Learning What Matters In Business
Staying True to Yourself, Your Values, and Your Dream
“I try to find the core values that are so fundamental that they transcend ethnic identity. That doesn’t mean I run from it. I embrace African-American culture and I love it and embrace it, but it is a part of a human identity. So I’m always trying to make a larger human statement.”
Wynton Marsalis is an exceptional musician with talents, qualities, and values that extend beyond his music and his culture. His words are a lesson for us all - whatever our background, color, or culture. The world is a much better place for the gift of such people as Wynton Marsalis. His music is his business, and he uses it to serve a greater purpose.
There are those who are able to see beyond themselves, who have the ability to see 'the big picture' and the value of adhering to a core set of values that serve not just themselves, but the world.
If you wish to be 'more' than you are at this moment, seek to be one among those who have succeeded by seeing the bigger picture. Seek out those who see beyond their own self-interest. Seek out the writings and the company of those who adhere to higher standards and aim for those values that serve not just them but the world.
In business, and in life, adhering to such core values helps us become the best we can possibly be, create something worthwhile, and serve a greater purpose.
So you may ask what this has to do with your own business venture.
When most of us dream of owning a business, most of us have very big dreams. We have determined what success means to us.
Some of us have just developed a great passion for something we believe the world now needs and does not have.
We envision the world as we know it flocking to the doors of our establishment, and people enthralled by our product or service.
In short, we start with a dream.
Jerry Greenfield has said "Businesses can lead with their values and make money too. You don't have to simply be purely profit-driven. You can integrate social and environmental concerns into a business, be a caring business, be a generous business, and still do very well financially."
We don't start out thinking or expecting we'll fail, and we don't start building a business because we are afraid of something, or believe that we will become lost in the 'stuff' that happens every day.
We start out believing that we will not only succeed but succeed greatly.
We start with a vision that makes our heart beat faster and keeps us engaged, thinking, and planning late into the night.
And, according to Richard Branson “… the real challenge is making it happen while remaining true to ourselves and our core values.”.
So identify your values. Name your dream. Build it. Pay attention to the details. And always remember who you are, and what you value.
This is the surest way to business success and a satisfying look back on life.
