My sales pipeline took a hit this week and made me contemplate “what is love”.
But David Guetta didn’t have the answer so I looked to literature. An Italian gentleman caught my eye.
The poet Gabriele D’Annuzio. He was a small, balding man. In fact, some accounts call him “physically odious”.
He also had a prolific string of lovers.
So, needless to say, me feeling sorry for my pipeline or you not getting what you want has nothing to do with your <insert limiting belief>.
Let’s invert the problem. How to not get what you want?
Most people that fall in that category seem to have one common quality:
They think the universe isn’t friendly.
Yeah, I know this sounds woo-woo (the incense sticks are hitting); but consider this- does the Sun ever ask the Earth for anything in return?
I think that’s real love. Self-less. Non-transactional.
But that’s also utopia. Only saints give without getting.
Two data points from my life:
- I got fired earlier this year. I loved my job, it just didn’t love me back. But… 15 days later- found another role and back on the merry-go-round we went.
- 7 years and 8 failed projects. Headline of my resume from building internet businesses. A small footnote is the modicum of success I’ve seen in the past 3 months.
And therein lies the paradox.
Can you continue improving yourself even if you feel you suck right now?
Can you help a friend out without making a mental note of who ‘owes’ whom?
Can you still wish your ex well even if they wish you’d drop dead?
Can you continue loving the game even if it doesn’t love you back?
If yes, you unlock a new level.
You become the Sun.
You become love.