\xa0There are so many reasons why I decided to start and build a cleaning company. I want to talk about an internal motivation that's always been beneath the surface. And I suspect it's in you as well. What does your name mean to you? I want to inspire you to desire a good name. This is called legacy.
\xa0First, I want to read you a quote from King Solomon. Now who is King Solomon? Let me build up his credibility. King Solomon is the richest and the wisest man in human history. He reigned over the Kingdom of Israel from 970 to 930 BC. Scholars have estimated his wealth in current dollars around $2.2 trillion. For perspective, the richest man in the world right now is Bernard Arnault, who is worth around $200 billion. If King Solomon were alive today, he would be worth 10 times that of Arnault. Here's more perspective. If you search Google for the richest man of all time, they seem to omit King Solomon. You will find Mansa Musa who reigned King of the Mali Empire from 1280 to 1337 AD. His net worth in today's dollars is estimated at $400 billion. This is two times the richest man today. Yet King Solomon is still five times wealthier than Mansa Musa. I have even more perspective. Do you know how King Solomon got so wealthy? He inherited some from his dad, King David. But did you know that world leaders at that time would literally travel far distances via camel, I suppose, just to hear his wisdom and learn from him. They would bring him the wealth of their country and give it as a tribute just to hear him talk. This is mind-boggling to me. I shared all this because King Solomon wrote a book that I read often. It's called Proverbs and it's found in the Old Testament of the Bible.
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"A good name [earned by honorable behavior, godly wisdom, moral courage, and personal integrity] is more desirable than great riches; And favor is better than silver and gold." \u2013 Proverbs 22:1 Amplified, Attributed to King Solomon
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I first read this at the age of 25, when the Bible was still new to me. But this verse really captured my heart. I wanted to make a name for myself. I wanted to make those that poured into me and made our name valuable, proud of me. I wanted to carry on their legacy. Here's a few examples of men who knew their name and purpose.
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"Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die." Inigo Montoya knew his name and he knew his purpose.
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"My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife." Now that's a man who knew his name and his purpose.
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The first one is a little bit silly from "The Princess Bride", but it does show the power in a name. The second one from "Gladiator" is just chilling and awesome and gets men to want to fight for this man.
Now it's my turn. My name is Kenneth Joseph Carfagno, III. I was named after my Pop-Pop, Kenneth Joseph Carfagno, Sr. My father Kenneth Joseph Carfagno, Jr. named his firstborn son after his father. My Pop-Pop, Kenneth Sr. was the sixth child, and fifth son of Genaro Carfagno. Genaro was the firstborn of eight kids of Giuseppe Carfagno. Giuseppe is Italian for Joseph and Genaro is Italian for Jerry. So I carry the name of four generations of my fathers. My middle is Joseph, the English version of my great-great grandfather Giuseppe. My first name Kenneth is the same as my father and grandfather. That is so cool to me. So much has been poured into me and into that name. I feel the weight of\xa0 responsibility to make that name even better!
Read the rest of this article at the Smart Cleaning School website