meaning, which is now associated with the idea of traveling along life’s uncharted path. And like Odysseus, we view life as an odyssey into the unexpected, as well as an adventure to be embraced and experienced to the fullest.
It would not be too far-fetched to say that it was the spirit of Odysseus that guided us along the path toward writing this book. The idea behind and catalyst for the book, which not only sent us off on our journey to Greece but also helped to chart its direction, came from the existential question people kept asking us over the years, “How can we live more meaningful lives?” As leaders, professors, consultants, and personal mentors, no matter what the task or subject matter in which we were involved, the need, not simply the desire, to be engaged in a meaningful life and with meaningful work, would surface. We observed that there is a basic human need to be engaged in meaningful relationships with others—family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, even acquaintances—and to feel that life has a purpose, that it really matters. More often than not, we found that it was the search for meaning that motivated and sustained people through both good and not-so-good times.
As we wondered why the search for meaning was becoming such an important and pervasive topic, it seemed only natural for us to go on an exploration, like our Greek ancestor Odysseus, in search of an answer.
However, we discovered from the start that finding an answer would be much easier said than done. Setting sail into the abyss was one thing; charting a course that would bring us to our intended destination was quite another since no maps were readily available to guide us along the way. Again, like the explorer Odysseus, we had to rely not only on our knowledge and past experience, but also on our deeper sense of inner “knowing” or intuition. Sure, many people over the ages had searched for and written about the same existential question that triggered our quest. Like sponges recovered by divers from the waters around the Greek islands, we soaked up as much of this existing information as possible. We spoke with thousands of people who sought meaning in their lives but we still weren’t finding the answers to what makes life meaningful. Instead, we found more insight into the issues facing people in these challenging times.
The Lack of Meaning
We encountered many people who told us that they felt that “something was missing.” They told us they were feeling overwhelmed, lonely, and unfulfilled in their personal lives. They told us they were stressed in the workplace, unsure of how they fit with their group or organization’s overall purpose, and irritated by their coworkers’ lack of empathy and trust. Generally, they felt disconnected and not fully engaged. Retired people shared with us that they had lost their way, and perhaps even their sense of identity and self-worth, without the structure of work and the social connections that work brings. Students shared with us that the stresses of achieving in school and understanding the fast-paced, complex world were too much for them.
A pessimistic air seems to have engulfed our world, with increased levels of stress due to unemployment, financial hardship, and health and relationship issues. People express the meaninglessness of their lives through addictions—to television, sex, food, alcohol, drugs, shopping, gambling, the internet, etc. Depression and anxiety are on the rise, leading to record numbers of prescriptions being written for antidepressants. Impatience and aggression are also on the rise, as more and more people believe their individual needs are more important than those of others or society’s as a whole. Today we see that despite being in an increasingly networked and connected world, too many people feel disconnected and untrusting—of neighbors, coworkers, leaders of organizations and, especially, of government.
Despite being able to choose amongst so many consumer goods, people are actually feeling overwhelmed with all the choices that are available. Unfortunately, society has told us that we can achieve happiness through consumption. Society has made us think if only . . . “If only I had a bigger house, a better car, more money, and a better job, I would be fulfilled.” But more choices and personal freedoms have led to higher expectations, which in turn have led to never being satisfied with what we have! We think we want more, but when we get it, it is not enough. We still want more. “Enough” becomes a moving target. And we spend so much time working to pay for things we don’t really want, let alone need. In the pursuit of the “if only,” we have sacrificed our relationships, our health, and our sanity.
We’ve also been taught that we should expect to have it all and we should expect to have it now. In other words, we are driven by instant gratification—and justify it with thoughts like just put it on credit, there’s no need to earn the money today, and pay for it later. Not just individuals but cities, states, and nations have embraced these beliefs. So is it any real shock that, one day this way of thinking would be challenged by the consequences, including unsustainable debt? As this global issue unfolds, accelerates, and intensifies, and the stark reality of the economic crisis sinks in, is there any reason to wonder why more and more people are asking seriously about the meaning of life?
Even the relentless pursuit of pleasure and power has shown itself to be short-lived because pleasure and power are founded on the same “if only I had more” logic. Left unchecked, these pursuits comprise a vicious cycle and manifest themselves as an endless—and joyless—undertaking, much like the one experienced by the Greek hero Sisyphus, who was ordered by the gods to push a big rock uphill only to see it slip out of his hands in the very last moment and roll down the hill once more.
There is something deeper happening in our world. The real crisis behind our current economic crisis is the Crisis of Meaning, which affects all aspects of our lives: We’ve lost the authentic connection with others. We’ve lost the ability to engage with the deeper purpose of our lives. We’ve lost the ability to embrace the fullness of life with enthusiasm, energy, and joy.
The Good News!
The good news about this Crisis of Meaning is that it has forced us to ask better questions and reassess our lives and priorities. It has forced us to ask, “How can we live more meaningful lives?” It’s a question that gets us back to the core of our being—to the essence of our humanness. It’s a universal question that’s been asked and pondered for thousands of years. Almost twenty-five hundred years ago, the Greek philosopher Plato also considered this question and proclaimed, “Man—a being in search of meaning.”
Our Backgrounds
We, too, were examining our lives and asking the same meaning-focused question. We both grew up in North America and adopted the traditional Western values of hard work and “the pursuit of happiness.” We spent many years as leaders, professors, and writers in the field of innovation management, helping people in both business and public service generate ideas and plans for new initiatives based on our book, The Seeds of Innovation. It was interesting work but somehow, at the end of the day, we both felt that something was missing: there was too much “faster, better, cheaper”; too much chasing the “next best thing”; and too much head and not enough heart. So we began to shift to the human side of work and life with the publication of our book, Prisoners of Our Thoughts. Our work was successful, yet we still questioned what was really fulfilling and meaningful to us, our clients, their customers, and, importantly, society as a whole. So it only seemed natural for us to embark on our own odyssey in search of an answer . . .
The Land of Philosophers
Because Greece is the land of philosophers and since Alex just happens to come from a long line of Greeks, we felt that it would be a great place to pursue our odyssey. We traveled many times to Greece, well before its recent economic crisis began, to research and experience what eventually became the new paradigm introduced in this book. We soon realized that much of what we had learned over the years had grown in importance as the country’s crisis unfolded and intensified.
Greece is undergoing tremendous change right now—economically, socially, politically, and psychologically. Like other countries, Greece
