Do we want it now or later? At some point, everyone will wrestle with the answer to this question along the journey of life and leadership. Is it the success of today or the significance of tomorrow that matters?
Now or later?
This past week, an extremely influential person in my world handed me a book. It is called the River of Doubt by Candice Millard. It’s the story of President Theodore Roosevelt’s post presidential expedition along a dangerous tributary of the Amazon River that resulted in a near death experience, one he would never physically recover from.
I consider myself an “aspirational reader.” That’s my own definition for someone that continues to buy books even though they already have a stack on the nightstand to read.
I have always been drawn to Presidential leadership. Regardless of party, beliefs, or ultimate performance, these leaders emerged to the most prestigious office in the world. You don’t arrive at that position without the ability to influence people. There is a lot to learn from every President’s story, especially Roosevelt’s.
With that said, I elevated this book to the top of the pile. I took it with me on a trip to Birmingham, Alabama this weekend where Grant was wrestling. There is always some downtime at a tournament, so I dove into it.
The first thirty pages of the book provoked this question in my head. Do we want success now or significance later? Here are my thoughts as I start this read:
Success
President “Teddy” Roosevelt is considered to be one of the most popular presidents ever. Despite a childhood plagued by illness due to his asthma, he would go on to persevere and experience tremendous success in this world.
Quick history lesson on his success. He graduated from Harvard, was elected to the New York State Assembly at the age of 23, was a war hero, was instrumental in the creation of the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum, and would go on to become the youngest President ever, at that time. He was charismatic, bold, and adventurous.
Although extremely popular, at the end of his second term, he announced that he would not seek a third. He supported William Howard Taft to succeed him on the party’s ticket.
Taft would go on to be elected as our country’s next President. Roosevelt quickly became disappointed in Taft’s leadership and chose to run again four years later. He would lose his party bid against Taft, but decided to run as an independent. That effort would prove unsuccessful as well.
An extraordinarily successful man quickly became…not so successful. In the book, Millard says, “He (Roosevelt) knew that…he would lose the election but also this bright, unblinking spotlight. He would be reviled by many and then ignored by all, and that would be the worst death he could imagine.” The “unblinking spotlight” had quickly faded.
Those in life and leadership that desire the spotlight are self-serving. Not only can success be selfish, but it can also be short lived. It’s not sustainable.
Significance
Another great read I would recommend is Bob Buford’s Halftime. The moral of that story…everyone reaches a “halftime” in life and leadership. A halftime in which we experience the transition from success to significance.
Millard paints Roosevelt as a person who wrestled deeply with the tension between success and significance.
The election loss was not his first devastating loss. Roosevelt lost his first wife and his mother on the same day! To deal with the pain of his tragic losses, the well to do New Yorker decided to head out West to be a rancher. He spent three years in the Dakota Territory before coming home.
There, he would gain an appreciation for the beauty of our nation’s landscape and developed a desire to preserve it for generations to come. One of his greatest legacies is the preservation of more than 200 million acres of public land.
This achievement was not rooted in success, it was grounded in significance. Significance that will serve generations that President Roosevelt would never see.
Success pursues the spotlight, but spotlights always cast shadows. Within the shadows, operate those that seek significance. Significance is selfless and sustaining.
Conclusion
Back to the initial question…Do we want it now or later?
Don’t get me wrong, being successful is important. Accomplishments, achievements, and accolades…feel good. Without success, we may never be in a position to achieve significance.
What I’m suggesting is this. If our priority remains to be successful, we will pass up the opportunity for significance. Significance outlasts us by serving others. It’s leaving imprints on the hearts and minds of those we are entrusted to lead in this world, professionally and personally.
Without significance, our impact ends when we leave this world. With significance, that impact lives on beyond us. That is our legacy…and it matters.
