Name: Should you live for your résumé ... or your eulogy?
Uploaded: 2014-04-14T15:09:06Z
Duration: 4 min 47 s
Description: Within each of us are two selves, suggests David Brooks in this meditative short talk: the self who craves success, who builds a résumé, and the self who seeks connection, community, love -- the values that make for a great eulogy. (Joseph Soloveitchik has called these selves "Adam I" and "Adam II.") Brooks asks: Can we balance these two selves?

David Brooks: Should you live for your résumé ... or your eulogy?

Should you live for your résumé ... or your eulogy?

Within each of us are two selves, suggests David Brooks in this meditative short talk: the self who craves success, who builds a résumé, and the self who seeks connection, community, love -- the values that make for a great eulogy. (Joseph Soloveitchik has called these selves "Adam I" and "Adam II.") Brooks asks: Can we balance these two selves?

People often prioritize résumé virtues like ambition and achievement over eulogy virtues such as kindness and integrity. These two sides of human nature, called Adam I and Adam II, exist in constant conflict. Building true character requires wrestling with personal weaknesses, not just developing strengths. A culture focused only on outward success risks leaving lives feeling shallow and unfulfilled.