The Tension of Wondering

It decays our most sincere efforts. We find it one inch beyond the start, one million miles before the finish. This is where we find, the tension of wondering.

Whether you are a physician, a teacher, business owner or a chef, all meet at the crowded altar of wondering. This altar cares not whether you are rich or poor, self-educated or Ivy-league, because the real question is not whether we have accomplished something great in our lives, but whether what we have accomplished really matters.

I know great men and women of faith. Those adorned with high morals and deep integrity, yet I've never met one who at some point in their life has not wondered whether the entirety of their efforts is essentially meaningless.

Here on LinkedIn we talk about business, social matters, fund-raising and wealth, but every now and then maybe we should discuss something perched above it all. That is; what is the meaning of our efforts? Beyond the pedestrian logic of supplying for our families, what is the true meaning of our efforts if through our efforts others aren't encouraged to be better human beings?

When you see innocence cut down on a regular basis or when injustice is so natural it seems justified, we, the entrepreneur and the employee alike, would do well to take a few moments of self-reflection. The kind of reflection that provides others a mirror to see themselves.

I traffic in storytelling. As for me, I will continue to serve my clients with compelling narratives to grow their marketshare, but I have also decided to double down on my efforts to encourage those I work with to be more meaningful, more human, and more attentive to the suffering around all of us. And in that, maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to loosen the tension of wondering whether any of what we do as professionals matters at all.