John Donne Was Right

CNBC recently aired a rare documentary providing an interesting glimpse into the rise of what has become known as the super rich, a category of personal wealth in America that has skyrocketed to unbelievable heights. The documentary highlighted several interesting issues and points but one that I found particularly enlightening. In a candid interview with the network Indianapolis native, Tim Durham made several reflective comments. Above all was his loss for advice for the American middle class man and unapologetic lavish lifestyle. The lack of regret came mainly from Mr Durham’s appeal to a higher code, that of the American Dream.

What Mr Durham is really saying is that he feels no remorse for the gobs of green that find their way into his daily bank statements because, by virtue of his own hard work, he was entitled to spend said money anyway way he desired.

In the same way, I can think of several other cases where athletes have been defended for their astronomical salaries by countless talk show radio hosts because, through inheritance of incredible natural ability combined with superhuman motivation and sheer will power, they alone got paid.

I have really no interest in debating Tim Durham’s spending patterns, nor those of the rising “super-rich.” The point is not with the outlandish lifestyles of such wealthy people, but rather the issue is with something a little closer to home: our innate ability to develop tunnel vision and become exceedingly short-sighted (by ‘our’ I mean human beings).

In their book, The Way of the Shepherd, Dr. Kevin Leman and William Pentak detail this point a little more frankly:

The thing about sheep is they have a tendency to focus on the grass that’s right in front of them…It works the same way with people. They tend to put their head down to do their work and don’t look up again until the day is over.

Without belaboring the issue my point is this: often times we have an acute talent for being able to forget exactly why and how we arrived at the place we are. We misremember that there were a thousand variables completely out of our control that laid a platform for us to be where we are today.

The reason we forget is because life can become mundane, in the sense that we live on a minute-to-minute, daily basis and it is often difficult to put things into perspective on a yearly scale. The other reason is that there are variables that we can control (or sometimes the illusion of control) that oft-times provide us with a false sense of self-determinism, leading us to believe we shape our own lives.

Consider the savvy businessman who builds a successful company. There is no doubt that this man has astute analytic acumen, a diligent awareness of market temperature, strong leadership to build an effective management team, and revered discipline to keep him ahead of the game. He has, if effect, maximized his variables and reaped solid benefits.

But what of the things he could not control? He could not control the market himself. He could not control people’s preferences, their likes and dislikes that inherently built value into the goods or services in which he was selling. For it was the people in the first place who assigned value to said goods and services, it was the market that built the platform. This man simply took advantage of the platform laid out for him.

Granted, in some cases, unique individuals are able to manipulate and control the market in such a way to innovate new platforms. I would say first, that these are rarities in every sense of the word, and second that it would be folly not to consider the complex system of events and decisions that allowed such individuals a springboard into innovation. Indeed, no less than ten major technological, social, and political issues converged to create the internet revolution.

In much the same way, the athlete too is faced with many uncontrollable factors. Sure he is outstanding football player with an unmatched combination of size, speed, and skill. And sure, he not only was born with talent but he was a gym rat. He worked endlessly to hone his amazing natural talents into something otherworldly.

But what if football had not had been the most popular sport in his area. What if football was just a minor sport. What if, like the rest of the world, soccer was by far and away the most popular sport in America and there were no real opportunities for aspiring football players. There were no major sport leagues, no major contracts to pursue. It is the market that makes sports what it is. It is the people as a collective that give value to sports like football, basketball, and baseball. Ask a 6’7” 300 lb guy in Italy how he is doing with success in life, when guys that are 5’10” 145 lbs are cleaning house with revered (and lucrative) soccer clubs. Better yet, go ask either one of those guys in Kenya how they are doing at all.

The problem is not with the posh life of the rich, it is the attitude with which some of them seem live it. Theirs is a sense of defensible entitlement that follows a false assumption that they alone created themselves.

My point is not that money or a high standard of living defines a successful life in America or anywhere. Not at all. The point is that all of us, wherever we are, and however we are doing are a product not only of our free will but also of history.

A myriad of complex things connect to comprise our current situations and it is recklessness to believe we alone define ourselves. Be unapologetic of free will, but do not be confused for a second that whatever you are is the distinct product of some form of community. Be unapologetic of your history, but do not make the mistake that you single-handedly wrote that history.