What Are You Here to Accomplish?
Success Intelligence: Your Real Work
On January 28th-30th, I co-facilitated with Ben Renshaw and Avril Carson a public workshop called Success Intelligence: Living a Life you Love. Approximately 50 people attended the workshop. They were from all walks of life including media, politics, art, health-care, education, and business. For three days, we immersed ourselves in a rich inquiry into the nature of authentic success.
In the week before the workshop, I came across some words attributed to Roger Ebert. They read: “What you do instead of your work is your real work.” These words made me stop in my tracks. I felt an uneasy sensation in my stomach. At the same time a loud “bong” sounded off inside my head, one like you hear at the start of a Universal Pictures movie. I used Roger’s words to do an on-the-spot inventory on my life. The first question on my inventory was: What is the real work of my life? Continue Reading
Permanent busyness is not intelligent. In fact, it is my experience that permanent busyness is often a major block to success in work, relationships, and life. The Busy Generation has to learn that it is not enough to be busy. A busy life is not necessarily a life well lived. A busy work schedule is not evidence of any great accomplishment. Being busy neither guarantees success nor equates to success. Henry David Thoreau, the American philosopher, who has inspired so many leaders and thinkers, once wrote: It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants.
Today I am giving a 1-day workshop on success intelligence and the inner-life of a leader. The workshop is taking place in Manhattan, and is being hosted by 
Do you live your life only to get to the end of it? Most people answer this question with a “no,” but not everyone lives like they mean it. In the manic society that most of us experience, people exhibit a frantic, neurotic behavior I call “Destination Addiction.” This addiction is a major block to success. People who suffer from Destination Addiction believe that success is a destination. They are addicted to the idea that the future is where success is, happiness is, and heaven is. Each passing moment is merely a ticket to get to the future. They live in the “not now,” they are psychologically absent, and they disregard everything they have. Destination Addiction is a preoccupation with the idea that happiness is somewhere else. We suffer, literally, from the pursuit of happiness. We are always on the run, on the move, and on the go. Our goal is not to enjoy the day, it is to get through the day. We have always to get to somewhere else first before we can relax and before we can savor the moment. But we never get there. There is no point of arrival. We are permanently dissatisfied. The feeling of success is continually deferred. We live in hot pursuit of some extraordinary bliss we have no idea how to find. 
I like the story told of Socrates, the Greek philosopher, who was known for his love of marketplaces. He would always visit a market if his schedule permitted. Often, he would alter his schedule to make sure he could. It was noted, however, that Socrates rarely bought anything at the markets. One of Socrates’ students once asked him, “Why do you visit so many markets and make so few purchases?” Socrates smiled and replied, “I simply delight in looking at all the pretty things I don’t need.”
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