This week we’re going back to an old standby of mine, the “this versus that” blog format, where we compare and contrast two words, kind of like many of us did in High School English class.
And naturally, we’ll look at the words in general first, and then move into how they play themselves out in the context of family business.
Of course I typically begin with a set-up around my inspiration for my posts, which I love to do to provide some background and context, which can sometimes be interesting, entertaining, and useful, and hopefully occasionally all three.
Here goes.
Meditation Phone Apps
For the past year and a half or so, I’ve become a regular meditator. My streak on one of the meditation apps I have on my phone is over 500 straight days, which I sometimes find pretty remarkable.
I actually begin each day with at least 20 minutes on one or two apps that I use, and I feel like my day gets off to a good start. I alluded to this back in Rocky Mountain High: Best Is Yet to Come.
I like the App called “10% Happier” for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that creator Dan Harris has aimed it directly at people like myself. He pulls no punches and states upfront that it’s “Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics”.
Tell Me the Story So I’ll Believe
I know that there are plenty of skeptics out there, including Harris himself. I had first “met” him on his 10% Happier audiobook last summer. I only learned about the related app later from a colleague as we compared notes on meditation apps.
I want to side track onto Harris’ book because not only has he helped me understand meditation better, he actually inspired me in the way I approached the writing of my recent book, Interdependent Wealth: How Family Systems Theory Illuminates Successful Intergenerational Wealth Transitions.
In his book he spends a lot of time telling the story about how he learned about meditation, including all the ups and downs along the way.
I hope those who read my book will appreciate how this style of storytelling can add so much to a reader’s enjoyment of a book.
Context and Background in the App Too
Each meditation session on the app also has some background that gives context to the session. These are videos of Harris asking questions of the meditation expert.
It’s from one of those videos that this blog post’s inspiration arose. Joseph Goldstein, a meditation teacher widely featured on the app, talked about the difference between our expectations and our aspirations.
I knew immediately that there was a blog post in there!
Expectations: What We Believe Will Happen
Our expectations are essentially what we believe will happen, they’re what we “expect”. They’re typically what we think will likely occur, say, on average; not the best result, not the worst either.
Aspirations: What We Hope Will Happen
In contrast, our aspirations are based more on our hopes, and what we would like to see happen; more of a best case scenario.
Goldstein states at one point that we “plan for the worst, and hope for the best”, so he and I may differ a bit on the expectations part (worst vs average) but that’s not the most important aspect, so we’ll leave that aside.
The Family Business Version – Whose Expectations?
In so many family businesses, including the one I grew up in, the biggest issue is often that one person often has great expectations, but not for their own self, but for their children.
There are plenty of people who are working in businesses who feel like they really never had much choice in the matter; it was simply expected of them, and so here they are.
Of course in some circumstances, the offspring joining the family business was truly not a choice, but a matter of survival. I like to think that in the developed world, in this day and age, that doesn’t occur as often as it used to.
Human Capital – Maximizing Each Person’s Potential
Lately more families are starting to think about the term “Human Capital”, and how each person in a family can contribute what they do best, to the family’s wealth.
Usually when each person can live towards their own aspirations, they will be happier and more productive than those who are pursuing the expectations of their parents.
Is there an important conversation you need to have with a family member around this?
