personal enlightenment Most of us innately “know” what it is when we are quite young, but for many of us, the machinations and rapid momentum of our modern technological world are a distraction and can push us on to another track—one that is often unsatisfying and unproductive, even if it results in money and power. Your parents always wanted you to be a doctor, or a lawyer, or to fall in line and follow the family business. But is that what you really want to do with your life? Or possibly there is a recording that has echoed over and over again in your mind since childhood, something like, “Everyone knows that a degree in business is the best way to a high-paying job and financial freedom. And for goodness sake, forget about your interest and special talents in the arts or music or sports. Do you want to be a pauper all of your life?” Many people end up pursuing “practical” professions, not ones that are based on their innate strengths, capabilities, and deep interests. Here, “practical” is based on the classic definition of success and equates to money, status, and power. Is it any wonder that recent studies of millions of people in the western world show that only about 20 percent of employees are happy with their jobs? And as for so-called “successful” business people, less than 20 percent have truly satisfying marriages and close relationships. I can tell you unequivocally from my close encounters with a number of truly successful people that your fundamental interests and capabilities, if properly pursued, have the highest probability of providing personal satisfaction, making a positive impact on the world and providing financial security and an enviable professional position. No matter what your Essence may be, there are many avenues to pursue all three legs of the proverbial “stool of success.” Let’s say you are excellent at sports, but for many reasons, you don’t want to pursue a career as a professional athlete. Depending on your desire, predilections and capabilities, you might decide to open a chain of sporting goods FIGURE 2: There are three “legs” to the metaphoric stool of SUCCESS. The most important of these is PURPOSE. Following it almost always leads to the other “legs” —WEALTH and POSITION.
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FIGURE 3: BALANCE and LIFE PURPOSE are the only elements necessary to find long-term fulfilment .
stores; or become a professional sports agent, or pursue a position as a sports announcer, or a coach, or many other possibilities. Similar strategies can be developed for those highly skilled in the arts or music or any other profession not considered by the archaic classic definition of success as the “proper” path to pursue. Finding your Life Purpose excites high levels of emotional and physical energy; it opens up incredible avenues of creativity; and enables you to address challenges in ways you never thought possible. The power it gives you can lead to significant achievements, which in turn result in huge benefits. These benefits may be financial, emotional, psychological, spiritual or some combination. You will experience gratitude as you have never felt it before, and that is one of the two critical requirements for long-term happiness. The second requirement is BALANCE between your personal and professional endeavors. As a college student, professional in this case means your academic pursuits. My definition of balance is an effective level of effort in both your personal and professional lives such that you readily achieve the goals you set for yourself in both areas. These goals must be based on your personal values. Your values are not the basis for what is right or wrong; they are not what someone else, even you, thinks they should be, but in a moment of unadulterated truth, it’s that which is really important only to you. Just like a compass, your values will point you to your personal “true north” for a successful and gratifying path through life. As described in detail in my recent book on BALANCE4 the final step is to use your Life Purpose and your Values to create a rolling three-year Life Plan, one that you update at the end of each calendar year. This plan is a bit of a challenge to create the first time around, but after that, updating it on an annual basis is straightforward. The plan must be time-managed. You should consult it weekly and sometimes daily to be sure you are directionally on track. It keeps you focused on what is important to you, both in your personal and professional lives. It soon becomes an enjoyable habit as you observe your progress. I developed this process over five professional careers while playing an active role as a father helping to raise three lovely
daughters, and still had time for my hobbies and personal endeavors. I made lots of mistakes in the beginning, but they were really “learnings” toward the path that was right for me. As I progressed from recording artist; to research scientist and corporate executive; to Silicon Valley entrepreneur; to filmmaker; and more recently to holistic hotelier, I have improved on the process, and I can guarantee that it works. 5,6,7 I am not suggesting that this is the only means to long-term fulfillment, but I can assure it does work. It has for me, for many of my friends and colleagues, and it can work for you! My special wish to you for 2015 and beyond: “May you ALWAYS pursue your dreams, especially when you are afraid to do so!” Sat, Chit, Ananda! Enjoy your journey, make a difference! James A. Cusumano, PhD
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-travis-bradberry/ how-successful-people-stay-calm_b_6071982.html?gc lid=CO3IjsOnr8ICFUzMtAodUkMAUA 2 Adrianna Huffington, “Thrive’” Harmony, New York, 2014. 3 James A. Cusumano, “BALANCE: The Business-Life Connection,” Select Books, New York, 2013. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. 6 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Cusumano. 7 http://jamescusumano.com/balance.
James A. Cusumano (www.JamesCusumano.Com & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Cusumano) is Chairman and Owner of Chateau Mcely (www.ChateauMcely.Com), chosen in 2007 by the European Union as the only “Green” 5-star luxury hotel in Central and Eastern Europe and in 2008 by the World Travel Awards as The World’s Leading Green Hotel. It is home to Chateau Mcely Forum™ (www.ChateauMcelyForum.Com) which offers programs that teach the principles of Inspired Leadership. He is a former Research Director for Exxon, and subsequently founded two public companies in Silicon Valley, one in clean power generation, the other in pharmaceuticals manufacture via environmentally-benign, low-cost, catalytic technologies. While he was Chairman and CEO, the latter – Catalytica Pharmaceuticals, Inc. – grew in less than 5 years, to a $1 billion enterprise with 2,000 employees. He is coauthor of Freedom from Mid-East Oil, released in 2007 by World Business Academy Press (www.WorldBusiness.Org) and author of Cosmic Consciousness – A Journey to Well-being, Happiness and Success, published in English and Czech by Fortuna Libri, 2011. His new book, BALANCE: The Business—Life Connection was published in 2013 by SelectBooks in New York City. It was published in Czech in October 2013 by Fortuna Libri.
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