BEFORE PHILOSOPHY. 4 GIFTS FROM THE OLYMPIAN GODS FOR YOUR LIFE AND PROFESSION.
Before Socrates brought philosophy down from heaven to earth, and even before the pre-socratics ever scratched their heads about the nature of the world, people held deep cultural myths about the gods and humankind. One of the primary forms was the combat myth. The combat myth is found throughout Iron Age mythology, from Marduk and Tiamat, Apsu and Kumarbi, Yahweh/Baal and El, and Zeus and Kronos. Relax— I got you. Here’s the quick version.
In the combat myth, a cruel head god is overthrown by a storm god and his super-special divine crew, who then establish a new world order. Tied up in the combat myth story, is the human internal and cultural evolution story. It’s about them but it’s really about us. Here’s what I mean, and why this very old motif is a gift to the modern professional’s quest to serve clients well and forge a legacy. Have fun with this one.
TIME SWALLOWS MEANING.
In the Greek version of the combat myth, Kronos (the head god associated with time) has a a host of children with Rhea, like Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. He learns of a prophecy that one of his children will take his crown, so he swallows his children one by one to prevent it. …Like you do.
When Rhea realizes that as each newborn arrives, he or she is swallowed up by Kronos, she hides baby Zeus away in a cave and presents Kronos with a stone wrapped as an infant. Apparently not an attentive father, Kronos swallows the stone instead of Zeus and Zeus grows to maturity. When he is old enough to challenge Kronos, Zeus tricks him into drinking a potion that makes him vomit up all his swallowed children, and the Olympian gods overthrow Kronos and the Titans after a ten year divine battle-royale in the heavens.
Zeus finally is able to win by freeing the Cyclops from Tartarus. The Cyclops gives gifts in return for his freedom: to Zeus a lightning bolt (storm god), to Poseidon a trident (sea god who fathered the little mermaid), and to Hades an invisibility helmet (which is the best kind of helmet, I think). With these new weapons the Olympian gods overthrow the Titans and imprison them deep in the earth, in Tartarus, forever.
The Olympians then create the world as we know it, with order and reason. They found cities and establish justice that last for generations and generations of mortals. Thus, their new order provides the possibility for human stability and legacy.
Now, don’t get lost in the weeds, get found in the meaning.
THE POSSIBILITY OF HUMAN PROGRESS.
Think about it. This story is a metaphor for the reality of time and the possibility of things that outlast mortal life. And so Kronos stands for the cruel immediacy of time the swallows up our lives and our meaning. Everything we apply ourselves to is ultimately outlasted and devoured by time.
However, there is a chance for meaning. When the Olympians take over they build in the stability that makes human society flourish and the systems and values that allow progress beyond our relatively short lives.
If, and only if, you are willing, there is a philosophical turn you can make from existential angst and struggle towards long lasting legacy and controlling what you can for the people you care about most. These are the gifts of creating a culture that outlasts individual lives through good systems and order. They are also the gifts of creating a family and professional life that bears fruit for generations to come. These all are made possible, by a philosophical perspective of legacy.
Listen up. If I could give one gift to a young professional, it would not be security or money or plenty of clients and patients. It would be legacy: an important life that keeps growing beyond your career and even life.
There are many good things that come from learning how to think in terms of legacy. But here are four important ones.
4 GIFTS OF THE OLYMPIANS FOR YOUR LIFE AND PROFESSION.
GENERATIONAL STABILITY IN YOUR FAMILY FIRST, PRACTICE SECOND.
There is the opportunity to embody this very old mythology, by making the right decisions daily towards a legacy that lasts for generations. But it takes asking the right questions, setting the right goals, and knowing how to reach them.
KIDS AND LEARNERS THAT LAUNCH INTO THEIR OWN LEGACY.
It is entirely possible for your children and every younger professional and staff team member to really launch themselves because they were around you and your way of being in the world. That is true legacy; when the people around you can set goals and reach them because of your influence and careful standards of thinking, speaking, and acting.
