Sunday, May 1, 2011

Build a Castle, Not an Empire

Greetings on this Sunday evening, and Happy May 1 from Colorado!  The place where God vacations.  I know I promised I wouldn't get too philosophical, but that's half the fun of this blog right? To tell stories, give thoughts, and to keep in touch.  By the way, some of you have asked, and yes I'm aware of the tragedy that happened in HOD, I've been trying to wrap my brain around it.  I will always remember him as being a kind, true southern gentleman and the epitome of a professional.  Thank you everybody for keeping me informed, please continue to pray for the family.


Titles:
One thing I've noticed since entering my 20's and the working world is the emphasis people place on titles.  Director of this, CEO of that.  Titles are proudly waved as a display of success but the truth is, if you try, they are rather easy to obtain.  In Delaware, I can actually incorporate myself and become Joel Hensley, Inc.  I can be the CEO!

There are those who earn the right to their titles.  I've been diligently praying to God about this and hope that he will help me obtain things of long-lasting value.  That might not necessarily get me the kind of 'titles' which sound cool, but ultimately it will be more rewarding.  The truth is, with hard work, the titles will follow.  To me, character is more important and that is what I will do my best to strive for. Get into something for the right reasons and not for the prestige.  What gets me (or as Peter Griffin from Family Guy would say, "Grinds My Gears") is when people seek titles at the expense of other people or of a cause, how many have sold out in many ways for the sake of titles?

So my advice is this, do not seek titles, work hard and do what needs to be done...sometimes you'll receive titles and recognition, sometimes you won't, but to seek a title solely for its own sake is a mistake.  As Angus McFadyen (as Robert The Bruce) in the movie Braveheart said it best..."Lands,titles, men, power...nothing.  I have nothing," or as Wallace said earlier in the film "What does it mean to be noble?  Your title gives you claim to the throne of our country but men don't follow titles...they follow courage."

Castles and Empires
As the headline of this blog says, seek to build a castle instead of an empire.  What is the difference?  Castles last longer and are built on a strong foundation, they are stable, they build from the ground up, they do not move, they focus on reinforcing what is already there and making it strong.  Empires on the other hand, stretch themselves thin, looking for more to obtain rather than strengthening what it already has.  Empires with the exception of a few, typically don't last longer than a few hundred years, if that.  This can easily be applied to politics, but in your own life, seek out the things that will remain and don't decay quickly over time.  Go for quality and not quantity and ultimately the things that last forever which I will touch on at a later date :-)  .

3 comments:

  1. What does any of this have to do with Colorado??

    Haha, just kidding. Good thoughts. Miss you man.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ha, you won't like my Colorado post. The inspiration came from years of hearing people tell me stuff that is just flat out factually incorrect and they try to back it simply by saying "but I have a PHD so I know.." and from coming across people who take up the most useless endeavors simply to hold a title. My point is not saying that there is anything wrong with titles but some seek them to such a degree that it almost becomes sad.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hence, building an "Empire" of titles rather than focusing on castle of titles which may be fewer but havemore meaning.

    ReplyDelete