Cutthroat Blogspot – Eoin McCarthy
I had an interesting moment of realisation the other day.
An epiphany that came to me mid-conversation with a client. This particular client & his brother have been “working on something” they tell me. “Project X”; “big things coming.” – That’s all they give me & to be honest, I’m very content with only knowing that much about their lives. The only other thing I know is that their primary motivator is getting a Lamborghini each. So after not seeing my client since this circus of coronavirus started, the obvious question from my end was “do you have the Lambo yet?”; in which he responded “Not yet, but definitely in 2021”. He then proceeded to ask me “What was my Lambo?”, “What was I working for?”.
I found this question to be an extremely reflective one & it was remarkably easy for me to answer – with a breath of relief I told him that not one materialistic thing motivates me whatsoever, rather having the freedom of time & building upon something that positively impacts my world was way more valuable to me.
A couple of years ago my idea of success was a little different, I’d look at people with the best clothes, loads of money & cars – I’d think they had it all. They must be happy. I know it may sound cliche but that’s not necessarily true & I’ve experienced that to a small degree. However, if they earned it & it gives them pleasure intrinsically to have all of these things, then hats off – you’ve made it!
A while ago, I told my friends that I would hate to win the lotto. They looked at me like I was crazy & we began to discuss the reasons why. Of course, it would be nice to be financially secure & yes, it would be nice to have all the material things in which we are made to believe will make us happy. However, when that initial feeling wears off, I know I’d realise I didn’t build that life, I didn’t achieve anything by “winning” the lotto & being chosen at random – I believe it would have a negative effect on my mental health in the long run.
The same principles apply to a feeling I had last week. I was a finalist for the Industry Choice Collection at the Australian Hair & Fashion Awards. I lost & I was happy to lose. You know why? Because it will keep me working harder & that will ultimately contribute towards my happiness. Building upon something. You know what they say, there’s only one way to go from the top…
Hannah, my life partner, had a breakthrough moment last week which has partly inspired this blog. She has been working on what she thought was her dream for so long & basically, to make a long story short, she has realised she wasn’t doing it for the correct reasons. She wasn’t being true to her core values. She wasn’t following the correct path for her. The path to not only long term happiness but happiness in the present moment.
I saw a really awesome quote written on the wall of a coffee shop the other day. It said “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work” & if you have perfection in your work its most likely going to be a success & in turn that will give you that “Lambo”…
I’ve realised a lot of things in 2020 & I’ve touched on a lot of my learnings on this blog. Lessons such as, being happy with what you have whilst working for what you want, or why finding your “why” is of such importance. I’ve now understood that doing things for the intrinsic values vs. the extrinsic values is paramount.
