garmana::blog

Xeno's paradox and success

I spend too much time thinking about success. Whether or not I'm successful, what it means to be successful, and whether I'll make it there someday and look at the view from the pinnacle. And I'm not talking strictly about financial success. I didn't grow up with money, I realize that the happiest moments of my life had no connection to money whatsoever, and so my definition of success doesn't begin with a large bank account.

To me, success has always been about being at the top of my game; whatever it happens to be. I work as a Web professional in my day job, and so I "need" to be at the top of the heap to consider myself successful. Writing is my passion, and so I "need" to be published to be successful at that. Paperback rights or an Oscar would be nice. :-) But would achieving those things really make me successful? I'm not so sure. I know of a lot of well-paid and bestselling authors that I think aren't worth their weight in imitation white gold.

The other issue is that the game is always changing. This is especially true on the Web. A new startup or viral idea is always pulling the legs out from underneath the reigning champion, and in the writing world the fickle taste of the masses moves among romance, pre-adolescent wizards, spy thrillers, and back again. Just when you think you have the race figured out, the track changes and the other cars get more horsepower.

Thinking about this reminded me of Xeno's paradox. Imagine that you are traveling from point A to point B. To get there of course, at some point you'll reach the halfway point. Let's call this your "new Point A." After you resume on your way you'll hit the midpoint again. As you continue your journey and repeat that process over and over again, and you never reach your destination. You're constantly reaching a milestone and discovering you're halfway there.

And so it goes with success today. You think you know what it means to reach the top of your field, but by the time you get there it's a whole new ballgame. Maybe your game doesn't even exist anymore. That realization forced me to change my definition of success. Not as a cop out, but as the recognition that it can never remain stagnant. Success in any industry or creative pursuit is different than it was 10, 100, or 1000 years ago. To truly find success, you'll need to find your passion and go at it full force. If you're lucky you'll be able to do it to support yourself, and if you're really lucky you'll find your fortune along the road. But you'll never reach the end, which is why you need to discover your passion first. Without that, you'll never muster the strength and courage to stay along the infinite journey.