Fun
Love
Purpose
Who are these people?
PERSON 1
Roger
I met Roger for the first time as he was dining at an adjacent table on a late snowy evening in a crowded NY Italian restaurant. ….he was clearly perturbed, wound tightly and snapped at the waiter more than once…his son and niece at their table just rolled their eyes.
After a few glasses of wine, My friend and I found an easy opening to say hello as we all finished dinner and found ourselves as the only two tables left in the restaurant.
Roger turned to us and clearly wanted to talk…his niece and nephew seemed relieved we had engaged him…I said…”what’s your story?” He said…”my name is Roger…I am 84 and my wife of 55 years died last week!” He immediately went on to tell us how much he missed her, how fast time had gone, how they had fought about the dumbest things, too often had late-night arguments to solve everything before they went to sleep and how he wasted so much time trying to change her (unsuccessfully).
All he wanted now was Enough love, understanding and a connection. He shook my hand hard as the evening ended….and admitted that he had “enough” earlier in life but didn’t appreciate it…and then whispered in my ear…”Just remember…you can’t change anyone but yourself.”
PERSON 2
The Executive
After recently presenting the opening conference keynote about the Golden Era of Fintech, I introduced a follow-up speaker who is a very wealthy, powerful person who had just flown in on a private jet with handlers…a passionate presenter, a leading expert in the industry, the message resonated with the crowd and a very warm, appreciative applause from the attendees followed. The presenter came over and sat with me as the next person went on stage…I smiled and gave the thumbs up. They then leaned over and asked me if his presentation was “good enough.”
PERSON 3
The Relative
I spoke with a close family member who externally appears to excel in all aspects of life, wife, balance, health and wealth; he is highly self-aware yet his past demons and upbringing make enough unachievable. He exclaimed – “It’s enough, it’s just not “f#@*ing enough.” I hear this often from many achievers and over-achievers; the sense of “f#@*ing enough” is not tied to measured success. There is a fine line between enough and complacency, and it’s up to you to figure out where that line is for yourself – no one can make that distinction for you.