How Lucky Are We

Photo Credit: Turquoise Diaries

I recently came across an interesting article in the BBC News that describes how angry Americans have grown in recent years (here: http://bbc.in/24z3nzi).  Since the BBC News provides an external perspective without the market-driven motivations inherent with our domestic media firms (mostly driven by media market share and competition for money), I found it to be thought-provoking, allowing me to see us, the citizens of the United States, through a foreign perspective. 

Depending on how you define success, America always ranks top 15 among the world’s various nations in regards to our income on a per person basis, our freedoms and our general standard of living (here: http://bit.ly/1WTvmUF).  Significantly, we have the highest quality of life compared to other countries with large populations (in excess of 100 million citizens).

My wife, Kim, and I recently spent two weeks in Morocco – first week was dedicated to business (9 sales calls) and then we took a week to travel over 1,000 miles country-wide. Our vacation included sightseeing throughout the major cities, two hours of camel riding and one night camping out in the Sahara Desert – all that you set out to accomplish when visiting the African kingdom. What we didn’t expect to experience, however, was a true paradigm shift that would go on to influence our daily lives long after returning home.

During the combined business and personal meetings with many people, we noticed one consistent characteristic– everyone wore a smile on their face!  Interesting considering that their wealth per person equals about 10% of that of the average American; with 35 million citizens, they seemed a peaceful and generous people.

Morocco isn’t rich in the traditional sense – it’s common to see people selling fruits and tea on the side of the road, brought to the location on wagons led by donkeys. However, there were no beggars. Moroccans don’t seek money, they seeking fulfillment. While we’re caught up with living a lifestyle, they seem to be caught up with living – music, delicious food and gratitude seems to be the priority in this foreign land. They don’t fret the superficial or the demands of a work-oriented society as we often do.  

After taking in this life-altering experience, I ask how any of us, the citizens of the great United States, can be so angry? We have so much afforded to us – the potential to rise above our social classes, the ability to travel and see the world with ease, to voice our thoughts freely – we have it good. We simply need to remind ourselves to take a break from the hustle and bustle and take in the little things that make life so rich.

This cultural difference is something to think about as we roll into the second quarter of 2016. The BEST is truly yet to come! And I mean that for all of us.

P.S. If you'd like to see a video diary of our trip, click here: http://bit.ly/1Si0UUO