What Drives You?

He was a young associate in a big law firm with the drive to make it to the top. Most of the associates would have given anything to belong to the club of partners. From their perspective, once you have made it to this level, their status, wealth and connections would have them set for life. He actually thought this view was a bit naive. He already hung out with enough partners to realize that the power struggle would never be over. He just had an instinct for the underlying motives of people. He saw partners who had the desire to become the next CEO,  those who wanted to manage other partners, while most others just wanted to be part of the in-crowd. And to be in, you have to generate as much revenues for the firm as possible, or have to have power over others. Yes, he understood the rules of the game clearly and he was ready to jump in.

We all want something. What drives you when you go to work? Understanding what really drives us brings us a big step closer to a solution, that is for those who feel that there is something wrong with the workings of the law firm in our example. If you truly want to experience peace and love in your life, while still expressing yourself creatively, you will find that there is a Tao that gets you there. The good news is that our society is converging to a creative class. As most people have all the basics they need, they long for the extra, the spiritual connection, and true creators and artists can provide them. For an artist or an engineer, the creation is always first, the commercial sale or professional promotion comes second. Creators can get lost in the flow that shuts the scheming ego completely out.

Lord Krishna demands in the Gita of everyone "to work tirelessly, to do you duty without giving any thoughts to the fruits of your labor." Well, this describes the flow. The creator can do it, while everyone else would just get frustrated following this advice. The economic shift is on your side my friend. Find your creative outlet and the rewards - second in nature compared to the beauty to see your creation come to life - will come as well. Enjoy your drive of creation!