MBA2470 Must Read: The Second Mountain By David Brooks

Mon May 20 2024

Have you ever wondered if there's more to success than just financial gain and societal approval? In this must-read episode, Omar delves into David Brooks' compelling book, "The Second Mountain," which challenges the traditional perceptions of success and explores the pursuit of a more meaningful and fulfilling life.

Summary

The $100 MBA Show: MBA2470 Must Read – The Second Mountain by David Brooks

Release Date: May 20, 2024

Introduction

In episode MBA2470 of The $100 MBA Show, host Omar Zenhom delves into The Second Mountain by David Brooks, a transformative book that reshapes our understanding of success and fulfillment. Drawing from over two decades of entrepreneurial experience, Omar explores the profound lessons from Brooks's work and illustrates how they apply to both personal growth and business development.

Understanding the Two Mountains

Omar begins by explaining the core metaphor of David Brooks's book: life as a journey across two mountains.

First Mountain: Traditional Success
- Defined by societal markers such as career advancement, financial security, and public recognition.
- Common goals include climbing the corporate ladder, achieving accolades, and accumulating wealth.
- "On the first mountain, our goals are usually those goals that society applauds: earn more money, climb higher in your career, be recognized," Omar explains (02:45).
Second Mountain: Purpose and Fulfillment
- Focuses on finding joy and fulfillment beyond oneself.
- Involves dedicating oneself to causes, relationships, and community that transcend personal gain.
- "The Second Mountain is all about seeking joy and fulfillment in things that are larger than ourselves," Omar shares (04:10).

Key Takeaways from The Second Mountain

Vocation: Beyond a Job
- Brooks introduces the concept of vocation as a calling that marries personal passion with the world's needs.
- Example: A corporate lawyer transitioning to pro bono work for environmental or social justice causes finds greater fulfillment.
- "Vocation is where your greatest passion meets the world's deep needs," Omar notes (05:30).
Community: Rebuilding the Communal Spirit
- Emphasizes the importance of engaging with and contributing to local communities.
- Suggests that fulfillment comes from creating and nurturing communal bonds.
- "Fulfillment comes from re-engaging at a local level," Omar states (06:15).
- Application to Entrepreneurship: Omar discusses the importance of building supportive online communities, referencing his work on growing the $100 MBA community.
Commitment: The Anchor of Fulfillment
- Highlights the role of long-term commitments in relationships, family, and personal endeavors.
- Exemplifies how dedication leads to deeper connections and sustained fulfillment.
- "Commitments to spouses and family and vacation and faith and community is what anchors our fulfilling life," Omar explains (07:50).
- Reflects on his own commitment to the podcast as a testament to long-term dedication.

Applying the Second Mountain to Business and Personal Growth

Omar bridges the insights from The Second Mountain to practical applications in entrepreneurship:

Leading with Values
- Building businesses that reflect personal and ethical values can lead to more meaningful and impactful operations.
- "Embracing the second mountain can lead us to create businesses that aren't just profitable, but are impactful and meaningful to others and ourselves," Omar asserts (08:20).
Prioritizing Team and Community
- Fostering a supportive and purpose-driven team environment enhances both personal and business growth.
- Encourages entrepreneurs to view their businesses as vehicles for positive change.
- "Business is a great vehicle to fulfill these needs and to tap into that joy," he emphasizes (08:45).
Legacy and Impact
- Rethinking business success in terms of legacy and the positive impact on the world.
- Reflects on his own journey and the importance of building relationships and contributing to the community through his entrepreneurial ventures.
- "It's about the relationships I nurture and create along the way. It's about the impact I can have on the world and the people around me," Omar concludes (09:30).

Conclusion

Omar wraps up the episode by highly recommending The Second Mountain to listeners seeking a deeper understanding of success and fulfillment. He underscores the book's role in encouraging a shift from conventional metrics of achievement to more meaningful, purpose-driven endeavors.

"The Second Mountain by David Brooks challenges us to rethink our lives, priorities, and redefine the true meaning of success. It's going to get you to think about your business in a different way," Omar advises (09:50).

