Heading for the second mountain

June 29, 2022

I worked for a large organization that purchased a very expensive piece of software and paid millions of dollars for an outside company to help implement it. It went over budget, took longer than planned, and, in the end, caused more workarounds and the adding of additional people to babysit it. Heck, if you bought a car that cost more than you expected, ran poorly, and caused you to walk more than you did before purchasing it - you most likely would return the car. But, I digress, topic for another day. One of the smartest people I met on that implementation was new in his career. He was articulate, organized, and hard working. He obviously had a bright future with many promotions and greater income in his future. Two months into the project he pulled a big rip cord and quit. He obviously had been planning his exit, and in looking back, probably had done quite a bit of self-reflection. He quit so he and his wife could begin teaching school in a part of the world with great need and greater challenges. The last I checked in on him, he had a bright smile and was doing well. He never returned to the project.

When cleaning out some papers from my office I came across an article from a friend entitled, “The Moral Peril of Meritocracy” by David Brooks. It made me think of the young man from the implementation. Brooks compellingly describes that most of us start our work lives climbing a mountain. We are getting a degree or starting at the bottom and working our way up; trying to better ourselves, our reputation, our bank account. Then, many of us hit something. We have a brush with cancer, a loved one passes, or, more likely, we realize that what we are chasing isn’t that fulfilling. Brooks said that some people get stuck in that trough and become frozen in inaction. But, others realize that “life is actually defined by how you make use of your moment of greatest adversity.” They realize there is a second mountain, and are ready for a “larger journey.” I got goosebumps when Brooks stuck the landing:

If the first mountain is about building up the ego and defining the self, the second is about shedding the ego and dissolving the self. If the first mountain is about acquisition, the second mountain is about contribution.

The young man from the implementation understood this. Like him, I believe we are all built to contribute something unique to us. You have a gift that only you can share with the world. It most likely will not make headlines. It may only be experienced by a small group of people - perhaps one person. But, it is yours. If you haven’t found it - please keep looking - we need it.

Check out the entire David Brooks’ article.

The Moral Peril of Meritocracy

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