Be a Lamp Unto Yourself
“Aaapo deep bhava” – Buddha
In one of my longer coaching engagements, I was working with a senior executive at a major global organization. Over time, our conversations deepened, and one day, he opened up in a way that marked a turning point.
“I just don’t feel like this is the place I thought it would be,” he said.
So we used our session to explore what an ideal work environment might look like. He listed companies that inspired him, brands that built products he admired, cultures that aligned with his values. We imagined what his best self could look like in those environments. Then we compared that vision to his current reality.
As we dug deeper, he paused. A long, heavy sigh. His shoulders slumped slightly. I noticed a sadness in his eyes.
“What’s behind the sigh?” I asked gently.
He explained how, despite having good intentions and strong experience, his ideas were often dismissed by peers. “I keep fighting for what I know is right, for modern, proven approaches, but it’s like my voice gets drowned in politics. I’m tired. It feels like I’m suffocating here.”
I asked if he’d explored other opportunities.
“No,” he admitted. “Not once since I joined this company.”
“It sounds like your light is being dimmed,” I said.
“Yes,” he replied. “Like everyone else is trying to blow my candle out!”
At first, I thought this was a classic case of burnout or hitting a low point in the organizational change cycle. Yet, the more we explored, the more I realized, this wasn’t about resilience. It was about environment. He wasn’t surrounded by people who inspired him. He was surviving, not thriving. The job was stable, sure, but that was about it.
“Is that it?” I asked. “What if anything still inspires you?”
He reflected. The silence was full of searching. He drew a blank.
Then, a powerful image came to my mind, one of the Buddha.
I shared the story with him: How the young prince was born into privilege, shielded from the suffering of the world by castle walls. How a sage foretold he would either become a great king or a great spiritual teacher. Hoping for the former, his father kept him inside, surrounding him with comfort. But one day, the prince ventured beyond the castle and saw sickness, aging, and death. That glimpse of reality changed everything. He left the palace in search of deeper truth, eventually becoming the Buddha.
I asked him, “What resonates with you from Buddha’s story?”
He paused again, then said, “I’ve never looked outside the castle. It’s comfortable, but I know there’s more to learn. More to grow from and experience with others.”
That was the inflection point.
He saw that he wasn’t living to his fullest potential. He was at a crossroads. That the comfort was holding him back. That it was time to seek something more inspirational, more meaningful, more innovative through his work.
And maybe if you’re reading this, you’ve felt something similar. Maybe your light is being dimmed. Or, maybe the comfort of your current experience is keeping you from exploring your highest potential.
The question is, Are you ready to step beyond the castle walls?
