The True Wisdom of the World
Credits to the owner of the illustration
Many years ago, when royalty presided over most of the earth, a most earnest king asked his favorite courtier to search beyond the borders of his empire and bring back the true wisdom of the world. His dutiful servant set forth without complaint and scoured the land. He returned a year older after his exhaustive search, and with him, he had carts and wagons full of texts in other languages, astronomical tools from the Orient, exotic art and tapestries, rare animals, foreign delicacies, and otherworldly artifacts. The king took one glance at the bounty and said, “That’s too much. Go out again and bring me what I wish in simpler form so I can teach it to my subjects.”
The attendant turned around and left immediately in search of a higher meaning. This time after roaming for two years, he returned with a small handful of books, two emerald amulets, and some fine silk cloth … all of which he could easily carry by himself. When his master laid eyes on it, he told the traveler again, “This is too much! Go back into the world and find my answer.”
Without hesitation, his servant turned around and renewed his quest.
This time, five years passed. Upon return, the man had with him just one book. It was beautifully bound in gold leaf, printed on the finest vellum, and blessed by the pope himself. Before the man entered the walls of the royal palace, the king lifted his head as he dined and with a mouthful of quail loudly proclaimed that the book was again too long of an answer to his inquiry and not to return until he could distill the intelligence of man into a smaller expression.
The servant turned and faced the outside world once again. This time he was gone for ten full years before he stumbled back through the royal gates, and he carried with him but a single sheet of paper on which was written one line of words. The king’s interest was piqued as he eagerly awaited the delivery of the coveted missive. The man was worn, weathered, gray-bearded, and much aged, having spent half his life tending to the king’s command but … with great alacrity, he ran straight to his excellence, knelt, and delivered the parchment into the king’s hands.
The king took the sheet and read the words aloud with great anticipation and excitement, and this is what he said:
“There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.”
“YES!” the king proclaimed as he read it again and again.
“There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.”
“There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.”
“There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.”
“YES! This is it! THIS is the wisdom of mankind and of my people! And THIS is the lesson we shall teach to all my subjects across my kingdom!”
… and so it was.
This week’s fundamental is BE DEDICATED TO PERSONAL GROWTH. This is what we ask of our clients because this is what it takes to achieve high performance, and it ain’t free.
Each client is unique in their goals, challenges, blind spots, and Core Values, but one thing we ALL have in common is that different and superior results only come from different and superior behaviors. These results take work! This kind of action and thinking challenges our normal, default behaviors as well as our comfort zone.
Only when we ask more of ourselves we achieve breakthrough results. When I’m working with my clients, I often ask them to bring an “edge” to the attention they put on their actions. They count on me to push them there because as Bruce Springsteen said, “That’s where the fun is.”
Think about the greatest achievements and accomplishments in your life. I’m willing to bet they were not done by a “business as usual” attitude but instead resulted from a willingness to go beyond your normal way of being and doing. Only when we are willing to maintain that edge we do something that truly amazes ourselves. It takes something more than our normal way of thinking and behaving, and having a dedication to personal growth is a big part of that.
When we take on that dedication as a lifestyle, we get superior results as well as the wisdom of the world.
~ Brett
Fundamental of the Week #17: BE DEDICATED TO PERSONAL GROWTH
Be a lifetime learner by challenging yourself to take risks and operate outside your comfort zone. Solicit feedback, learn from mistakes and apply that learning. The magic happens when you understand problems as opportunities for breakthroughs
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