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“I’m losing them.”

It’s a Thursday night, 6:50 p.m., and I’m standing on a ladder in another family’s living room, frantically patching a crack in their fireplace wall. I knew the cheap TV mount wouldn’t hold—but here I am, spackling over the damage, feeling the irritation in the homeowner’s glare like a weight on my shoulders.

My phone buzzes. 7:02 p.m. Another late night. Dinner’s cold, my wife is bathing our son alone, and I’m here—desperately trying to salvage this job. It’s the fifth night like this in a row, and the pressure is suffocating: the money I’ll barely make, the hours I’ve lost, the thought of coming home to a quiet house.

I feel the familiar, crushing ache of failure. Disappointing my client, my wife, my son—and myself. I wonder: What did I miss today? His first word? His first step? All while I’m stuck here, chasing what feels like a mirage.

I glance at the crack on the wall, but the real fractures are in my life—the relationships I’m losing with every rung I climb on the endless ladder of work, control, and survival.

This pyramid encompasses our lives on Earth. All of our needs are represented as a desire for one of these three things. To fulfill that desire, our ambition leads us to climb the Power Pyramid. When we fail to meet those needs, we fall right back where we started. Then the cycle repeats itself.

But the pyramid is a mirage—a structure built to distract us from what truly matters. Before we can unpack this further, we first need to understand how this pyramid was constructed.

Prosperity forms the base of the pyramid. All effort begins here as we seek to meet our most basic human needs: food, clothing, shelter, and the resources that secure them, such as employment.

Once these essentials are met, many of us shift into delayed gratification mode, working to protect and grow what we have. This provides a sense of security—a springboard that allows us to reach the next level: pleasure.

Pleasure occupies the second layer of the pyramid, reflecting our desire for happiness and ease in life once survival is secure. It promises rest, enjoyment, and the satisfaction of desires that feel just out of reach.

With pleasure achieved, the final ambition comes into view: the pursuit of power.

Power crowns the pyramid, representing our desire to control outcomes, whether by directly influencing others or shaping how they perceive us.

In today’s world, power is often achieved by accumulating prosperity or leveraging pleasure—through natural qualities like attractiveness or charm—to win approval or sway opinions.

From this height, power appears to be the ultimate prize, promising fulfillment and success. But what lies beyond remains to be seen.

Few ever reach the top of the pyramid. And for those that do, the view is rarely what they imagined. Despite being sold as life’s ultimate goal, reaching the summit often reveals an unsettling truth: there’s nothing left to strive for.

The vehicles that carried them—fame, wealth, business success—eventually lose their thrill. Without a higher purpose to guide them, comparison becomes the only game left to play. In this endless competition, new challenges must constantly be invented. It’s why every tech billionaire seemed to wake up simultaneously and start space exploration companies. It's just the newest fad among the ultra-elite to show who carries the most power, a practice some are more subtle about than others.

Yet even these ventures fail to satisfy. Power’s promise is hollow—a dangling carrot that stays forever out of reach.

This is my original Canva mockup for the Power Pyramid concept.

It wasn’t pretty with its awkward clip-art and garish colors, but the image at the top stuck with me.

A gravestone with a crown.

Why?

Because in the end, the words written there reflect what truly matters:

These are the words I want on mine. And I’d guess yours are similar.

The Power Pyramid deceives us, pulling our attention toward goals that seem important but ultimately steal the time we have to nurture what truly matters

Relationships are what matter most. The love we give and receive will always outshine achievements, wealth, or power. It’s the true legacy we leave behind—and, most importantly,  the only thing we take with us.

Start small. Each act of connection matters:

Invest your time where it counts: in relationships.

Until next time,
Addison