Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.
Helen Keller
1880-1968

While you may never have heard of Roger Babson, he was quite an accomplished fellow. He was an economist and published the Babson Reports, but he’s probably most famous for going against popular sentiment of the day and predicting the great stock market crash of 1929. On a more positive note, he was also the founder of Babson College, a highly respected school located in Wesley, Massachusetts.

But the story I want to share with you is a chat that Mr. Babson had with the President of the Argentine Republic in the early 1900s.

The President was very thoughtful and said, “Mr. Babson, I have been wondering why it is that South America, with all its great natural advantages, is so far behind North America — notwithstanding that South America was settled before North America.” The President went on to tell of the vast forests of South America, the huge ranches that had thousands of acres of alfalfa, the mines of iron, copper, coal, silver and gold, all the great rivers and waterways — everything more abundant than in America.

Again, the President asked, “Why is it with all these natural resources, South America is so far behind North America?

Being a guest, Babson had no wish to speak bluntly, so he replied, “Mr. President, what do you think is the reason?”

He replied, “I have come to this conclusion. South America was settled by the Spanish in search of gold, but North America was settled by the Pilgrim Fathers who went there in search of God.”

Now that is worth considering. A nation or people searching for gold cannot expect to achieve the same things as nation founded on the search for purpose.

But if you really think deeper, you will realize that a nation is just a collection of people. What makes a nation great? Its people. I would expand on the vision of our Pilgrim Fathers. They were seeking religious freedom. But they were also seeking the right to develop as individuals. They wanted a country where each individual would have the right to pursue their own dreams. And luckily for us, many of the Pilgrim Fathers had dreams that went well beyond their personal gain.

As individuals, if we want to achieve in the manner of our Pilgrim Fathers, we should not make money or gold our major purpose in life. However, if we diligently pursue a higher purpose, the money will surely follow.

Based on a story in Fundamentals of Prosperity by Roger W. Babson, p.1920

Waste no more time talking about great souls and how they should be. Become one yourself!
Marcus Aurelius
121 AD – 180 AD

Copyright © 2010 John Chancellor