The Man in Black on Joy
I want to add something to what I wrote earlier this morning. First, again, one more quote from actor Will Smith:
The maximum joy that I have is when I can create something that makes someone else's life lighter, or brighter, or better.
To that, I can only say a loud, hearty, AMEN.
I posted this earlier today, ending with the amen. I think I want to add a bit more. What Will Smith is talking about is creative love, or loving creativity, which I presented as the meaning of life in a chapter on Business and Meaning in the book If Aristotle Ran General Motors, back in 1997. You would not believe how many people have written me over the years about that chapter, saying that it's the most important chapter in any book on business they've ever read. Some say it's the most important chapter, period. And that knocks me out, and gives me a sense of great satisfaction. Because in that chapter, I was seeking to gather together what I considered all the world's best wisdom on meaning and dig deep to the root and then distill it all down to something that would be both simple and powerful. And that became:
Creative love. Loving Creativity.
That's why we're here. That's what everything we do should embody. And that's where joy comes from. It's all connected. If you want to ruminate on this more, If Aristotle is widely available in paperback, and the first edition hardcover is still floating around used, and there's an ebook available at Zolabooks.com.