Comments

I love your writing, your passion, and your vision. I think you are a truly gifted writer and speaker. I am a work-hating, corporate-hating guy but somehow you manage to inspire even me.

That said, I think you've got it backwards for most of your readers. To be blunt, I think 99.9% of your middle management audience are clueless bores who will never in a million years get what you are saying. These folks think they want money and security and can't fathom that there might be deeper principles to live for. You are trying to teach turtles to fly. If these folks had passion and vision, they wouldn't be working for a soulless corporation in the first place.

I think your first piece of advice should be "quit your sorry job and get a life". It sounds good in theory, but what kind of person gets excited about copiers, accounting, or detergent? Rather than try to force passion, shouldn't we first follow Joseph Campbell's advice and "follow our bliss"... or as Thoreau put it, "discover our genius".

Its the tragedy, the heart breaking tragedy, of so many compromised lives. It breaks my heart to see people abandon their dreams and principles... or worse, to never investigate what they might be. It breaks my heart to encounter so many people who feel trapped by their jobs and the expectations of "society".... People who tell me they'd rather be painting or travelling or writing or helping people. Instead they live lives of "quiet desperation"... and look to that imaginary promised land called "retirement" when they will be delivered unto freedom.

It's important, I think, to spend a few years finding your dreams and highest aspirations. When you discover that, you no longer need to force passion- no pep talks are necessary. You no longer pursue a vision because suddenly you find that the vision is pulling YOU. At that point, all of the advice in your books and website becomes extremely useful and effective.

But until then, I fear it is lost on deaf ears.

Posted by AJ Hoge at February 7, 2005 12:35 PM

Aj:Very Interesting Thoughts and you have more interesting blog .. I must add :)-

Posted by /pd at February 7, 2005 5:24 PM

First of all, an apology. I was unfair with my "clueless bores" comment.... often get carried away with overblown language. Its easy to dismiss people when you can reduce them to a concept ("middle managers" or "homeless people"). Folks who read this blog are most likely NOT the typical business people I have encountered. So I am sorry for the insulting tone.

However, I think my central point is valid. Its easy to get things backwards-- to set goals and declare a vision and try to get fired up about it all before knowing for certain that these things are indeed deeply important to us.

In the West, we are taught "Don't just sit there, do something". But I'm fond of the zen response, "Don't just do something, sit".

Doubt, ambiguity, comtemplation, and painful self examination are the necessary precursors to defining a compelling vision and creating a (personally) meaningful legacy.

Just my opinion.

Posted by AJ Hoge at February 7, 2005 11:39 PM