One thing you may not have

At a party given by a billionaire on Shelter Island, Kurt Vonnegut informs his pal, ­Joseph Heller, that their host, a hedge fund manager, had made more money in a single day than Heller had earned from the whole history of his wildly popular novel Catch-22. “Yes,” Heller responds, “But I have something he will never have… enough.”

In his latest book, Little Big Things, Tom Peters says, “Vanguard Mutual Fund Group founder John Bogle wrote the best “business” (LIFE!) book I’ve read in years. The (BRILLIANT!) title: Enough.” Rather than expend several paragraphs summarizing the short-but-very-sweet-and-very-lucid to me, I’ll let some chapter titles do the work for me:

“Too Much Cost, Not Enough Value”

“Too Much Speculation, Not Enough Investment”

“Too Much Complexity, Not Enough Simplicity”

“Too Much Counting, Not Enough Trust”

“Too Much Business Conduct, Not Enough Professional Conduct”

“Too Much Salesmanship, Not Enough Stewardship”

“Too Much Focus on Things, Not Enough Focus on Commitment”

“Too Many Twenty-First-Century Values, Not Enough Eighteenth-Century Values”

“Too Much Success, Not Enough Character”

With just a few words, Tom Peters is able to describe to us the signs and temperament of the times.

I was listening to the world’s most celebrated business leaders like Jack Welch, Jim Collins and others of similar caliber, say that the latest economic recession triggered by the sub-prime housing debacle is not so complicated to understand. It is driven by greed.

Greed tends to drive people to indulge in reckless and dangerous endeavors. The folly of human nature is neatly summed up by the case of the middle-aged schoolteacher who invested her life savings in a business enterprise, which had been elaborately explained to her by a swindler. When her investment disappeared and her wonderful dream was shattered, she went to the office of the Better Business Bureau.

“Why on earth,” they asked, “didn’t you come to us first? Didn’t you know about the Better Business Bureau?”

“Oh, yes,” said the lady sadly, “I’ve always known about you. But I didn’t come because I was afraid you’d tell me not to do it.”

I have met business people who have grown greedier now that they are making more and it’s not a pretty sight to behold.

Living a simple life is indeed a challenge, especially when you and I are bombarded everyday by advertisements that warn us that if we don’t have such product or we don’t own such brand, our value and importance consequently diminish. And so enough is almost always never really enough; it’s got to be more.

And the more money we make, the higher the status of life we want to have. The aspiration aspect behind this may not necessarily be evil, but the motive and methodology of wanting to go up may just be the source of evil. Some would cheat, others would deceive. Some would manipulate, others would scheme. While the purposed “success” is gained in this way, something of greater value is lost – that is, the person’s character.

Most think, he who dies with the most toys win! Not really. He who dies with the most toys remains dead. But what is worse than physical death itself is the death of the soul and spirit – a stiffening of the soul, a hardening of the heart and the growing insensitivity to the needs of others.

Paul in the New Testament says, “I have learned to be content in whatever state I am.” Now that is true wealth embodied in the word “Enough.” Enough here becomes plenty: plenty of time for loved ones; plenty of help to those who are in need; plenty of peace, joy, humor and laughter to savor the beauty of life. This is true wealth indeed.

Let this be the one thing you have – Enough!

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