Dave Rosenthal

I mean, you start a business for that reason. You want to be well off. You want to take care of your family. You want to have money in the bank. Profit. Yeah, exactly. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. So you get hired as a tool for that purpose. Now, if... When you get that, okay, I've been let go. I thought I was indispensable and I'm not.

I've experienced enough of that to now, basically, if I'm going into an engagement with an employer or doing consulting, whatever it is, I have to go in. I have to check my ego at the door. I have to say, you know what? I'm going to go in here and I'm going to do as best a job as I can based on what I know the customer or the employer or whatever it is wants. And I know that at any point,

I've experienced enough of that to now, basically, if I'm going into an engagement with an employer or doing consulting, whatever it is, I have to go in. I have to check my ego at the door. I have to say, you know what? I'm going to go in here and I'm going to do as best a job as I can based on what I know the customer or the employer or whatever it is wants. And I know that at any point,

I could be removed from this position. This could be taken away, right? It's like that, you know, I believe there's an ancient Chinese proverb or something basically that says, maybe it's not Chinese, but I'm misremembering, but it basically, it's the idea that a wise person gets given this beautiful ornate teapot. Very elegant, very beautiful to look at, custom-made and gifted to them.

I could be removed from this position. This could be taken away, right? It's like that, you know, I believe there's an ancient Chinese proverb or something basically that says, maybe it's not Chinese, but I'm misremembering, but it basically, it's the idea that a wise person gets given this beautiful ornate teapot. Very elegant, very beautiful to look at, custom-made and gifted to them.

And then they have a child or a sibling or something like that that keeps coming to them and say, hey, don't you love the teapot? Don't you admire it? He's like, yes, I do, but it's already broken. And the child is like, what do you mean it's already broken? Yeah, it's already broken. It is what it is, but it's already broken. I can't continue to have this forever. It's already broken.

And then they have a child or a sibling or something like that that keeps coming to them and say, hey, don't you love the teapot? Don't you admire it? He's like, yes, I do, but it's already broken. And the child is like, what do you mean it's already broken? Yeah, it's already broken. It is what it is, but it's already broken. I can't continue to have this forever. It's already broken.

And through conversation, you come to learn that the way that this person is able to sort of stabilize themselves so that eventually when the teapot does indeed get broken, Maybe it's a child that knocks it over accidentally or whatever it is. The teapot is now broken. This beautiful, very enjoyable thing is now no more. That person is now, huh, okay. Because it was already broken in their mind.

And through conversation, you come to learn that the way that this person is able to sort of stabilize themselves so that eventually when the teapot does indeed get broken, Maybe it's a child that knocks it over accidentally or whatever it is. The teapot is now broken. This beautiful, very enjoyable thing is now no more. That person is now, huh, okay. Because it was already broken in their mind.

So they didn't lose. Their world wasn't shattered along with that teapot because they didn't invest so much of themselves into it. So I have to go into these things saying, hey, It's already broken, right? I'm here to do as best that I can do for as long as I can do. But if this thing were to be taken away from me, right, tomorrow, next week, next year, right, that's okay too.

So they didn't lose. Their world wasn't shattered along with that teapot because they didn't invest so much of themselves into it. So I have to go into these things saying, hey, It's already broken, right? I'm here to do as best that I can do for as long as I can do. But if this thing were to be taken away from me, right, tomorrow, next week, next year, right, that's okay too.

What do you got to say about that, Jared?

What do you got to say about that, Jared?

See, but being indispensable implies that others must see you as such. Now, you're putting that level of self-worth in the hands of others, right?

See, but being indispensable implies that others must see you as such. Now, you're putting that level of self-worth in the hands of others, right?

what to me i don't understand where you're coming from jared to me the way i i and i used to approach it like this right i used to because i like for people to like me right we all do like it's like you know it's ingrained in us as human beings right we we want to be like we we we're a tribal sort of you know kind of entity right so the the we don't want rejection right from the tribe right we want to be welcomed and and liked and say oh it

what to me i don't understand where you're coming from jared to me the way i i and i used to approach it like this right i used to because i like for people to like me right we all do like it's like you know it's ingrained in us as human beings right we we want to be like we we we're a tribal sort of you know kind of entity right so the the we don't want rejection right from the tribe right we want to be welcomed and and liked and say oh it

Johnny, hey, how you doing? Because, you know, by being that sort of likable, by being the one that always delivers, always comes through, right? You're the one teammate, everybody can just call in and boom, you just solve all the problems, right? By being that, right, you get that sort of that little hit of dopamine, right? It's like, ah, I love when people love me, right?

Johnny, hey, how you doing? Because, you know, by being that sort of likable, by being the one that always delivers, always comes through, right? You're the one teammate, everybody can just call in and boom, you just solve all the problems, right? By being that, right, you get that sort of that little hit of dopamine, right? It's like, ah, I love when people love me, right?

But you're putting that sort of self-worth in the hands of others. And nobody will tell you, like a stoic, right? Nobody will tell you how dangerous that is than those who know how it feels when all that adoration and admiration gets pulled back for one reason or another. Because it's not in your control, right? What is in your control, right, is how good a job you do.