Ambition drives us forward, relationships hold us back

October 17, 2016 2:02 PM

One of the great perils of
hiring yourself is, the job is interesting and exciting and all these
opportunities are rare and wonderful and hard to resist.

And so, there’s a
tendency to work ourselves to destruction. Because the job lacks finite
boundaries. There are no managers or bosses telling us when to stop.

It’s like
the dog who breaks into the pantry to gorge himself on the thirty pound bag of
kibble. He doesn’t know any better. There’s no governor on his appetite. And
so, he stuffs himself sick until he keels over on the kitchen floor, bloated
and panting.

Humans work in surprisingly similar ways. The ego wants us to work
ourselves to the bone, since that process triggers feelings of strength,
commitment and duty. But as a result, we can become alienated by our own
success.

When I was five years into my career as a writer, I had reached a
level of success I never could have dreamed of. The only problem was, I didn’t
have many people to share it with. I lacked a secure base. No centers of
belonging. I was working too many hours to make real, intimate friendships.

This phenomenon happens to dreamers all the time. Ambition drives us forward,
relationships hold us back.

And if we’re not careful, we might have to face the
prospect that we’re alone in the future we so ardently want to pursue.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Are you taking regular breaks from your dream to have intimate, sustained contact with important relationships?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “99 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur, Even If You Aren’t One,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

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Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com