Victor Frankl, survivor of a Nazi concentration camp, who saw everything and nearly everyone in his life taken from him and destroyed, lived to teach the world from his experience.  One of my favorite Victor Frankl quotes comes from his book Man's Search for Meaning:

"Man's main concern is not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain, but rather to see a meaning in his life.  That is why man is even ready to suffer, on the condition, to be sure, that his suffering has meaning."

The reason this is so powerful to me is that most people I meet never seem to be "happy" because "happy" is exactly what they are chasing.  And as I said in an earlier post, happiness can never be captured by direct approach.  Happiness, rather, is the result of living the life God called us to live, fully utilizing His gifts for the purpose in which they were intended.  This always involves serving others, by the way, and only minimally may involve pleasure, although it always involves joy. 

People in our society have two points of confusion here.  First, they have believed a little too strongly in Thomas Jefferson's wording in the Declaration of Independence where he talks about the "Pursuit of Happiness."  (This phrase is certainly better than what else was considered to go into the document in its place, namely: "The ownership of property.") Pursuing happiness is an empty endeavor. That is the first point of confusion.  The more one tries to pursue happiness, the more it escapes and eludes them.  Why?  Because of the second point of confusion, which involves people thinking that pleasure brings happiness.  Pleasure does not bring happiness, but only the increasing hunger for more pleasure.  It is an endless spiral of self-serving consumption.

Now don't get me wrong.  I am not against having some fun and seeking some pleasure.  My photo gallery on this blog is full of such moments.  However, neither I, Orrin Woodward, nor any of the other top leaders with whom I am blessed to be affiliated, spend nearly as much time "playing" or "seeking pleasure" as people seem to think.  I have boats I use occasionally, a plane I fly when I get the chance, dune buggies and other such toys, too, that are dusty most of the time.  Most of these are slightly used unless in the entertainment and dream-building of other people.  For the most part, the great leaders in my life invest their time in something a lot higher than the pursuit of pleasure.

And that brings us back to Frankl's quote.  Paraphrasing: the main concern is not the pursuit of pleasure or avoidance of pain, but the yearning to see meaning in life, even to the point where suffering is found to be an acceptable cost in the name of purpose.  Another Frankl quote goes like this, "In some ways, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning."

Why is all of this important? Because this principle of making one's life about purpose rather than pleasure in the hunt for happiness is the key to the beginning of leadership.  In the last post, we discussed how leadership was an inside job and relied upon the inner spark of a leader.  It is not something that can be imposed from without, it is something that must be nurtured from within.  Where does this come from?

Purpose!

Having trouble "gutting up" and leading?  Keep getting distracted with the shiny objects on the side of life's road?  Finding it hard to motivate yourself?  Having trouble getting yourself to do what you know you should do?  Making excuses for you lack of performance?  Blaming others because they aren't meeting your needs?

These are all signs that you are not in touch with your purpose. 

To quote author Dan Castro, "Happiness, therefore, does not come from the elimination of pain, but from the realization of purpose."

Want to be happy?

Want real pleasure?

Get in touch with God's purpose for your life.  Remember: you don't determine your purpose, you discover it.  Arriving at your purpose in life is a bit of an archeology project; it's something that is carefully unearthed one stone at a time.  But it's there, deep inside, waiting to be found.  Dig carefully and find it.  And you will not only make a difference in this world with the gifts God has given you, but you just might find some real happiness along the way!

And stop waiting.  You don't have forever.