I was listening to some music on YouTube and I came across
Clay Aiken. Most people outside the US have probably never heard of him, but he
was the runner up on the second season of American Idol. Well, I came across
one of his songs in particular entitled "Measure of a Man" and it got
me thinking, at the end of it all, how would you measure as to what extent your
life had been a "success". When I say "successful", I'm not just talking about professionally,
although that may be part of it, I'm talking about being "successful"
in life in general.
When growing
up, the standard life long dreams most people had were to be rich, famous or
CEO's of big companies. I wouldn't criticise any of these and if people want to
measure their success in life by these measures, then I say go for it. But
these measures are not necessarily for me. In regards to being rich, I don't
consider it an aim in life to be a millionaire, although it would be nice. For
me, I simply want to earn enough to be able to pay the bills, pay the mortgage,
put food on the table and perhaps have a little left over to put aside for a
rainy day. To put it simply, I just want to be comfortable and not have to have
that constant worry of "will I have enough at the end of the month?"
In regards
to being "famous", for some that would be a dream, for me, it would
be a nightmare. I, like alot of people, would feel incredibly uncomfortable
with my private life being constantly in the public eye. Yes, it's a bit strange me
saying that while putting my thoughts out in the public domain in the form of a
blog. However, with this blog, I have control over what details I put into the
public domain and if you look carefully at what I write, I rarely give any
explicit details regarding my private life. Simply, I would like to keep
certain aspects of my private life exactly that, private unless there's a good
reason for doing otherwise. Thus for me, being famous is out of the question.
In regards
to one day being a CEO of a big multinational company, although I would
seriously consider such a role if it were offered to me, for me it would be
important to be able to come home each night and spend time with my partner and
children (if I have any). For me, that will always come first and if being a
big CEO would prevent me from doing that, I am not sure I would be committed to the role for too long.
I have
hinted to this, but I consider my having a family life to be of vital
importance. As such, having a work life balance is more important to me than
earning millions or becoming a CEO. Yes, while I am at work, I would commit
whole heartedly to that work and I have no problem with putting in a few extra
hours here and there. But I will always look to take up my holiday time and go
on holiday with my partner and I would want to spend at least some time each
week either going out to a restaurant or something along those lines and not
having to worry about work.
So what
would it take for me to consider my life to be a "success" and what
do I consider to be the "measure of a man"? For me, it would be
having fond memories to look back on, close relationships to build upon and
living with no regrets. These memories being the typical ones people think of,
my wedding day, particular holidays, the day I finally pay off the mortgage and
the day if and when I emigrate. These are the things I will measure myself
against when considering my life's success, none of which have anything to do
with my professional life. This is why I place so much emphasis on my personal
life and why I consider having a work-life balance just as important as working
in an industry and role I love.
But if I
were to put it into one measure it would be, did I live? Did I make a
difference?
Thanks for reading,
Jason Cates
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