Do you want power, wisdom, or wealth?

Which one would you choose?

My friend John dedicated three decades of his life to running a charitable foundation in Baltimore, helping alleviate poverty.

One day, as he was eating cereal in his kitchen, an angel appeared to him.

To thank him for his generosity, the angel said: “I can give you one of the following three presents: infinite power, infinite wisdom, or infinite wealth. Pick one.”

(This is where I should admit that this is not a true story.)

Which one would you choose?

John chose wisdom.

Soon, word got out that someone had attained infinite wisdom for the first time in history. The media went bananas. Everyone wanted to know what John would have to say. The pressure became so intense that he decided to call a press conference.

With microphones in his face and cameras flashing and clicking, John looked out at his audience. The room went silent. The world went silent. What unbearable suspense! What was John going to say? What would humanity learn from the man with infinite wisdom? Surely, civilization was about to change.

“I should have taken the money,” John said.

To make an effective choice in this situation, John—or anyone—would need to have clarity on their long-term goals. There’s nothing wrong with pursuing wealth, especially to rise above the poverty level. But when it comes to long-term well-being, having lots of money—even an infinite amount—is vastly overrated.

You can use positive psychology—the science of happiness—to help you set goals.

What’s your mission? What truly matters to you and the people in your organization?

You’ve heard that employee engagement, culture, and meaning are important. Start with why! has become a corporate cliché. But practical advice on how to start with why has been lacking. How do you integrate these concepts into goals and practices that drive success? And what does the latest research on happiness reveal?

I answer these questions in this book, starting with something about Russian roulette.

Takeaways:

• Knowing everything means nothing if you don’t know what you want.

• Wealth is not the only goal.

• “Start with why” only works if you actually define your why. Vague ideals don’t drive impact.

I hope you enjoyed,

Seb

Pre-order The Psychology of Leadership today.

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When he decided to write a book on leadership and self-improvement, Sébastien Page was rejected by over 200 literary agents.

He was asked, “Why would a finance expert write about leadership?” He was told to stay in his lane.

Sébastien has more than two decades of leadership experience. As an author, he believes breakthroughs often happen when experts venture outside their field. That is why, in "The Psychology of Leadership," he went beyond finance and economics to study research in psychology.

He is currently Head of Global Multi-Asset and Chief Investment Officer at T. Rowe Price. He oversees a team of investment professionals actively managing over $500 billion in assets under management.

Sébastien won research paper awards from The Journal of Portfolio Management in 2003, 2010, 2011, and 2022 and the Financial Analysts Journal in 2010 and 2014. In addition to The Psychology of Leadership, he is the author of Beyond Diversification: What Every Investor Needs to Know About Asset Allocation (McGraw Hill, 2020) and the coauthor of Factor Investing and Asset Allocation (CFA Institute Research Foundation, 2016).

Sébastien is also a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Portfolio Management and the Financial Analysts Journal, and the Board of Directors of the Institute for Quantitative Research in Finance (Q Group). He regularly appears in the media, including Bloomberg TV and CNBC, and was recently named amongst the 15 Top Voices in Finance by LinkedIn.