|
Page 1 of 2  Self-help advice on knowing what success means to you. If you don't figure this out, you'll find yourself frittering away your life.
The American "can do" spirit has many self-employed professionals and entrepreneurs thinking that the sky's the limit. But, knowing when you can pronounce yourself successful is a matter of life and death. There are a lot of happy millionaires, and there are lots of compulsively ambitious souls who are never satisfied, no matter how many gold bars, cars and boats they have.
I had a good buddy , let's call him Fred, who got along for years by teaching sailing part time, waiting tables in some fine restaurants and brokering the sale of an occasional sailboat. He knew how to live simply in a rented studio apartment and enjoyed his friendships with people from many walks of life, never overvaluing material possessions or status symbols. His go-with-the-flow demeanor made rooms light up. He was single, and a babe magnet who also practiced yoga and meditation with discipline and dedication. His pretax income was never more than $36,000, yet he was happy.
One day at the yacht club he hooked up with a pal who plugged him into a job selling technology to foreign companies. He put in long hours at weird hours, accommodating clients in various time zones, sacrificing what had been a rich social and love life. The first year his take was nearly $2 million. He promptly bought a waterfront condo and paid decorators to create the ambiance of a European estate house, complete with ancient-looking family crests (not his) and a grand dining table.
On my first visit to his new "movie set" I popped in without knocking, as I was expected to do. I heard him yelling on the phone. In years of sailing, partying and what can only be described as brotherhood, I'd never heard him bark at anyone. When he got off the phone, I asked what was up. He said, "The morons where I bought the table were supposed to be here two hours ago to pick it up and replace it. I paid $6,500 for it, and the damn thing's scratched!" I looked for the scratch in vain. "It's underneath!" he barked.
Related Items
|
Watch this video