FAMILY LIFE AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE THAT WEATHERS “CULTURAL TIME.”
What if your young and growing family life could be like a miniature city established by the gods? A new order is possible over and against the cultural time that disappears our mortal lives. While western culture goes on scrolling, overbooking calendars, and pursuing trophies that maybe were not all that worthy of our efforts in the first place, you can carve a new path for your family.
A PROFESSIONAL ECOSYSTEM THAT MAKES EVERYONE BETTER.
You can create a personal way of thinking, speaking, and acting that pulls everyone around you forward to the point of cultural change. You can actually shift the ecosystem of your household, your office, and even your colleagues. At the same time, you can also remove barriers and even people who will not invest in a better environment. You choose to be an Olympian in a Kronos culture, to borrow again from the old story.
TEST CASE.
Eliza graduates dental school and finds her first position in an established practice. At first she cannot believe the difference between moving from loans for living to residency pay, and finally a decent income. However, the cost of living, the constant pressure of academic loan debt, the stress of partnering in a client business, and the normal rigors of raising young children early in her professional career… leave her feeling overwhelmed. She feels she can never really come down. She cannot give enough of herself to any one category of life that needs attention.
This unique stress of the professional is exacerbated by time. The second you graduate, it feels there is not enough time in the day to fulfill the demands of all the things we just listed. And there is a subtle race against the clock to earn enough net worth to make the upfront delay of a viable income pay off. We are almost always keeping track of this invisible return on investment. ROI is actually the silent killer of the professional soul.
The answer to this dilemma is not to do more, add more things, make better lists and check them off faster, or even make better money. The answer is found in a meta-philosophy; simplified, clear thinking for dealing with adversity, designing an enjoyable life, and providing a legacy for you professional business and your kids. This includes distinguishing what you can control and what you simply cannot, and following Epictetus’ advice to ignore anything you cannot control. This also includes thinking about money and time like a philosopher rather than like a modern business person. If you learn to think about how you think, speak, and act, you’ll end up way richer and in more ways than financial, way less stressed and more tranquil, and able to build a legacy better because your systems and orders of operation are simply set up with clear targets and metrics.
And so Eliza starts to realize that if she doesn't figure out why success actually looks like, it is going to be extremely hard to get there. There has to be a map. And there has to be a path. And there has to be change. This is where a philosophy of the good life starts. You have to take stock not just in what you don’t want… but in what you do want.
Here are some questions Eliza needs to begin to ask. Maybe you do as well.
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF ABOUT YOUR PROFESSIONAL LEGACY:
Do I have clear goals for my business in the same ways that I did for becoming a professional in the first place?
Do my employees become better because they work for me because I know what I am training them to do and more importantly to be?
Am I having fun?
Is there a clear company culture that prevents everything from landing on my shoulders?
Do I have a guiding principles and practices replacing “mythological” explanations of success?
Do I have clear Targets and the 1) Drive, 2) Data and 3) Discipline to reach those goals?
Am I growing as a person and a professional each day? Am I growing as a person as much I was in my training?
Or am I stalled out?
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL FAMILY LEGACY:
Am I crystal clear on what I want for my family life with my spouse and children, and why?
Do I know the virtues and values that I want to embody as a partner and parent?
Do I know what personal and family health looks like and how to pursue those things?
Again. Am I having fun?
Are my kids unique and compelling because I am their parent? Or am I having trouble being present with them?
Can my family overthrow Chronos Culture? Have we determined our values over and against social expectations?
When is the next getaway with my spouse planned? What about our next family trip?
Am I able to take enough time off to invest in the people who matter most?
Is there a way to learn how to think, so that all of these questions can be addressed?
The answer is yes, and it’s why I built Philosopher Kings to be personal, doable, and communal. There are lots of ways to make progress with Philosopher Kings, just scroll down a bit farther.
Remember, your philosophy is your life, and your life is your philosophy..
Mark Shaffer
Philosopher Kings
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