Introduction: Leprechaun Gold

Why do you get up and go to work every day?

What’s it all for?

Most flavor-of-the-week business gurus will more or less tell you the same thing: that the reason you work is to acquire the money you need to live the life you want. And when you finally reach that number, then you’ll have the freedom and joy that you’ve always wanted.

Codswallop, in my opinion.

Now, it doesn’t help that our feeds are inundated with people pretending to live the good life—relaxing on beautiful white beaches, getting on airplanes to go on international vacations, showing off pictures of delicious-looking food, and enjoying drinks at happy hour surrounded by successful friends. All this reinforces the lie that everyone else is living the good life—except you. And, naturally, you just need to play the game a little harder so you can be like them.

With each picture and post, the cauldron gets stirred a bit more, and the aroma of the potion becomes that much more enticing—and so the game goes on.

Several months ago, I heard two businessmen talking about all of their techniques for living the good life. They discussed what had helped them achieve financial success, what had given them more time to do what they wanted, and how to block out all of the unwanted noise in their lives. At one point in the conversation, one of them said to the other something like this: “It’s like we’re running ourselves ragged trying to get the high score on a game that doesn’t even exist.”

They both laughed, and the conversation quickly trailed off.

But that gets to the real question: What game are you playing?

Most people are running around like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to acquire wealth, comfort, and pleasure with no idea that these things don’t actually last. It’s leprechaun gold that—just like the Weasley twins discovered—is here today and gone tomorrow.

And when we waste life’s capital on unsubstantial things that don’t last or satisfy, we have little left to invest in the things that do.

This is exactly why so many people who are “at the top” in the eyes of our society are some of the most miserable, sad, and insecure people on earth—because they’re squandering their lives putting points up on the wrong scoreboard.

To be clear, I’m not against money, I’m not against a nice house, and I’m not against a good vacation. Those are all fine things.

They just aren’t substantial things.

And many throw their lives away on them only to realize, far too late, that they don’t actually sustain.

Jim Carrey famously said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”¹

Those words may sound bleak, but the situation isn’t dire.

Because there is something real to stand on. Something that your life can be built on that will lead to ultimate fulfillment.

You just have to find it.

The Age of Distraction

If the pursuit of money, pleasure, and notoriety wasn’t enough to pull us off course, there’s an insidious enemy in our culture stalking us. And this has one purpose—to kill, steal, and destroy every bit of creative thought, charitable desire, and consequential action that we’re capable of.

That enemy is distraction.

We all know the dangers of distraction, but the problem is we’ve given ourselves over to it—willingly—and we’re wasting away the most precious resources of our lives.

It’s everywhere.

It’s in the outrage cycle of the political left and right, feeding our anger porn to keep us watching. It’s in the allure of sports culture, preying on our loyalties to entice us to gamble. It’s in the algorithms of social media, providing perfectly curated streams of nonsense to gain control of our eyeballs.

This is truly wicked.

And it’s all delivered 24 hours a day through every ding and ping on the smartphones we keep in our pockets.

We call all this “progress.”

But the truth is much more sinister. What we’re seeing today is a culture where most people are giving their minds, their talents, their time, and their money to an unseen beast that controls them like a marionette on a string.

This isn’t the “Big Brother” that George Orwell imagined—where every movement made is watched. Rather, it’s the Big Brother described by Chuck Palahniuk: “Big Brother isn’t watching. He’s singing and dancing. He’s pulling rabbits out of a hat. Big Brother’s busy holding your attention every moment you’re awake. He’s making sure you’re always distracted. He’s making sure you’re fully absorbed. He’s making sure your imagination withers. Until it’s as useful as your appendix.”²

We should take careful note lest we find ourselves addicted to the drug of distraction and turning tricks for any supplier just to get another hit.

If this sounds too crude or dramatic, just ask yourself if you wish you spent less time being distracted—whether on your phone, computer, or TV—and more time working out, pursuing meaningful hobbies, or being fully present with your loved ones. If your answer is the same as mine, then it means we have to take a stand against mindless consumption, lest we distract ourselves into oblivion.

Standing up to the age of distraction requires something that our culture severely lacks and often despises: self-restraint.

Our culture has conditioned us to believe that self-restraint is the enemy of freedom. The problem is that what our society calls “freedom” is really just unrestrained autonomy—and that’s the cruelest tyrant we could ever put on the throne.

That’s why self-restraint is the way we take our lives back.

It can start with something as simple as removing social media from our phones. Or going for a walk every day without any electronics distracting us from thinking about what’s really going on. Or choosing to read on the couch at night rather than watch Netflix.

It can start with setting constraints on how much our company or personal finances will grow, so we aren’t infected by the cancer of growth for the sake of growth. Or placing guardrails on which days we’ll work (and which days we won’t) so we can be fully present with the people we love.

Of course, this all comes at a cost.

It means we might not be caught up on the latest TV shows. We might not be up to date on the latest slam from famous political pundits. We might miss out on profitable deals because we couldn’t respond over the weekend.

But that’s fine.

Because this is how we break free from the deceit of wealth and the allure of distraction.

We don't make the most of our lives by indulging in the undisciplined pursuit of more or distracting ourselves to death on our devices. We make the most of our lives by giving our time, our talents, and our resources away to others for their betterment.

The math on this may seem backward, but as the Wise Teacher once insisted, those who hoard their lives for themselves will lose them, but those who give their lives away will ultimately find them.

The Upside-Down Life

It’s amazing that meaning, purpose, and significance are found through pouring yourself out for others rather than through serving yourself at others’ expense.

There are countless examples of this.

