It only recently became clear to me that the riddle I’ve been chasing for 40+ years is this:
Why …
… in a country with as much wealth as the United States of America
— the envy of the world in its offerings of opportunity and prosperity —
are so many so far from realizing bona fide prosperity?
DISCLAIMER
This is NOT about redistributing wealth from the 1% to the 99%.
And I am definitely NOT running for political office!
Past focus has been narrower, asking:
Why are so many high school students not “Job-Ready” or “College-Ready”?
and
Why are so many college students not “Career-Ready”?
But also …
Why, in such an advanced civilization,
are not more folks “LIFE-READY”?
Some of the answers may be the same. But the concept of “Prosperity” seemed to be a more unifying theme with more degrees of freedom for exploration.
First, what do we mean by “Prosperity”?
I’m going to define “Prosperity” NOT in terms of accumulated wealth – although it could be a significant component of prosperity in many cases – but in terms of having a sense of CONTROL.
“… the most successful marines were those with a strong ‘internal locus of control’ – a belief they could influence their destiny through the choices they made.” Charles C. Krulak quoted in Smarter, Faster, Better, by Charles Duhigg, Random House, NY, 2016, p. 23
A person who has an intrinsic sense of control over his/her individual circumstances and over the major forces impacting those circumstances should, by all rights, feel a justifiable sense of prosperity.
Donald Trump – who owns at least 1% of America (by his personal account) – has both an extrinsic and an intrinsic sense of CONTROL and prosperity. (Some of it may be justified and some of it not!) Mother Theresa owned very little and worked in deplorable circumstances. But her immersion in her Mission to serve a Greater Good gave her a sense of “manageability” akin to a sense of CONTROL.
Perhaps a sense of MISSION is at least as good as a sense of control, and may be even better in many circumstances where great numbers of things are essentially uncontrollable.
A sense of control for most of the rest of us remains elusive much of the time.
It’s tempting to limit … and even keep decreasing … our sphere of engagement until we have absolute control of everything within our grasp … except, of course, for everything and anything outside that sphere of engagement on which everything ELSE often depends!
Gaining the upper hand in manipulating video games can give one a euphoric feeling of control – even of superiority – that carries absolutely no water in the grand scheme of things.
Perhaps the most utilitarian way to define base-line PROSPERITY is this:
Wanting only what you need,
needing only what is “Good for you”,
and having a more-than-reasonable chance of attaining it.
In that sense, one probably CAN “Have it all!”
An obligatory component of prosperity is sustainability; one can hardly feel genuinely “prosperous” without a reasonable sense of continuing … perhaps even increasing … favorable circumstances. HOPE for a bright(er) future is an integral part of a legitimate feeling of prosperity.
A sense of VALUE – of being valued – is important.
BELONGING is important. If you are part of a “going enterprise” … be it family, church, business, school, club, profession, etc. … you’ve got access to a breadth and depth of resources that can add and continue to grow in value.
Finally, having the capacity and inclination to CONTRIBUTE to the wellbeing of others, including time, energy, finances, goods and services, is a measure of prosperity. Wealth of any kind without generosity is a hollow and unfulfilling condition! Maybe that’s why MISSION is so important.
So, we’ve defined PROSPERITY and established the importance of CONTROL, but we haven’t yet answered the riddle: Why is PROSPERITY / CONTROL so elusive?
Unfortunately, we can’t blame all of the shortfall on our parents, “The Government”, teachers, coaches, the education system, the economy, the “Devil”, or some far-fetched conspiracy theory.
We’ll explore the underlying factors further in future blogs. In the interim, let’s look for – and work like Ninjas on bringing to fruition – everything we CAN control, and it will be amazing how much else becomes so much more manageable … not to mention how eminently prosperous we can legitimately feel about it! If all else fails, take a moment out of your stress-filled life and count your Blessings! More “countables” are definitely on the way for the Ninja in you!! Quartermaster
