ponder in each of our lives.

His definition of "a good business" certainly resonated: "A good business uplifts the human spirit and helps alleviate poverty and suffering on the planet."  Of course, this does not merely mean social enterprises.  Think of Apple and how much the company has been able to uplift the human spirit through its creativity and products.  Going further, a social enterprise does not necessarily fit this description either... if the culture of such an enterprise is soul-destroying for its employees (I remember a Katzenbach colleague discussing how important the work we did was, as "organizational dysfunction leads to personal misery.")

As we gear up to move back to NYC, it occurs to me that this is a good test for any future job: Is this a business that uplifts the human spirit?

As I re-read Mark Albion's parable on "The Good Life", I can't help but think that our lives are pretty good now: we travel to exotic locations, learn foreign langages... I work flexible hours from home, and we have a blast entertaining old friends when they're in town (like this past weekend!!).  I think about the challenging career up ahead that I'm sure to have in NYC, one that maximizes professional/personal options and possibilities, while building a hefty retirement nest egg... All so that when we're 65 or 70 years old, we can... travel to exotic locations, learn foreign languages, work flexible hours from home, and have a blast entertaining old friends when they're in town...

Hmm....