Titles, labels, ego, and pride

Fewer things get in the way of a life well lived more than the desire for titles, labels, ego, and pride.

 I met a guy not long ago and he gave me his business card that didn’t have all the usual titles and fluff as on most business cards. It had two things on it. His name and his phone number. I like that. Simple, clear and no fluff, just here is who I am.

I have talked about this before in other blogs but the two real determining factors in who a person really is, can be found on his/her refrigerator and on the table at their funeral. You never see titles, labels, and awards on a refrigerator. What you see are pictures of the most important people in their life. At a funeral, you never see a picture of the person’s office or sales awards. You don’t see a picture of his/her house or cars. No, you see many of the same pictures that were on their refrigerator before they died.

If you need titles and labels to feel secure in yourself, there is a deeper issue in your heart. The person who doesn’t need any of that, is more free in life and probably has many more friends and lives in peace. They say that Sam Walton (Walmart) even after he became wealthy, still drove the same truck to the same diner for breakfast every morning with his lifelong friends. Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway) still lives in the same house he has owned for the past 65 years.

There are many more examples of the opposite life choices than the way Sam and Warren lived their life. Ever in doubt, just look at the news on the Tech folks and Hollywood actors and pro athletes. Harmon Born was my mentor. He was a Ford and Lincoln car dealer and at one time, very wealthy. I remember one time when I was young man, he was driving me home after church and I ask him why he drove a Ford instead of a Lincoln. He told me that he never felt comfortable in a Lincoln and drove a Ford because that was where he started.

Being proud is very different than full of pride. Proud is something you hold inside you. Pride is something you show to others. In life choose a path that best portrays the person you want to be and the person you want others to see. KT

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