People always want to know what the next step is, what the next goal is and what the next “thing” is. It’s a maddening quest to always do something, because for whatever reason, they only feel validated when they’re doing something.
I’m not saying goals aren’t important. I’m not saying goals aren’t an excellent way to track progress. I am saying that having the wrong goals is as harmful as engaging in the wrong behavior.
But John, you’ll say, how can a goal be wrong? If it’s what I want to do, isn’t that good? Doesn’t that mean I’m living my values in an unobstructed way?
If your goal was to murder someone, do you think I would find that to be a good goal? Do you think anyone would find that to be a good goal? Goals are dictated by actions. Wrong actions lead to wrong goals. Wrong goals do not encourage growth.
Look at baseball cards. They track the career of a player. The whole career, through all the ups and all the downs. It’s not a snapshot of one particular night, but rather the entirety of what someone has done.
Legacy.
When someone retires or leaves, you may have individual memories of specific incidents (“the time old Jenkins shit on the copier”) but overall you’re going to speak and think of someone in broad terms (he was a good guy, wise and old).
The question becomes what is your legacy? Are you even considering leaving one?
As you go through and bang women, or master yet another company’s tactics or sit behind your keyboard and type out a big man’s lie, do you even consider how it’s going to be three days/weeks/months/years from now?
No, I don’t mean how other people will view it. But how will you view it?
Sex in the game is secondary. It’s a consequence, not the goal. The goal — better living. If you can’t see that, or can’t agree with it, re-evaluate and come back to me. It may take time.
Building your legacy is something you have an obligation to do, if you care one iota about anyone or anything past yourself.
What is a legacy?
It’s what you’re going to be known for, remembered for and thought about when you leave whatever you’re doing and go do something else.
Are you just going to be a flash-in-the-pan? Are you going to be a guy known to be helpful? Are you going to be an idiot who arrived on the scene, caused some hell and then left the place worse than when you found it?
How can you leave a better legacy?
Start living better. Help people. Support one another. Find your values and live them.
And for the record “hot girls” isn’t a value. It’s just something you like.
Start leaving a better legacy. Start today.
