Thread by @_patriciamou

1/ I took a week off to ponder my ever-evolving definition of success:

Could the success I thought I wanted.. actually prevent me from doing the thing I actually wanted to do?

a thread 🧵on the downsides of wealth and fame, and upsides of autonomy and creative expression 👇

2/ We all aspire to be rich and successful. But what we don’t realize is that with it come limitations.

Napoleon once wrote: “Today, I’m sort of a mannequin figure that’s lost its liberty and happiness. Grandeur is all very well, but only in retrospect and in the imagination.”

3/ @tferriss on fame: “If I’ve learned anything, it is this: fame will not fix your problems. Instead, fame is likely to magnify all of your insecurities and exaggerate all of your fears.”

tim.blog/2020/02/02/rea…

4/ @sivers does an exercise where he envisions what he would do with $1M. He always returns to: creating, learning, improving, and writing. All free.

@david_perell: "I don’t need a fancy house or an expensive car. Instead, I want to surround myself with brilliant people."

5/ Taylor Swift is a young woman who has accomplished in her field nearly everything you could ever dream was possible.

However, in Miss Americana, the film portrays a woman who is struggling to harness the full power of her voice, trapped in a self-created prison.

6/ People we envy, who have reached the pinnacle of success as we have defined it, are hardly as free as we think.

You can’t be jealous of another person, without also inheriting all the negative aspects about them: the painful moments, stolen moments of freedom, and bad habits.

7/ I’m not saying that management, leadership, and overall world domination aren’t great goals to aspire towards.

But why is there a stigma against people who decide to focus on their craft, intentionally decide to “cruise at the same level”, or hop off their rocketship career?

8/ Self-employed artists and professionals may not fit some of the commonly used definitions of success, but what they reap is self-actualization, autonomy, and freedom.

These stories are indicative of a larger trend @ljin18 coined as the “passion economy”.

9/ A couple months ago I created a telegram group for newsletter writers and its been incredible seeing members take the leap of faith to pursue endeavors more in line with their values:

@mario_gabriele_ leaving VC to start a media company

https://twitter.com/mario_gabriele_/status/1295031676989345792

10/ @fkpxls and @adrianalfieri for balancing careers in VC with amazing weekly newsletters: Fake Pixels and The Proof.

@thatguyBG taking time off to re-brand Tech TLDR into Social Studies (w/ more of a bend towards his passion in cognitive science and humanities)

& many more

11/ As someone who’s spent a few years in the workforce, my definition of “success” has changed over time. I thought going into consulting, start-ups, and product mgmt would lead to career satiation.

They've given me skills and means, but they aren’t the panacea to happiness.

12/ What is my happiness? I’m still figuring it out 🤔

But I no longer measure it in terms of levels jumped, zeros added to my pay stub, the hype of the company/field, or the number of people I manage.

13/ I’ve begun to measure it via:

- Is what I do energizing or draining?
- Do I have time to write? Can I say what I think?
- Am I free to invest in my personal development or side projects?
- Do I direct most of my schd?
- Do I have time to be present with people I love?

14/ Because without freedom, what good is success? As Seneca said, “Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power.”

From the bottom of my heart, I hope we can all find our ikigai. Life’s too short to not reach our fullest potential.

full post: wellnesswisdom.substack.com/p/wellness-wis…

& props to @visualizevalue for the amazing visuals