The Parable of the CEO Who Burns All Their Profits: Part 2
The moral of the story
Yesterday, I told you The Parable of the CEO Who Burns All Their Profits.
It’s about a CEO who runs a very successful business.
But they have a very odd policy about profits — they hate them.
As soon as even one dollar of profit hits the company bank accounts, they withdraw that money and set it on fire.
Everyone in the company begs the CEO to USE that money — reinvest it, give it to employees, donate it, whatever! Just don’t burn it!
But the CEO refuses. “Profits are morally bad,” they insist. “We must never have profits, even for a minute.”
Coincidentally, the CEO is always stressed about money…
And they have no idea why they always seem to find themselves in a cash-strapped position…
Of course, this story seems completely insane… :)
But I told you that millions of high-stress high achievers do this every single day.
Not with money but with praise, accolades, and positive feedback.
Imagine a person who’s very successful.
But they have a very odd policy about praise — they hate it.
As soon as even one word of praise is said to them, they reject it, discount it, argue with it, and dismiss it.
Everyone around them begs them to BELIEVE that praise — build on it, lean into it, acknowledge it! Don’t just ignore it!
But the person refuses. “Internalizing praise will make me arrogant,” they insist. “I must always be humble and vigilant, and never internalize the praise, even for a minute.”
Coincidentally, the person is always stressed about whether or not they’re doing a good job…
And they have no idea why they always seem to find themselves in a low-confidence position…
Now, what’s the moral of this story?
Like all stories, its moral is open to interpretation.
But let me tell you my moral of the story—
Don’t confuse a resource with an identity.
Money is a neutral resource.
It can be used for good. It can be used for evil. It can be used in an interesting way. It can be used in a boring way. It can sit around not being used at all.
The mistake that the CEO in the parable is making…
Is that they are attaching their identity to money…
“holding on to profits will make me a money-grubbing capitalist”
“good people are humble and poor, not flashy and rich”
Instead of seeing money as a neutral resource that is simply passing through their hands.
And seeing themselves as merely the temporary steward of that resource.
A steward whose only job is to pass it on, in whatever way, to whoever they see fit.
Now, plenty of people go around attaching their identity to money even in the real world.
But when you step back and think about it, it’s relatively easy to see that money is a neutral resource, not an identity.
It’s pretty clearly a thing outside of you and not YOU.
That’s why the CEO in the parable seems absolutely insane.
But now let’s apply this concept to high-stress high achievers receiving praise.
Praise, positive feedback, and accolades are just an indicator that you are good at something.
You being good at something is a neutral resource.
It can be used for good. It can be used for evil. It can be used in an interesting way. It can be used in a boring way. It can sit around not being used at all.
The mistake that you might be making…
Is that you are attaching your identity to being good at something…
“internalizing the praise will make me an arrogant jerk-face”
“good people are self-effacing and constantly striving — not confident and securely on top of things”
Instead of seeing your skills and competence as a neutral resource that is simply passing through your hands.
And seeing yourself as merely the temporary steward of that resource.
A steward whose only job is to pass it on, in whatever way, to whoever you see fit.
I know, seeing your own skills and competence as a neutral resource is a little more mind-bending.
Money is clearly a thing outside of you, so it’s easier to see it as a neutral resource.
But your skills and your competence seem so PERSONAL. They seem like YOU.
But give this mental framing a try, and see how it feels.
Because here’s the reality—
Attaching your identity to anything is pretty freaking stressful.
Because when you attach your identity to something, if IT goes down, YOU go down with it.
And even when it goes UP…
You’re sitting there thinking “the higher the rise, the bigger the fall…”
And you’re just waiting for the other shoe to drop.
This is the probably #1 reason you don’t want to internalize praise.
It’s certainly MY #1 reason—
My brain intuitively associates high praise with a big fall.
As I hear the praise, I can feel the bar and the expectations rising…
I can hear the whisper in my mind “Pride goeth before the fall… Don’t internalize this…”
I can anticipate the crushing disappointment I’ll feel when I fail to meet this bar next time.
And so I reject the praise out of hand and refuse to internalize it.
This makes a ton of sense when I’m attaching my identity to being good at things.
This is a very reasonable self-protective mechanism for my brain to activate, when I’m attaching my identity to being good at things.
BUT…the result is that I am the same as the CEO who burns their profits the second they hit their bank account.
Because whether you attach your identity to being good at something and therefore become really arrogant…
(That’s like the CEO hoarding all the profits for themselves.)
OR whether you attach your identity to being good at something and therefore become delusionally self-effacing…
(That’s like the CEO burning the profits the second they hit the bank account.)
Attaching your identity to a resource leads to a poor use of that resource EITHER WAY.
Seeing your own skill and competence as a neutral resource that is passing through you…
And seeing yourself as merely a temporary steward of that resource…
Is way less stressful…
AND it lets you be a better steward of that resource.
Just like a CEO seeing themselves as a steward of their profits.
And therefore NOT arrogantly hoarding them all for themselves…
But also NOT delusionally burning them the second they materialize :)
This is the premise of all the work I do.
This is the puzzle I am constantly trying to solve.
Less Stress, More Flow
How can you be LESS stressed out, less anxious, less tired, less burnt out…
AND do better work, better problem-solving, have better insights, and get better results?
How do you find the win-win?
No rise and grind. No hustle all night. NO “no pain, no gain.”
How can you live in flow?
This is the question we work on every day in my course and coaching program.
So if you want to be less stressed out…
AND you want to do better work at the very same time…
(The ultimate win-win, living-in-flow scenario :)
Join the program waitlist today.
What my clients have to say…
“Before I started working with Pooja, I felt like I was getting in my own way a lot.
I would apply stop signs to my life. I felt like I would have the same thoughts and same roadblocks coming up.
After a few sessions, I saw that, ‘Wow, I'm not in my own way anymore.’”
—Client | Solutions Engineer at Fintech Company
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