In 2006, I took the GMAT. In 2007, I applied to business school. In 2008, I was accepted to business school, but declined. In 2009, I was accepted to business school, but deferred. In February 2010, I decided the MBA program “was not for me”. A few months later, I changed my mind and began Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business full time MBA program. Today, May 18, 2012, after a goal that started 6 years ago, I will graduate with an MBA.
I often ask myself, why did I go? In short, “to-add value”. Although this phrase is cliché amongst b-school students, it sums up approximately 99% of everyone’s motivation. Perhaps we wanted to add value in at least one of the following areas: our network, our knowledge, our wealth, our career, or our family. Maybe we have already seen the fruits of our labor, or maybe we are waiting for the future dividends that will pay out.
I often ask myself, why did I go? In short, “to-add value”. Although this phrase is cliché amongst b-school students, it sums up approximately 99% of everyone’s motivation. Perhaps we wanted to add value in at least one of the following areas: our network, our knowledge, our wealth, our career, or our family. Maybe we have already seen the fruits of our labor, or maybe we are waiting for the future dividends that will pay out.
So why add value? I think regardless of where we are trying to add value, we are seeking to add value as a way to somehow improve the quality of our life. And sure if the quality of our life is higher, we will have great pleasure, enjoyment and happiness, right? Unfortunately, I am not at “my peak success” in life so I can’t answer this question. Instead, I search for the answer from arguably one of the most successful men in all of history, King Solomon. Mark Driscoll describes King Solomon, saying, " it would be like combining Hugh Hefner, Bill Gates and Albert Einstein, oh and he just happens to be really good looking too." Check out why King Solomon, king of all of Israel was considered so successful:
#1 The Most Powerful Man
(His royal court was so large because he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River from Tiphsah to Gaza; he was at peace with all his neighbors.1 Kings 4:24)
#2 The Smartest Man
(I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.1 Kings 3:12)
#3 The Wealthiest Man
(Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor —so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. 1 Kings 3:13)
#4 Ultimate Ladies Man
(700 wives & 300 concubines (stripper girlfriends), 1 Kings 11:3)
Solomon, like myself and other over achievers, searched for pleasure in life. Below is a brief summary of his journey, his findings, and his conclusion.
Solomon, like myself and other over achievers, searched for pleasure in life. Below is a brief summary of his journey, his findings, and his conclusion.
Solomon’s Goal: Find pleasure in life!
Solomon wanted to find out what was good and would make him happy. He said “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.” Specifically, he tried the following: laugh a lot; get drunk on wine; acquire significant real estate; take great pride in his hard work and successful career; amass copious amounts of wealth in the form of silver, gold, and livestock; invest in vineyards; and invest in luscious gardens and parks. (See Ecclesiastes 2:4-10)
Solomon’s Findings: Being a Workaholic is Futile
Yes it's great to be successful, but ultimately it's meaningless. When you die your work/wealth will be turned over to someone else. Who knows if this person will continue the vision you had and continue to prosper what you left behind or just squander all of it? It’s kind of depressing to think about, really.
My heart took delight in all my labor; and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. Ecclesiastes 17:23
Solomon’s Conclusion:
#1 Any Success in Life is a Gift From God
I think so often, we try to give ourselves credit for our success. I worked hard. I got the A. I received the diploma because of my labors. If we think we are responsible for our success, we are delusional. The reality is that our success was simply a gift of God. Think about it. Tim Keller writes that our success is derived from some combination of three factors: genetics (IQ), environment (upbringing, social class, family connections), and personal choices. At best, we have control over only one of the three factors, our personal choices.
What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. Ecclesiastes 3:9-14
#2 Only Knowing God Brings Enjoyment in Work and its Benefits
A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Ecclesiastes 2:24-26
Without God, all of our material possessions and career success are meaningless. Once we get “to the top”, we will only become depressed to find out that it has not brought us happiness. Only God can bring enjoyment and pleasure in all things. It’s never too late to seek out a personal relationship with the creator of the universe.
Posts
