The Measure of a Man

Son, 

Brandishing a ROLEX is not going to make you any more loved.  

There is no doubt about ‘dress to success’ - it is real because ‘perception is reality’  - what others see, is what they believe. 

There is no doubt you can ‘fake it till you make it’ because you are projecting a character you believe you can be before you have experience being that person, so you must stretch into the unknown ‘where this man has never walked before’ to evolve. 

However, there is a deeper self that is ‘the measure of the man’.  His value is not measured by the likes of property, coin or crypto, but rather by the likes of respect, love, and honor. 

Whilst the pursuit of wealth may be honorable, achieving wealth does not represent honorable. Often, it is the opposite. Many a wealthy man has run a gauntlet to make his wealth, only to legitimize himself to secure his wealth.  And what did he do with his wealth?  Maybe he built a massive home as a ‘monument to himself’ that he can admire from the end of his long driveway ? 

I think the ‘measure of a man’ is the total sum of comments that his friends and family would say about him.  He will have some that love him, and some that dislike him - this is natural in any group of people.  Maybe we delete the three most glowing comments, and delete the three most damning comments and then average the rest.  

Considering we all ned up in a grave, and the measure of each man is their legacy,  leaving money is not a legacy - if you want a true legacy, you have to be memorable. People remember you and refer to you for at least a generation, if not more.  Hopefully, your legacy is in your children’s memory of you.

And so, it is worth considering this :  To know the measure of a man, remove his ROLEX, and close his bank account - sit down and talk to him. 

May we be the inspiration of others! 

Dad.