Question: I held a dinner party recently for a number of business leaders and was disappointed that a couple of people I was counting on didn’t come. I’m sure they had legitimate reasons but it still stings a bit. What should I make of their absence?

Answer: Oh there are so many “maybes” here that it will be hard to pick one. Maybe they were sick. Maybe they had another engagement. Maybe they had a favorite television program that wanted to watch. Maybe they forgot. Maybe they don’t like you . . . Playing the maybe game will just drive you crazy. Here’s the revelation that might come from this experience. What about all the folks who did attend the dinner party? How about being grateful for them?

As entrepreneurs we have a tendency to always want more. Our business is off-the-charts, but we want more customers and more sales. We have more possessions than we ever imagined possible, but we always want more. We play a lot, but we want to play more. We want to eat more, drink more, find more excitement, and vacation more. Are we ever content with anything?

Wanting more isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It just depends upon why we want more. Do we want more because we are “competing” with someone else? Think about the guy who buys a newer and bigger boat because someone he knows just bought a new boat. His motivation is to always “one-up” his friend or acquaintance. Do we want more because we want others to see us a certain way? If we do something bigger and better perhaps we will gain greater approval from them. Do we want something more because we’re easily bored? I’ve known people who were scared to death to just sit alone quietly and do absolutely nothing. As a result, they are constantly on the go in an attempt to avoid ever being in this situation.

From time-to-time it’s healthy to examine our motivation for wanting more of something. Our entrepreneurial drive needs to be balanced against how we feel if we don’t get more. As with the dinner party, if we are able to celebrate that which we have and not feel anger, resentment or disappointment for that we which we don’t, then we are in a good place.

In 1965 the Rolling Stones released a tune entitled, “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.” We can get satisfaction if we never stop wanting more out of life but pursue it in a grateful and balanced manner.

This blog is being written in tandem with my book, “An Entrepreneur’s Words to Live By,” available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle (My Book), as well as being available in all of the other major eBook formats.