Life and Business

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"Life is to Live, Love, Learn, and Leave a Legacy" ~ Steven Covey

Have you ever entered a discussion where the person you are talking to holds a position so diametrically opposed to your values or core beliefs that you become emotional? If you are a reasonably sentient being you recognize that counter arguments should always be examined in order for any of us to not become dogmatic. But sometimes the baseline premise of those that challenge us is difficult to accept. A number of years ago I entered a discussion with a manager who held such a position, not dissimilar to what many hold today and his premise was this "My business life, beliefs, behaviors, communications and actions are not the same as those I have with my family and close friends. I act and believe one way for business and another in my personal life" he said. Now this was an intelligent man. A Stanford grad who could hold his own in any debate, on any subject, and he honestly believed that what he did in his business life was separate from what he did and believed in his personal life. Do you believe this? Doesn't it become difficult to lead two separate lives? It seems to me that life is a journey that begins and ends and what we do in between, whether in business or personal relationships is all one. It seems to me that we are like a leaf that falls from a tree into a river. A leaf that winds it's course around rocks and over obstacles and eventually leads to an open sea. I don't quite see how a leaf that comes to a fork in the stream can go in two directions.

Business or personal - One Life - One Leaf.
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