PURPOSE OVER PAYDAY

There is ample pop cultural evidence that the(rat)race for money, resources, and a life of utmost abundance is valid - only if it is underpinned by the twinned foundations of purpose and ethics.

- WORDS INDRAN PARAMASIVAM PHOTOS VARIOUS

OVER THE YEARS, I've become increasingly sensitive to the nuances of the idea of success. I've been taught that it's tied to the contents of my character, to the essence of my manhood, to whether it makes me a fitting guest at certain tables, and, circularly, to whether I have done right by the people who raised me. Moulded as I've been by loving hands, and wanting for myself the rewards I've seen others reap, I must admit that I have participated somewhat willingly in legitimising the various claims that chasing success has had on my life. There are some hamster wheels I have gleefully and voluntarily gotten my existential heart rate up on. I know I'm not alone in doing so. But that was before.

It Doesn't Have To Be This Way

Before I came to understand the importance of ranking the why above the what and the how, and in that order. Before I came to realise that ambition is as personal and as revelatory as spirituality and has a soul that powers every endeavour.