It is possible to pay too much for success. To paraphrase a well-known verse from scripture, what does it profit us to gain the whole world if we lose our souls?
How can anyone keep moving up in life without selling out? If you achieve significant results while at the same time being true to your values, principles and beliefs, you will enjoy great success in life.
There are many ways that we can “sell out.” Be careful of these:
We sell out when:
1. Our behaviors are inconsistent with our values.
A hypocrite is someone who says one thing but does another. To avoid hypocrisy, we must continually check the distance between our lips and our life.
2. We act out of expediency rather than principle.
JC Watts points out that if good politics were based on polls instead of principle, we would never have had a civil rights movement in the U.S.
Doing what is popular, quick and easy is often the shortest distance to moral bankruptcy.
3. We participate in activities — or organizations — that are not life giving.
Devoting one’s career to a company that markets products that are bad for consumers and/or the environment is not the highest use of one’s talents.
4. We don’t tell the truth.
We can’t always tell people what they want to hear, but we can almost always tell them in a way that they’ll be willing to listen.
Mirabeau once said, “If honesty did not exist, someone should invent it as the best way of getting rich.”
We owe it to others to tell the truth.
5. We gain at the expense of others.
Exploiting others for personal gain–taking credit or taking advantage — is indefensible. There is an old adage that says morality is loving people and using things; immorality is loving things and using people.
6. We have opportunity to contribute… and do not seize it.
How often do we pass by someone that we might have helped, but are too self-absorbed to offer assistance? We can’t contribute when we strive only for
personal gain.
A successful exec at Intel once said, “I can tell that I’ve hit the wall at work, and that I need to recalibrate my life, when I can no longer empathize with others, when I’m focused only on results, when I ignore other people’s goals, and when I become frustrated with life’s interruptions.”
7. Ultimately we sell out when we settle for being less than we could have been.
Living a life of unfulfilled potential deprives you of the fulfillment you are capable of, but it also deprives society of the contribution you could have made. Being the best you can be isn’t about an egomaniacal drive to be perfect, but about a healthy motivation to achieve your true potential and, in the process, create a greater good for those around you.
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Mark Sanborn, CSP, CPAE is president of Sanborn & Associates, Inc., an idea studio for leadership development. He is an award-winning speaker and the author of the bestselling books, The Fred Factor: How Passion In Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary Into the Extraordinary, You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader: How Anyone Anywhere Can Make a Positive Difference and The Encore Effect: How to Achieve Remarkable Performance in Anything You Do. His book Up, Down or Sideways: How to Succeed When Times are Good, Bad or In Between was released October 2011. To obtain additional information for growing yourself, your people and your business (including free articles), visit www.marksanborn.com
-what was your biggest takeaway lesson from the ideas above? How can you put those ideas to use in your life? Share in the comments below.
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