I suppose most of us are people who fancy that we have style. Our speech seems to attest to that. Leadership style. Personality style. Presentation style. Preferred fashion style. Chinese style. Colonial style. Italian style. Stylish enough for you?

In the song “I’m Stone in Love with You” by the Stylistics, some of the lyrics go:

If I could I’d like to be
A great big movie star
Overnight sensation
Drive a big expensive car

and

If I were a business man
I’d sit behind a desk
I’d be so successful
I would scare Wall Street to death

The idea behind this, of course, is that:

These things I do
‘Cause I’m stone in love with you

and

I did it all
‘Cause I’m stone in love with you

You get the idea that the drive to be successful is actually an expression of our desire for great and lasting relationships. The driving force behind our desire for success is our desire for intimacy.

Do you want success? Then look to your roots. Look to your relationships. I wager that’s what you really, really want. Don’t bother to bet. I’ve already won.