Whatever you do you will fall. Sooner or later. That’s the truth of it. Every high has to be followed by low. Every success has to be followed by failure. There is nothing new in this. What most of us don’t realize is we are not completing the larger journey soon enough to witness this phenomenon as a whole. This is especially true in the highly globalized world we live in.

Let me tell you a story. A friend of mine passed out from a renowned college. Secured a good job. Did well initially and then failed. It was arguable why the person failed. He believed it was the company’s fault. Company believed it was his fault. But this friend of mine did not waste his time. He picked up his bags and moved to a new company at a new pay grade. He kept repeating this exercise every 2-3 years until he decided it’s time in life to make peace with whatever is happening. Eventually came a time when nothing affected him as much till the time he was able to secure his big fat check. Eventually he was working just for survival. This is practically all of us.

I am not saying this isn’t prudent. Also I am not saying that one shouldn’t switch jobs. I am just hinting that if we keep jumping from one opportunity to another,without believing in anything, we might never find our purpose. The context for switching should be learning or chasing an idea rather than a big fat check. Because eventually the marginal utility of money starts diminishing and one craves for purpose. And the sooner one finds it, the more eventful the future journey becomes.

What if the first or second time the fallout happens, the person would have stuck with the company? (if he believed in the idea). When founders are stuck with bad ideas, they don’t shut down the company. They change their ideas. They have the responsibility of providing for their staff. They can’t just shun their responsibilities like that. What if a normal employee with abundant opportunities displayed the founders mindset? What if the given employee just cared about the users, not his paycheck, not his personal ego, not status? To idealistic and stupid it seems.

The idea is simple. When a person is obsessed with a phenomenon or an idea, the external factors don’t matter as such in the long run. Once you have witnessed the entire journey of an idea/phenomenon you become invincible at that. No one knows it more than you and that holds value. The fat check will eventually come, but this time it’s utility won’t fade.

It’s like having few best friends or having many friendly acquaintances . One sure benefits from the network, but can actually exert more influence over a few.

Also I know, everyone is not lucky to find the purpose. But that should be the goal. To chase something you can love for the rest of your life. That makes us invincible.