Thank you…looking inward is exactly what this series is about. Most of us are so busy each day that we don’t take the time for introspection. We plug in to the television, telephone, twitter and other media sources where we are barraged by other people’s ideas and values. When we hear/see the same message enough times (when it has gone viral) we stop questioning its veracity. The sad result of not questioning and looking inward, as you said, “then people are misled, and end up feeling empty when we have our “success”.

Chuck,

Wow, thanks for sharing your experience of those living in joy in Nairobi. It is strikingly similar to what my husband and I experienced while on an awards trip to Costa Rica. While on an air-conditioned bus going through a village (of dirt-floor, no windows/door huts)we overheard a couple complaining about the breakfast banquet that was served at the resort that morning. As we looked out the window, the sun was shining, children were playing and laughing, people were walking the dirt streets smiling or romping with dogs…there was a contagious air of joy outside. Inside it was cool, the couple droned on now complaining about the free mango juice, the spirit inside the bus felt increasingly heavy, sullen and bored. We were overwhelmed by the fact that those we would consider poor were clearly happier than most of the people on the bus.

There are a few million very grateful people living in joy in Nairobi in conditions worse than anything you would find in my home town of Denver. I lived with a family there for seven days – our house actually had a toilet (no seat) for which they were very grateful. The kids were in school and both parents worked (12 hours a day) – they were very grateful.

I visited a number of schools and lived with some very young children while there and one of the sad “ahas” was that you could line up 100 of those kids living in the slums and 100 from my wealthy suburb and you would find more happy kids in that slum than in my neighborhood. They did not have the sense of dependency, entitlement and victimization that sometimes comes with having life handed to you on a silver platter.

Making money is not an empowering vision. What are you and your business doing to create significance and meaning in the world around you? You’ll be a lot happier if you have a clear answer to that question.
.-= Chuck Blakeman´s last blog ..Your Freedom Number is the Only Number That Matters. =-.