What is the downside of opportunity? Alain de Botton’s Ted Talk really made me think today.
Alain points out at no time in history have we had so much opportunity for success…and for failure. As opportunity increases, self-esteem may decrease. As the world has become flat, many of the barriers to success have been eliminated. Those barriers also are gone to hide behind and use as an excuse.
As Alain comes to conclusion, the world of infinite opportunity also begs us to look at how each of defines success.
Alain has made me think and evaluate what I teach. And for me, success comes back to ‘all levels of intention.’ In Spiral Impact, there are three levels of intention:
- Big Picture – Vision/goal
- Immediate – Action plan, to do list
- Deeper personal – values and purpose
The world may view ‘success’ as reaching the Big Picture intention. Yet, I find my feeling of success coming from the other two types of intention. Those are the two I can control. My deeper personal intention is to honor myself and others. My immediate intention is to follow through on my weekly action plan. I find if I hit 2 of the 3 I feel successful! And, I trust if I am achieving 2 out of 3, the third at some point will become a reality or I will adjust.
What about you?
I’ve included Alain’s talk for your convenience.
