Last week Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein disclosed he was diagnosed with lymphoma.
What wasn’t surprising in the press release was Lloyd’s proclamation that he will work substantially as normal in leading the firm.
To Lloyd, it seems cancer is a slight inconvenience. Nothing gets in the way of what he loves to do.
Last year while overcoming throat cancer J.P. Morgan’s Jamie Dimon didn’t miss a beat. This pesky disease wasn’t going to slow him down.
Why? Because they are driven by great meaning.
I read this article from Alan Patricof on why at eighty years old he is still an active VC. Same thing. It gives him a lot of meaning.
Last week I got an email from an old friend who wrote, “I can’t tell you how much your newsletters help me through tough times in my career.”
That’s meaningful to me.
After reading one of my posts last week someone wrote me—”You brought me back from the dead…I was about to give up…it gave me strength and determination.”
That inspires me.
Many people dream to make their money and sit on the beach. Well, I’ve done that, and I’ve met plenty of rich people who thought that would make them happy.
It doesn’t.
We all want flexibility. We want more time to do what we want. We want to feel like our work is paying off.
But more than anything we are on a search for meaning.
It’s not about what you do, but why you do it. When your why is so meaningful, not even cancer will stop you.