Fortune
And fame, that’s what we’re supposed to be striving for correct? I was reminded about how it could turn out when I watched an interview on Recode’s YouTube channel, during their 2018 Code Conference, with Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg and colleague Mike Schroepfer, Facebook’s CTO. You will know what they talked about, it’s been the most talked about technology internet event of 2018, followed closely by GDPR in the EU.
They likely have $$millions in the bank and maybe $$billions in stock options on top of that.
And they didn’t look happy, not in the slightest. They were being interviewed by the very tough interviewer Kara Swisher and being asked some very very tough questions, which actually they avoided mostly to answer completely.
If you wish to fill up 45 minutes of your time, you can watch it below.
[embed]https://youtu.be/i3QBy5T0qxw[/embed]
I have compassion for them, I truly have. Here you are working for the biggest Social Media company on the planet with billions of users and your greed and the greed of your shareholders has gotten the better of everyone involved with creating this monster of a company.
Can you truly be happy when your Uber drives you home after a long day of grilling by the media, accusing you of making too many mistakes, having to constantly apologise and promising that you’re going to do better? That must takes its toll on your human nature. Even when you might believe that it’s not you who is singularly responsible, you’re going to feel like you are, even when you are part of a team. After all you can’t let the side down and point the finger and say, it was his fault, why should I be taking the blame and all the media hassle?
Well, because you decided in a moment of madness that you wanted to work for the most famous social network in the world and you did actually sign up to take the good with the bad. The good has happened, your bank account is overflowing with more money then you know what to do with and now the bad is showing it’s ugly head.
There were a couple of times that both Sheryl and Mike solicited some sympathy from the interviewers and the audience. Mike suggested ‘I’m not trying to be one of the people that’s fired over all of this tonight’, brave thing to say actually with your boss sitting next to you. Sheryl asked if Kara had read her book. Her book is about the death of her husband and how she had to deal with that, it’s called Option B. They were looking for compassion but they didn’t get any. Maybe because we judge them for what they have and not for who they are as human beings?
Fortune is never what it lives up to be, fame is probably even worse. If you want adoration and feeling of wealth, love and respect for who you are and be satisfied with what you have right in this moment then look no further then yourself. If you can realise and see that you’re already happy when suffering is absent then you actually have it all. No fortune or fame will ever achieve that.
Happy trying!