Final Thoughts

This episode serves as a reflective guide for entrepreneurs and individuals alike, urging them to seek fulfillment beyond traditional success metrics. By embracing the principles of vocation, community, and commitment, listeners are encouraged to build businesses and lives that resonate with deeper meaning and lasting impact.

Notable Quotes

“On the first mountain, our goals are usually those goals that society applauds: earn more money, climb higher in your career, be recognized.” – Omar Zenhom (02:45)
“The Second Mountain is all about seeking joy and fulfillment in things that are larger than ourselves.” – Omar Zenhom (04:10)
“Vocation is where your greatest passion meets the world's deep needs.” – Omar Zenhom (05:30)
“Fulfillment comes from re-engaging at a local level.” – Omar Zenhom (06:15)
“Commitments to spouses and family and vacation and faith and community is what anchors our fulfilling life.” – Omar Zenhom (07:50)
“Embracing the second mountain can lead us to create businesses that aren't just profitable, but are impactful and meaningful to others and ourselves.” – Omar Zenhom (08:20)
“Business is a great vehicle to fulfill these needs and to tap into that joy.” – Omar Zenhom (08:45)
“It's about the relationships I nurture and create along the way. It's about the impact I can have on the world and the people around me.” – Omar Zenhom (09:30)
“The Second Mountain by David Brooks challenges us to rethink our lives, priorities, and redefine the true meaning of success. It's going to get you to think about your business in a different way.” – Omar Zenhom (09:50)

Recommendation

Omar highly recommends The Second Mountain for anyone looking to gain a new perspective on life and business. He suggests incorporating its insights into daily reflections to foster long-term fulfillment and meaningful impact.

For more insights and practical business lessons, visit The $100 MBA Show.

Transcript

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Omar Zenhom (1:09)

