Three Things People Want (and Why They're So Hard to Get) Part 1

At some point, every successful person discovers something surprising: achievement and fulfillment are not the same thing. You can build a successful company and lose your health. You can protect your health and neglect your financial future. You can accumulate wealth and wake up one day realizing you've sacrificed relationships, experiences, and moments you'll never get back. On today’s episode of The Champion Forum Podcast, we answer the question: Is it possible to create a life that includes all three?

The Paradox of Life

Most of us spend our lives chasing three things: health, wealth, and freedom. The challenge is that these three things rarely show up at the same time. When you're young, you usually have health and maybe some freedom, but very little money. In middle age, you might have health and growing wealth, but you're drowning in responsibilities and have no time. Then later in life, you finally have some money and some freedom, but your health may begin to decline. It's almost like life is playing a cruel joke on us. 

Success is a Hungry Beast

I've thought a lot about this in my own journey. Like many driven people, I have had seasons when I prioritized achievement. I chased promotions and bonuses my entire life, but I have learned that success is a hungry beast. It always asks for more.  If you're not careful, success will gladly consume the very life you're trying to improve. There have been moments where I asked myself: “Am I building a life I'll actually enjoy living? Or am I simply building a résumé?"

Q: When have you let success drive your life? How did it affect your relationships? Health? Wealth? Did the negatives ever outweigh the positives? How did you pivot?

The Three Things Everyone Wants (And Few People Get)

Health

Without health, everything becomes harder. Money loses some of its usefulness. Freedom loses some of its enjoyment. Relationships become more difficult. Your body is the vehicle carrying you through life, and yet many of us treat it like a rental car. We assume it'll always be there. We push it harder, sleep less, eat worse, and move less. Eventually we discover that health isn't something you appreciate when you have it; it's something you desperately miss when it's gone.

Wealth

Money gets demonized sometimes, but money isn't evil. Money is a tool. The goal isn't money for money's sake. The goal is using financial resources to create a better life and serve others more effectively.

Freedom

Freedom is the one people often overlook. Freedom is having enough margin to choose. Freedom is control over your calendar. Freedom is the ability to be present. Freedom is having time for your spouse, your children, your faith, your friendships, and your purpose. Because what good is health and wealth if you never have time to enjoy either one?

Q: Which of these three do you currently value most? Why? What actions prove that you value it most? 

The Goal of Life Is Alignment, Not Balance.

I don't think life is about balance. I think it's about alignment. Balance implies equal distribution, but life rarely works that way. Some seasons require extraordinary effort and sacrifice. Temporary imbalance happens. However, you cannot allow it to turn into permanent neglect.

Application Activities:

1. Which of these three do you currently neglect? Come up with one way you can start investing in that area and ensure that you are aligning all three of these “wants” with your long-term goals.

2. What do you think a healthy, successful life looks like? Make a list of the characteristics you would see in yourself and your family if you were truly successful. What would your lifestyle look like? How would you spend your time? Who would you hang out with? Then make a list of what life looks like when you let success drive you to an unhealthy place. Pick a few characteristics of each and share the list of characteristics with a few people who care about you so that they can help you be self-aware about when you are living a healthy, successful life and when you are leading an unhealthy life.