Author David Brooks gave a TED Talk last year that challenged people to think about whether they were working toward their resume or their eulogy.
If you are working toward your resume, you are probably aggressively building a growing business that looks to remove all obstacles by whatever means necessary. You are most likely externally focused on creating wealth and success.
If you are working on your eulogy, that’s your humble side. You are most likely going about doing good things and more concerned about everyone’s welfare.
These two ideas are often at war with one another. It’s difficult to balance the two, because society favors the successful person that is externally focused on his or her resume.
This is why many business leaders spend their lives building a business and getting to the top, only to look around and ask, “What else is there?” The resume they’ve created might be impressive, but what will be said about them at their wake? They built a great business and made investors a lot of money? Not exactly a ringing endorsement of their humanity.
The challenge is to balance the resume goals with the eulogy goals. Can you still be a good leader, build a business and do the things that create an admirable eulogy? The answer is yes. You just need to take the mentality that you are running a business to serve others versus serving yourself and being solely focused on making money. Profits are important, of course, but they don’t have to be made at the expense of everything — and everyone — else. The game isn’t about beating every competitor no matter the cost; you don’t have to beat them all. You can have a successful company and still improve the lives of others and make a difference each and every day.
As CEO, you still have to lead and on some days, there will be difficult decisions — not every day will be a good one. But if you focus on doing the things that make for a good eulogy, you’ll find a greater purpose in what you are doing.
Each person was created for a plan and a purpose. You might accomplish a lot of things in your lifetime, but if you don’t accomplish what you were created for, then that’s a shame. Focus on fulfilling that purpose and don’t worry so much about what the competition or someone else is doing.
If you do this throughout your life, you’ll be blessed with a solid resume and a great eulogy.
Fred Koury is president and CEO of Smart Business Network Inc., the publisher of Smart Business Magazine and operates SBN Interactive, a content marketing firm.
