As a reader, I like to share interesting things that I read. The article by David Brooks titled "The Credit Illusion" was a thought provoking read about the phases of life. When I read articles such as this, I wish I could write that well--think that well. When I said that to my husband, his response was, "That is why he writes for The New York Times."
While I encourage you to read the whole article, a few of the statements include:
You should regard yourself as the sole author of all of your future achievements and as the grateful beneficiary of all your past successes.
As you go through life, you should pass through different phases in thinking about how much credit you deserve. You should start your life with the illusion that you are completely in control of what you do. You should finish life with the recognition that, all in all, you got better than you deserved.
The credit illusion that Brooks talks about reminds me of the metaphor Jim Collins uses in his book Good to Great called "the window and the mirror." When good things happen, we should look out the window to give credit. When bad things happen, we should look in the mirror to see what we might have done differently. Yet, it is human nature to want to do the exact opposite. So we have to be careful about doing the right thing.
Another perspective of life phases comes from the movie City Slickers with Billy Crystal. Below is a clip that I use in sage-ing workshops or classes on the second half of life. Honestly, I think it is so funny. And the more years of life experience I gain, I think there is more truth to it than I did when I was younger.
let me know what you think.
I think this puts into proper perspective the current debate over how much credit business owners deserve for having "built it themselves."
Also I think the Billy Crystal clip is very funny but also way too pessimistic. But I am always too optimistic, not realistic, at least according to my wife!
Posted by: Ben | August 16, 2012 at 06:21 AM
I bought my 1st business when I was 23 years old and started 4 others from scratch. I built them on my own, many times working 14 to 16 hour days. There was no government help. Period. Have you ever built a business from the ground up ?
Posted by: El Kabong | August 24, 2012 at 12:16 PM