Success & Mediocrity are NOT what you think they are

We’ve grown within a culture that glorifies “success”. But as we’re all getting consumed by the despair of knowing not everyone can achieve it, it comes to mind… Is that really so?

Success, as we’ve commonly come to define it, relates to the degree of material wealth one accumulates throughout one’s lifetime.

In that sense, success appears as something that can only be achieved by a small portion of the world population, as the rest of us are condemned to mediocrity.

But if that is true, why is it that when many of the richest people in the world get asked about it, they say they do not feel successful.

What is success, then?

If the richest people in world do not have it, with all their money and power, then what in the world *is* success?

On a personal level, I’ve struggled with this question in particular due to the opposite reason.

It’s been a year now since I first started to consider myself the mentor of John Bone, the game artist with whom I made “All Bets Are Off!” (Now available at itch.io) for the GMTK Game Jam 2022.

And the funny thing is…

While it is true I have yet to earn a single penny for all the work I’ve done in conjunction with that little guy, seeing him grow as person and a professional has been nothing short of bliss.

So, could it possibly be that this feeling is something closer to what “being successful” actually is?

We glorify “great men” as the people who have effected great change to world along the annals of history, yet it is much smaller simpler men who often appear to live the happiest lives.

That alone should give us a clue to the fact that it is not great achievement that produces that feeling of success, but rather an achievement, adequate for the stature of each person, that gets us closer to that feeling of success.

If success was a person, it would not care about the absolute size of the deed in question. But rather only, that it was a deed worthy of the person carrying it out.

And in this sense, success then stops being something attainable only by the elites, for the elites; and become something that each and every single one of us can achieve within our lifetimes.

It stops being about the zero-sum game of the acquisition of wealth, and becomes about being of service to an ideal.

This is such an important revelation, that it is worth repeating:

Success is not about great achievement, it is about people doing deeds worthy of themselves.

But let us not get hung up on this statement too long, for Earl Nightingale has a better quote for us to dissect:

“Success is the progressive realisation of a worthy goal or ideal. If a man is working toward a predetermined goal, and he knows where he’s going, that man is a success. If he’s not, he’s a failure.”

The reason why I consider his to be the superior definition, is because under Nightingale’s definition, success is not about reaching a destination either. It’s about the journey towards a goal.

Life has never really been about destinations.

If that were true, we’d all be in for a nihilistic demise. Because only one thing awaits at the end of a life, and that is death.

The ultimate destination of every single life in this world is death.

But since I think we can all agree that there’s a lot more to life than death, then I believe we can also agree that life is a journey, then.

Therefore, it’d be foolish to focus oneself on any single deed of one’s life, instead of on the full progression of deeds that have been leading towards the realisation of one’s ideal.

It is much more conducive towards constructive thought, to think about one’s journey, rather than to be blinded by one’s uncertain attainment of a destination.

And in this sense, success is something you can attain today, right now, as long as you begin working towards a goal, any goal, you deem worthy of yourself.

The goal in question doesn’t need to be anything totally extraordinary, like say… um… conquering Ukraine (more like foolish and senseless goal if you ask me). It could be something quite “ordinary” like… being a good father, or mother.

Life is filled with small-scale heroes, of the kind that impact the lives of tiny amounts of people in a very disproportionate manner. Such as that middle management boss who made it an absolute joy for you to work at that place, despite he himself having to deal with an a-hole boss of his own. (What an angel!)

To the people that get impacted by these small-time heroes, they are nothing short of a miracle. And even you could be one of them. Since it isn’t really something particularly challenging, but it *is* important work.

However, on the other hand, it is also really easy for anyone to become absolutely meaningless within the grand scheme of thing. You’d just need to give up all your goals. And at that moment… you’d become a failure.

Therefore, we’d be correct in the assessment that mediocre is the man who has given up on all aspirations, and become content to drift along, carried by the flow of the river that is life.

He is a man who has stopped caring about life, and is content being carried slowly towards death.

Yet, the good news is:

That man can always become successful once again, as long as he begins working today, towards a goal or ideal he deems worthy of himself.

So if you’re that man, start moving…

This little piece of my mind that you’ve just read, might come across as out of place considering I’m simply a game developer.

Maybe, this is something you’d expect from one of those self-help coaches that have written tons of books on the subject, and have so much more to say about it, backed by a ton of evidence and what not.

I’ve read tons of savvy advice that say “you should focus on building your brand”, or whatever those smart people of the business world say.

But, you know… after stumbling so much all over the place in search of “my brand” and “that which sells”, I’ve decided to just say “screw it all”, and simply focus on following my gut. On simply being of service.

Because, you see… I’m not just a game developer. No.

I’m a joy-smith.

My job is to bring joy to people, no matter what form that work may take.

So… allow me to become your own small-time hero just this once.

And if this writing has helped you in any way, shape, or form, be sure to drop me a comment below.

Just “thanks” will do, simply to let me know that I made an impact for someone. You’d become my own small-time hero too.

See you around!