Oh. Welcome to the $100 MBA show, where you get better at business with our real world business lessons. I'm your host, your coach, your teacher, Omar Zenholm. And today's episode is a must read episode. On our must read Episodes, I share with you a book that I've read that has influenced me as an entrepreneur. I share with you its takeaways, its insights, and why you should read it too. Today's must read is the Second Mountain by David Brooks. David Brooks is a respected New York Times columnist and brings us a metaphor that I find incredibly powerful. He describes life as a journey of two mountains. The first mountain is about achieving traditional success. Your career, your status, financial security. But there's another possibility. A more important mountain. The Second Mountain. This is about finding your purpose beyond oneself. I picked up this book because I kind of feel like I might be on my second mountain right now with the sale of my software company, Webinar Ninja. After working on it for over 10 years, I'm a new chapter in my life and in my business and I'm seeking new perspectives. In today's episode, I'm going to share with you what I learned from this book. I'm going to share with you if I did get that new perspective, what were my favorite takeaways and what are some things that can help you in your life and your business? Even. Even if it's just a few things you can think about over the next few days. So let's get into it. Let's get down to business. I wanna start by sharing the subtitle of this book. It's called the Second Mountain, the Quest for a Moral Life. Now, I do think that that subtitle's a little bit misleading. It sounds like, you know, if you're on the first Mountain, it's not a moral life. It's selfish. It's irreverent, whatever it might be. I don't really agree with that. But I do believe there are levels to life. There's levels to our work and how we dedicate our time and energy and effort. And this is why I wanted to get into this book. I actually heard it recommended by other entrepreneurs. So I cracked it open and said, okay, let's figure it out. Let's see what this book is all about. Let's start by what's the difference between the first mountain in your life and the second mountain? On the first mountain, our goals are usually those goals that society. Applause. Earn more money, climb higher in your career, be recognized, get awarded. I mean, every walk of life, every career, every path has some level of this. This climbing up the corporate ladder, the employee of the year, the silver or gold play button that YouTube gives you when you have a hundred thousand or a million subscribers. These are all kind of accolades people are reaching out for. Normally, this is totally normal. But often reaching the summit of these goals leaves people feeling unfulfilled. Has them wondering, is this all there is? Or at the very least, they achieve the goal. They get the plaque, they get the award, and they're kind of like, okay, that's great. What's next? And they just try to find other things to achieve and other things to accomplish, and soon enough, this kind of gets old. David Brooks, the author of this book, talks about his own experiences hitting a personal low despite his outward success in his career. It talks about his personal relationship with his wife, not working out, getting a divorce, feeling really unsuccessful and a failure in this area of his life. In one way or another, we can all kind of relate to something like that, an area of our life where we failed at. And that's what triggered him to think about, is there more to life than just trying to achieve the next rung, the next level of our career, adding another zero to our salary or our bank balance, whatever it might be. So how does this contrast with the Second Mountain? Well, the Second mountain is all about seeking joy and fulfillment in things that are larger than ourselves. This might mean pivoting in a career, maybe deepening a relationship, or dedicating oneself to a cause that's really meaningful to you, that matters, that helps the world or helps a group of people outside of yourself, doing things that really don't impact you or you get a benefit from. Even if you're doing things for your own family, you actually generate some sort of happiness or some sort of benefit even, you know, maybe peace of mind. But what if you did work that really didn't benefit you at all, just benefit others as really a thankless kind of effort? What would that be like? And he explores this concept of, like, how do you actually get joy, not happiness. Happiness is momentarily a state that you have when things happen, when events happen. But joy is an internal, everlasting feeling. How do you feel fulfilled and feel like every day means so much to you? Well, let's dig a little deeper. Let's figure out what this all means. Here are some key takeaways or ideas that I pulled out of the book that I wanted to share with you. First, is this word he uses called vocation. Brooks isn't talking about just a job or a profession. He's talking about a calling that consumes you, where your greatest passion meets the world's deep needs. This is like something you're compelled to do that you would do even if you weren't paid. In fact, you would pay to do it. Take, for instance, a corporate lawyer who shifts their work to pro bono work for environmental causes or societal justice, or serving people that can't afford a lawyer. They might find more satisfaction, more joy, more fulfillment in this service, in this way of doing their profession than ever before because they feel like they're actually doing work that needs to be done, that they're impacting people other than themselves with a great salary. Now, a quick asterisk here. Okay? Brooks is not saying that money is bad, not saying that having money is a bad thing or accumulating wealth. In fact, he says that it's very hard to do a lot of these things or have the ability to do pro bono work, for example, if you don't have money, if you don't have something to sustain yourself. And he actually talks about that the first mountain is not a bad thing. You know, the first mountain actually gives you that financial security so that you can climb the second mountain and feel free to do what you want and serve the people you want to serve and go after that cause that you're passionate about. And now I have an opinion about this in the balance of wealth and making money and serving a cause. But I'll share that later in the episode. Next, I want to share with you a takeaway in the book that's all about community. Brooks, David Brooks, the author. He really is stressing the fact that we have lost our communal spirit in the modern world. He suggests that fulfillment comes from re engaging at a local level. Now imagine transforming a struggling neighborhood into a thriving community space where every person contributes and feels valued. This is the essence of Brooks's vision that if we help our communities, even our local communities, this will give us so much more joy and fulfillment than any career or any social ladder could ever give us. Because we're communal beings, as human beings, we operate in communities, we thrive in communities. And these communities can also be online. They could be communities based on similar interests. This is something I'm incredibly passionate about and trying to grow in the future. One of the big projects that Nicole and I are working on this year is growing our own online community at the $100 MBA. Because I'm a big believer that entrepreneurship is about holding each other accountable, is having somebody to be your cheerleader to push you on, and somebody you could push on and support and motivate and let them know that, hey, keep on going. I needed that when I got started 20 years ago and had a hard time finding it. And I want to make it easier for other people to find their people, their community that could support them and they can support others along the way. Lastly, another takeaway I want to share with you is commitment. Brooks talks about this idea of commitment and emphasizes that commitments to spouses and family and vacation and faith and community is what anchors our fulfilling life. He gives an example of a couple who, despite personal differences and challenges, find deeper love and connection through the years of hard work and mutual respect they've had together, their shared experiences. They've been through so much that anything is fixable, and they been through so much because they're committed to each other. Commitment is something that might be lost on a lot of people in recent days, but is really the backbone of anything that you're proud of. I'm so proud of this podcast that's almost 10 years old because of the commitment I made to it. Look at your own life. What are you proud of? Probably something that you've committed to for a very long time, or at least an exceptional amount of time that allowed you to really fall in love with it and create something incredible. Now, how to apply these concepts, these ideas to our business and our personal growth.