Are you driven by a sense of being part of a Greater Purpose?
The conversation I had so far with Estefan had not revealed any surprises. Of course he wanted his business to be successful. How successful? Well, he had two daughters going to college soon, and he would like to pay their full tuition and a car on top of that. Maybe after that, he would like to buy a villa on the Atlantic Coast. All nice, but not too exiting. “So what if you had all the money in the world. What would you do?” I asked him. He was quiet for a moment.
Said: “I don’t know. I would probably visit Mozambique, my father was a doctor in a small clinic there during the war did you know? I always would like to see what place he spend his time those years. Did you know that putting a well in a village there, plus pay a teacher for a year, would only cost a thousand dollars? I think I would adopt one village and do just that.”
“Why would you not adopt a thousand villages? That is only a million.” I asked.
His eyes lit up. “That’s it! To the memory of my father, I am going to adopt one thousand villages will wells and education!”
Estefan’s business took off.
He was now part of a greater purpose.
His drive was coming from the Character Dimension of the ‘Orientation towards the Transcendence’.
Character dimensions 6: Orientation towards the Transcendence
This character dimension has two sub dimensions:
- A) Having a Moral Compass
- B) Relation with the Higher World, beyond the LAW
Having a moral compass is all about your relationship with the LAW. The inner moral code, but also the laws of the society and profession you are in. Are you ready to break the law, follow it to the letter, or to the spirit?
We find people who disregard any laws at the bottom of this dimension of course, but just above that is another, more tricky category… Have you ever met people that always have the tendency to walk very close to the edge of the law, trying to follow agreements to the letter but not the spirit? Here you will find people who act morally wrong but who will hide behind the letter of the law. It is the type of behavior you see displayed by Lawyers in the courtroom, and is an example of being on the lower part of this character dimension.
In the middle of this ‘having a moral compass’ sub dimension we find very interesting behavior: It can be describe as ‘treat me well and I do the same, but if you don’t…’
Note that in a relationship this deserve level is what is called a ‘dependent giving’ and a ‘dependent love’. It is a love and a relationship with conditions attached to it. In the long term it breaks marriages and relationships.
Enough on how much people try to follow an agreement, let’s focus on the realm beyond the law. The next sub dimension is the Relationship with the world of the Transcendent.
This is the dimension that asks you: Are You God? Meaning, everything revolves around you– Or do you seek to find your place in a Greater Scheme by living for a greater purpose?
At the bottom of this sub dimension we find the egocentric people, at the higher middle we find people who feel part of something bigger and participate somewhat, and at the highest end we find the people who dedicate their life to the ‘cause’. Let’s explain the difference between the higher middle and the top of this dimension with a famous passage from Biblical scripture
Matthew 12:41-44 41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
Mother Theresa was at the highest level of this dimension, but so was Adolf Hitler. Both had a greater purpose by living for a cause bigger than themselves, and both would inspire millions. One for good, one for evil.