Success + illusions: A strange marriage

Entrance to a parking lot with the interior in darkness - Photo: Still Gravity..
One way to darkness - License our images here. 

This is a complex topic that mixes the internal and the external. A universe of dreams and illusions of happiness and fulfillment combined with weird searches for meaning, purpose, and transcendence in a material world where each of us is one more of the many. Addictive alchemy for the minds entangled in the comparison trap of social life, that "big competition" in our eternal pursuit for external validation. 

How to define success? No easy answer. In most cases, we look for external markers such as money and wealth and fame and status. Often, all of them combined in a big pancake. Simplifying: we tend to define success for our public standing and how others see us. 

What a game of appearances that sometimes dwells in the dark path of deception. What a hangover of the mind after drinking too much Kool-Aid to blur a universal reality that is hard to accept: our ephemeral one-way trip. What a dull plan for a live in denial from beginning to end. 

Can we escape from this trap? Well, if you don't like to "play the game", there is a way out of the social madness without renouncing to society and moving away to a remote cave. Here we go with ideas to explore.  
  • Define your version of success, the one meaningful to you. Forget the rest and become an original. Refuse to be the copy of someone else.
  • Embrace what life throws to you and learn from the setbacks. Analize, adjust, change, and evolve. Live the journey and don't get too fixed with destinations. 
  • Balance your life. Don't trade the joys of the journey in the pursuit of success. Don't get drunk and blind with overdoses of passion. Don't get drown in the pool of unattainable illusions. Be realist with your goals. 
Sucess and illusions are pathways of a complex labyrinth because everybody is different. Each of us is a mini world entitled to navigate his own path through life. And to make things worse, success happens to be a very relative thing. 

Most of what we read about success are generalizations. Beware of influencers' talks because many are after what rests inside of your wallet. Check "The Untold Story of Napoleon Hill, the Greatest Self-Help Scammer of All Time". Lesson: always do your "homework" before believing.  

Work hard to find your own way and be as happy as you can. This will be a better measure of your success in this life. 

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