by Dave Ward | Charge the Summit

“Compare your ego to your bank account,” says Dani Johnson.

There was a time in my life when I thought I understood what this meant.

Give up the trappings of my corporate America life and live my life. Build something real. Don’t worry what people think. Build generational wealth. Stop putting on a show for the neighbors. Build a community. Trade in the title of “lawyer” and go live outrageously.

And, I did all that. My Mercedes became my enemy. And, funny thing…my bank account grew and grew and grew. But, so did my ego. As long as the bank account is bigger, I’m good right? You might think that’s all the quote. Yeah, not so much.

I was cautioned by my mentors…”Don’t seek fame, because it is fleeting.” But, I didn’t listen. I believed I knew better. Well, I was wrong. ‪#‎bigtime‬

Why am I telling you this? Why am I baring this part of me on this blog? It’s not because I am irreparably broken or apocalyptically sad. Trust me…I’ve faced this privately for awhile and I’m good now. I’m baring in the sincere hope that YOU will listen like I didn’t. That YOU will learn from my stupidity and selfishness. That YOU won’t fall into a trap that’s really pretty easy to avoid. And, as a reminder to myself.

Check your ego at the door and don’t go looking for it when times get tough. When people tell you how great you are, accept their compliments, but accept them with gratitude and humility – and mean it. Gratitude and humility. It can save you a lot of trouble when the spotlight and all the attention shifts to someone else or something else is shinier, ’cause that’s going to happen. You can count on that as much as you can count on Spring following Winter and the sun rising in the eastern sky.

So, that’s my advice today. Expect more tomorrow.