On rare occasions, we have moments of great clarity. They are times when everything seems to make perfect sense. I have been in that space for a while not and tonight, things came into full focus.
Over the past year, my own view on life has shifted dramatically. Things that I once thought were important have seemingly fallen away and have been replaced by other that I never have dreamed of before. It is a nice space to be in.
I’ve never really been driven to have a family of my own; however, this has completely changed. I now find myself wanting to do this. This was a major shift for me and I have wondered at length why this happened and tonight I figured it out.
The answer is actually quite simple – I have fulfilled many of my other dreams. A few years ago, I found myself being offered a chance to work for a great company. Last May, I completed grad school (a long-time goal that I never knew if I would ever really make happen). About the same time, I purchased my own home. And about six months ago I took a giant leap of faith at work and took an offer to join a new team. I’ve never been happier. Dream after dream has been fulfilled.
The thing that helped put a lot of this into perspective for me was a book I just started reading, Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow, by Chip Conley. Conley’s book looks at transforming American businesses away from the soulless, profit-driven path of yesterday toward one that actually addresses the needs of consumers, employees and investors and does so in a way that actually makes a positive difference.
I’ve been exposed to Maslow numerous times before. It is an issue that we deal with all the time at work; however, it has been a while since I stepped back and considered how my own life relates to the hierarchy of needs. Tonight’s realization was very helpful indeed.
The Blog of Jason W. Sokol 