the famous South African singer Roger Whittaker really got me thinking this morning. Not about anything I had not heard earlier: it was more like a renewed confrontation with a theory that has been contemplated many times before.
I was listening to the song “If I were a rich man,” in which Whittaker deliberated endlessly about his trips and skips if only he was an itty-bitty rich: He wouldn’t have to work hard; he would build himself a humongous house with staircases for special purposes: one going up, an even longer one coming down, and one more, leading nowhere just for show.He would fill his yard with chicks and turkeys and geese and ducks for the town to hear them squawking just as noisily as they could, so that all those outsiders could say, “Here lives a wealthy man!” You know, the way some affluent people do?
But then, at the end, the singer wakes up from his wild dreams. He sighs, and asks the higher power who made the lion and the lamb, and who decrees he should be what he is, “Would it spoil some vast eternal plan if I were a wealthy man?”
And that’s what did it for me today: That particular sentence that can be so far-stretching if you want to take a profound look at it. And what I realized brought renewed peace within me, because it made me understand that the art of living lies in doing your very best at whatever you do, but not push it too far, and not let your priorities get out of sight. I realized how crucial it is not to live in overdrive all the time, just because there is this goal that you want to achieve no matter what. And I realized that everything may very well be predestined, so that it becomes of no use to try to be what you will never be.
However, that being said, I also think that nothing will be achieved without genuine effort. In other words: you can only be what you want to be if you really work hard at it. Not if you just sit back and relax, and think, “Oh well. If it was preordained for me to become a millionaire, I will be one, even if I don’t do anything.”
Because, you see, I think that’s the problem of many people who live under more miserable circumstances than they probably should: they acquired themselves a victimized outlook on their life, blaming their background, culture, color, or disability, and considering themselves a lost case even before the first round of their match has started. And so they dwell in their desolation, and they refuse any constructive opportunity handed to them, for they feel that they were born defeated.
And then, on the other hand, there are those who live so fanatically in the fast lane that they tend to lose their humane perspectives. All that matters to them is quantity, not quality of life. And they allow themselves to get involved in all sorts of inconsiderate politics and backstabbing activities, only to make one step ahead on the corporate ladder or earn a few dollars more.
So, now that the two extremes have been displayed against each other, here’s in conclusion the essence of Whittaker’s song to me: It’s good to work hard, and it’s vital to be determined in reaching your goal. It’s wise to stay alert, and it’s smart to do all the things that today’s management theorists teach us to do in order to stay in the game: Yes, we should maintain a Rolodex with people that may be important to our progress in life. Yes, we should regularly read new things to stay abreast and enhance our creativeness. Yes, we should have a plan and work out a strategy toward realizing our goal. And yes, we should not shy away from dreaming big, because only those who dare to dream big make it big.
But we should never lose our serenity and sanity over our drive toward accomplishment. The intrinsic part of everything we do should be centered on happiness and humaneness. We can achieve all the things we want and still be kind and respectful; trustworthy and honest; encouraging and helpful toward others along the way. For if it fits in the vast eternal plan that we should be wealthy, influential, and powerful, we will be.
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