I’ve always been a big fan of Philosophy. I’ve actually applied that into my thinking in the way I’ve become an entrepreneur. Earlier this week, I watched The Life of David Gale, who is the head of Philosophy at a University. His opening lecture below, I thought was quite humbling in the way we quantify our lives.
“I want you to reach back into those minds and tell me, tell us all…
What is it that you fantasize about? World peace? Do you fantasize about international fame? Do you fantasize about winning a Pulitzer Prize? Or a Nobel Peace Prize? Or An MTV Music Award?
You get Lacan’s point.
Fantasies have to be unrealistic…because the moment…the second…that you get what you seek…you don’t…you can’t want it anymore.
In order to continue to exist…desire must have its objects perpetually absent.
It’s not the “it” that you want. It’s the fantasy of it. So, desire supports crazy fantasies.
This is what Pascal means when he says that we are only truly happy…when daydreaming about future happiness.
It came today. Or why we say…the hunt is sweeter than the kill.
Or be careful what you wish for, not because you’ll get it…but because you’re doomed not to want it once you do.
So the lesson of Lacan is, living by your wants will never make you happy.
What it means to be fully human is to strive to live by ideas and ideals…and not to measure your life by what you’ve attained in terms of your desires…but those small moments of integrity, compassion…rationality, even self-sacrifice.
Because in the end, the only way that we can measure the significance of our own lives…is by valuing the lives of others.”
The danger in a fantasy is that you’ll lose the drive once you get “it.” Because you’re not after “it,” you’re after the chase behind “it” – the idea of building yourself to get the next AMA, or the next Grammy.
A dream is never the prize. It’s a tool to achieve purpose.
Dreams are driven by ambition. Fantasies are driven by desires.
If a fantasy was something realistic to you, you wouldn’t call it one. It would be a dream – your compass that guides you to achieve your ultimate purpose in life.
#DreamBigHustleHarder