I’m going to defend Charlie Sheen.
No, not for the hookers and blow. Not for his craziness. Just for his selfishness.
Charlie understands his place in the world to an extent. He understands his talent. He definitely understands that he’s the key ingredient to the #1 show on TV which makes the company he worked for some $600 million dollars a year. Wow!
So what’s wrong with him facing the facts? He IS better than most of the people who watch his show.
Do any of THEM, by their sheer existence and talent, provide jobs for numerous people?
Do any of them, solely by their productive output, provide incredible revenues for their companies, which in turn puts foods in the mouths of hundreds, maybe thousands, of otherwise unemployed people?
Do any of them even matter to 50 people, let alone 5 million? 50 million?
Selfishness – the productive (real) kind – is a virtue precisely because without it one is forced to actually apologize for their greatness.
Imagine Michael Jordan NOT being a total a-hole in practice, not being the intensely selfish egomaniac that he was (is). The world would have missed incredible inspiration and productivity, for hundreds of millions of people.
Precisely for this reason many people do not like Lebron James – he is too UNselfish and thus it has been said many, many times, that he does not tap into his FULL POTENTIAL.
The sooner you fully embrace the greatness within YOU, the sooner you’ll be a productive human and make the world around you a better place for others.
This is why Selfishness in its true form is absolutely a moral virtue – productive humans improve life for EVERYONE. This is not their motive, their motive is to improve life for themselves and use the potential they have within them to its fullest.
But the world benefits as a direct result of looking at the facts honestly and acting on them with integrity – as a direct result of gifted people deciding that they will “selfishly” use what they have been blessed with.
So Charlie Sheen should learn some discipline, sure, but ultimately he’s right – he’s better than you. You’re worth what you produce. Start by embracing what you’ve been given. Start by loving yourself. Start by creating something new – just because YOU want to and are capable of it.
If you want to change the world, get the order of motivation correct, and change yourself for the better first!
Everything starts with YOU. You being who you were created to be. Me being who I was created to be. It then ripples out from there.
You cannot help another person out of the mud if you have not first put your own feet on solid ground.
I’ve said it before:
Be me.
Do what I do.
Have – and unashamedly enjoy – the rewards that I earn.
Give hope, the most valuable commodity, to others willing to look inside themselves, take responsibility for their lives, and then jump…
When I am what I am supposed to be, I do what I was put on earth to do;
in doing, I accomplish, and in accomplishing, I am rewarded with my earnings;
in reward comes the ability to obtain whatever goods, services, and experiences that I wish to have and enjoy (and this is good and right, because I earned them);
in having, also, is the ability to give, to whom and for whatever reasons I so choose to give.
But it has to be in that order – ME FIRST – because that’s the only way it logically works.
Start with you. Learn to say “I”, to put value in your own self and what you are capable of.
Be realistic in your assessment of yourself. Most of society and most religions get this wrong, they only focus on bringing your self-image DOWN. They tell you not to think too highly of yourself, not to be proud. Wrong.
Be real, face the facts, view yourself honestly. But if you’re good, if you’re really damn talented and amazing, embrace that! Please.
Once you embrace it, you can actually do something with it. Your life will be richer, your purpose on earth will become more clear, and despite the haters which will always exist, you’ll create a better world for those you come in contact with.
You’ll also inspire others to reach for their greatness as well. Talk about making the world a better place!
What if everybody were, instead of trying to subvert themselves and help their neighbor, focused on maximizing every bit of potential they were born with?
What if everyone desired to evolve, what kind of awesome, inspiring, creative world would we live in?!
“Strengthen your weaknesses, maximize your strengths.” – Josh Galt
If you want a better world, evolve yourself. Viva la Selfishness!