What is Enough?
Recently, I sat with a client experiencing a dilemma. A senior in years, a teenager in mind, his dilemma is “How to define the remainder of his life?” Will he define the remainder of his life by his relationships, spiritual well being, creating more income, community involvement, other life growth issues, and fulfillment? His answer to the dilemma is to focus on his business and increase his wealth. The question we arrived at was, “What is enough?” Have you considered,” What is enough for you?” Let’s explore how you might fill your days with enough.
Each morning I start my day with prayer. All that I read tells me that I will be sustained. Nothing is mentioned about rich or poor. According to what I read to be sustained I need to eat, sleep, and eliminate. Everything else is a choice.
Next, we need to decide how to invest our time, energy, and creativity to create a life of value. It might be said that creating a life of value equates to a rich life. Many of us though, including my client, perceive value by how much money is in the bank. Money is the standard measurement many people use to determine what ultimately is enough. Let me list a few areas of life that I believe are important enough to consider what is enough:
- Relationships
- Spirituality/religion
- Good health
- Community involvement
- Family
- Investments
- A plan for what is enough
The phrase, “If it is worth doing, it is worth writing it down,” comes to mind. Each of the key areas of life above deserves a written plan. It should include who, what, where, when, how and most importantly why. I believe the importance of why needs to be addressed immediately regarding what is enough. The why is our motivator. The why facilitates change. My client is motivated to get more money because he thinks that his significant other would consider him more her equal if he has more money. When he discovered, through my questioning, what is enough, he discovered that she is more than content with all he is contributing.
I believe that frequently we let our egos get in the way of making rational decisions regarding money and what is enough. I find this most troubling in people who have been at both extremes. The extremely poor, those who have experienced ‘rock bottom’, tend to achieve the greatest financial success once they experience some success. Those who have acquired financial success early and often tend to see money as their only measurement tool for success. They tend to let relationships border on the brink of failure pointing to their bank account as the equalizer.
Finally, we are frequently influenced by those who teach us our values and the values taught by society. I encourage you to embrace your own value regarding enough. In every case take the time to consider the who, what, where, when, how and why in your life. People, places, and things pass through our lives. I believe that one third are here to stay, one third are coming in, and one third are leaving at any one time. For those of us who continue to grow it is important to determine each person, place, or thing’s position at that time.
Gerry Rose runs INTEGRITY Networking Solutions in Oceanside, CA. He works with people in business who want to attract the right prospects and generate more referrals. More than 10,000 businesses have been presented the INTEGRITY Networking Solutions system in San Diego, Riverside, and Orange Counties.
Gerry’s stimulating presentation Unlimited Prospects, Unlimited Referrals is ideally suited for small business owners, home-based businesses, and independent professionals who want clearer direction and want to attract more prospects, develop dynamic systems, and strengthen their companies’ accountability. Gerry does one on one consulting, conducts a range of keynote speeches from thirty minutes to full-day education workshops.
His book series, Unlimited Prospects, Unlimited Referrals, are available on the website, www.integritysd.com.
Gerry has more than 20 years’ experience directing business owners how to grow their businesses. He is a networking dynamo. Those who know him will assure you that he does a great job of bringing people together—which is why he started INTEGRITY.
Involved with networking organizations since 1984, Gerry is a Distinguished Toastmaster, a member of Toastmaster International, and has chaired numerous chambers of commerce and non-profit organizations.
Are you truly committed to attracting the right prospects and generate more referrals? If so then contact INTEGRITY Networking Solutions for availability and information. You can contact Gerry by mail at 1610 Quiet Hills Drive, Oceanside, CA 92056. Direct dial (760) 439-4623; e-mail to gerry@integritysd.com. For more information, go to www.integritysd.com