The significance you feel after spending a day teaching your son to ride a bike or skateboard. Or the love that’s shared while taking your daughter on a camping trip to celebrate the person she’s becoming. Or the joy experienced when you do the dishes and take out the trash so your spouse doesn’t have to. Or the meaning gained when you take less so you can pay your team more. Or the satisfaction achieved when you create a piece of art for the benefit of someone else, even though most people will never see, read, or listen to it.

The upside-down nature of life is that as we pour out what we have for others, we open up the capacity for ourselves to be filled from streams that actually sustain us.

And this rhythm of being filled then pouring out, being filled then pouring out—like breathing—is how we achieve the meaning we so desperately crave.

Ask most average cynics today, and they’ll tell you this is a cute idea that’s ultimately hogwash. They’ll say that you’re the only constant in your life, and therefore, you need to make sure that you’re always looking out for number one. Sure, you can paint your own rainbow or write your own story, but at the end of the day, there’s no greater significance to your life.

Meaning, purpose, belief, morality, and responsibility are merely what those too weak to face the cold, hard truth of life use to try and keep themselves warm at night—right?

Wrong.

Despite what Freud or Nietzsche argued, meaning, purpose, belief, morality, and responsibility (i.e., self-restraint and the belief that there are things bigger and more important than oneself) are what lead to joy, contentment, and satisfaction.

This means that the way to achieve the success we so desperately want is to surrender ourselves to help others achieve it. In his masterpiece Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl admonishes, “Don’t aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself.”³

It’s almost like our world has been intentionally created as a loop of grace where hoarding our time, talents, and resources only results in stagnation and rot, but pouring them out for others allows a fresh replenishment of our own supply.

If we want to achieve the meaning, purpose, and satisfaction that we were intended for, we must learn to give our lives away for others.

This starts with the people closest to you—family, friends, co-workers—but it doesn’t stop there. A life worth living is one poured out for the stranger, the orphan, the immigrant, the widow—and, yes, even the undeserving.

You want to know what it’s like to truly live? Start mentoring those younger team members in your company who need wisdom and direction—even if they end up quitting. Start taking half days every Friday to spend time with your kids—even if your work suffers for it. Start giving a portion of your income away to someone who needs it—even if it forces you to cut back on your personal spending. Start living below your means so you can learn the joy of contentment—even if it means you don’t get to drive the car you want.

Want to know how to be perpetually unsatisfied and constantly insecure? Pursue every bit of wealth and pleasure you can imagine. Distract yourself into oblivion. Step on the back of anyone it takes to get ahead. Buy that vacation house, that expensive watch, and that new motorcycle.

Again, this doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy the things we have or that the ultimate end is to throw off material possessions to achieve the nirvana of detachment. Rather, it means investing what we’ve been given—our businesses, our bank accounts, our minds, and our skills—to serve something larger than ourselves and pass on the blessing that we’ve received.

Because, as counterintuitive as it may seem, surrendering to this upside-down nature of life pulls us up from the bog of selfishness and materialism our culture is drowning in—and illuminates the path toward life in all its fullness.

Conclusion: The Ever-Passing Moment

So why all this talk about purpose, meaning, belief, and service to others?

Because your life is too precious to waste on things that don’t matter. And because none of us want to wake up at 70 years old and realize we’ve spent our lives investing in the wrong things.

You have the ability to make a real, tangible difference in the lives of those around you—and it will be squandered if you’re not careful.

The deceit of wealth and the allure of distraction are the siren’s call of our day. They mesmerize and entice us with their seductive song—waiting for us to shipwreck our lives against their rocks and join the carnage of all who’ve perished there before.

A wise man once said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”⁴

He’s exactly right.

Life does move fast. And, try as we might, we can’t put time in a bottle—all we can do is make the most of the ever-passing moment we’ve been given.

When’s the best time to plant a garden? Five years ago.

When’s the second-best time? Today.

So start planting.

Make the most of what you have right now because the past is over—and the future can only be influenced by the now.

Do you want to have a business that people love to work at? Do you want a marriage that’s vibrant with love and intimacy? Do you want deep friendships that last for decades? Do you want to get out of the rut you’ve been stuck in for years? Do you want to see the things around you change?

Well, it’s time to start.

Because the future you needs the present you to get to work right now—or it’s never going to happen.

Time is like vapor (hevel, in the words of the Biblical authors). It can’t be kept or stored. It can only be used.

So use it well.

Your business? Yes, please grow it—and use it to bless others. Your house? Yes, please make it beautiful—and use it to bless others. Your bank account? Yes, please save well—and use it to bless others.

Make the most of what you have right now. Prepare for tomorrow, but never assume it.

Take regular stock to make sure you’re investing in the things that truly matter.

Jean-Luc Picard once said, “Time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment because it will never come again.”⁵ We’d be wise to listen to those words.

Because the stakes are high.

And the road is long and winding—with ditches on both sides.

So be careful.

The Good Teacher beckons us to leave behind the lies of comfort, selfishness, and materialism so we can experience the life that’s truly life.

But that choice is up to you.

Why do you get up and go to work every day?

What’s it all for?

This isn’t just ethereal nonsense for the navel-gazing philosopher. These are questions worth thinking about right here and right now.

Because your life is all you have.

So live well. Be a blessing to others. Obtain an eternal perspective.

And don’t fall asleep at the wheel.

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1. Stone, Jay. “Carrey’s Been Busted.” The Ottawa Citizen, 16 Dec. 2005. ↩
2. Palahniuk, Chuck. Lullaby. Doubleday, 2002. ↩
3. Frankl, Viktor E. Man’s Search for Meaning. Beacon Press, 1992. ↩
4. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Directed by John Hughes, Paramount Pictures, 1986. ↩
5. Star Trek: Generations. Directed by David Carson, Paramount Pictures, 1994. ↩