Yes, it’s true, there are kings and pawns in this world and, if you ask me, there will always be. As I see it, kings are not necessarily the ones with the most money, fame, etc. You may not ever see them with a nice house, a fancy car or one of those black American Express Credit Cards that are exclusive to the rich. You probably see them every day. Their range in roles could be anything from a rich and famous celebrity to an elementary school bus driver on a modest salary. Put simply, kings are the men and women that you see walking to the beat of their own drum. These are the people that everyone looks to them as an example or a leader, whether or not their title or socio-economic status demonstrates it. You’ve probably seen their calmness and their ability to maintain their direction in spite of a tumultuous sea outside, and if you’re like me, envied the hell out of their ability to be themselves in spite of their surroundings. These are the people that, if you ask them, they will tell you, “yes, I’m doing what I want to do because it is my soul’s desire, really though.”
Pawns are also seen every day. Their range in roles could be anything from a rich and famous celebrity to an elementary school bus driver on a modest salary. A pawn, may in fact, have more socio-economic status than a king. Unlike a king however, these are the men and women that have no internally driven direction. They either haven’t explored their true desire or have disregarded it for potentially many reasons including the quest for worldly pursuits, fear of being ridiculed/disappointing others or lack of faith in their own direction. They are reacting and adjusting their lives based upon the wills and visions of others vs creating and adhering to their own vision based upon the passions, values and dreams in their own life. Thus, they are in constant dependence of a king’s direction, looking up to one or many and asking ‘OK, what’s next?’ instead of driving to what ultimately fulfills them. Just to be clear, being in humble service to others could be a king’s or pawn’s pursuit. The determining question is, does it fulfill your true desire?
Regardless of temporary recognition, the difference between a pawn and a king will ultimately result in large disparities of internal fulfillment; just take it from the x-pawn writing this blog. When you look back on your life, will it have fulfilled you, according to you? What else is there at the end of day, approval from yet another king? Take it from Steve Jobs, you can change this game. Invest the time now to articulate and manifest your desire through a vision. It is the one artifact that has the power to transform you from a pawn to a king.
Photograph courtesy of Pixtawan
The Power of Vision 