Three whales of success

Epigraph

I think it is not necessary to remind once again that the “how to live” teachings should be heard from people who live as you desire, so please take this post not as an instruction, but as food for thought. I myself do not consider myself to be a successful person, and all conclusions have been made based on the biographies read.

Introduction

The main thing is to understand that success is not a “X” point, but a process that lasts over time; attribute of your life, its characteristic. Success is possible, but it should be remembered that success is not finite in the same way, that failure is not fatal. To avoid confusion, let us assume that success is the main characteristic of the correctness of your actions .

The first quality of a successful person

Originality . Most of the geniuses of mankind were unique people. What does it mean? First and foremost, they were unique - their individuality was developed through the conscious or unconscious development of their strengths. By the way, many people believe that it is this simple formula that is sufficient for success.
The second is an activity within a unique niche. By unique niche, I mean the one that exists at the intersection of different areas of human activity. This results from the fact that any human activity arises at the intersection of one or several already existing and begins to develop. Most geniuses were at the forefront of unique niches; as, for example, Michelangelo gave rise to baroque, Jobs created several new markets. Ford gave rise to the automotive industry, Dali to surrealism, and Schopenhauer was at the very beginning of non-classical German philosophy. Look for your unique niche, try yourself in different areas and look for intersection points where you feel most free and confident, or create one yourself. I recommend viewing the seminar “ Word-class Self-education ”, which partially covers the topic of niches and their intersections.
The third is the indispensability. It is very closely connected with the first two and obliges to become one whom, in Lenin's opinion, does not exist. There are irreplaceable people, and history often confirms this. It is easy to replace a low-skilled worker, but it is very difficult to find a replacement for an individual who works within a narrow niche.

The second quality of a successful person

Traction to creation . By this, I mean the banal desire, will, and anger to create, despite the burden of consumption . The main thing in the life of Michelangelo was the presence of marble and all the problems began when there was no marble. There is marble - Michelangelo can create. This is enough for almost Zen life. The same story happened to Jobs, who founded Apple, and then Next to translate his own understanding of the world. Billions of profits and a place in history are the result of a craving for creation, not a cause .
From this expires another very important rule - the absence of long-term goals. I will give a simple analogy. Try to write your own biography, right up to death. Now live your life behind this scenario. It is unlikely that you will succeed. The goal, in one way or another, goes beyond our own experience. And in fact, a real goal can be unpredictable and achieving a goal like “Earn a million” will make you successful, of course, but it will only mean that you have lived a life of four, because you could have achieved more - but check? Salvador Dali once said: “I noticed that all artists end up in poverty and in prison, so I took care of myself from my youth to serve time and become a multimillionaire.” A means to achieve success, he did what most people consider the ultimate goal of his life. In "Fight Club" there was a phrase: "The trouble of people is that they turn problems that can be solved by the end of this week into the goal of a lifetime." Our true goals are hidden deep within us and open only at the end. In addition, goals that we have imposed on ourselves can make us give up the chances that life gives us. We say: "No, thank you, I have other plans."
Craving for creation is closely related to the lack of goals because we live in the present, not in the future. Everything happens here and now and only in this way can a person live. Victories are not as important as participation; and processes are more important than results. Focus on creation, and the goals will open themselves. This became the main theme of Forrest Gampa - whether the person lives according to his own plan, or is he led like a feather in the wind. By the way, Forrest achieved the same success and few would argue with that. Lebedev never had a goal to create a big business: a design studio, a cafe, retail stores, more than two hundred people subordinate. “It all inevitably grew, I never wanted it,” he said in an interview with Oleg Tinkov.
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The third quality of a successful person

And, finally, the third quality that is needed to achieve success is sensuality . I understand her ability to feel beauty and see ugliness, the ability to distinguish them. Two human qualities follow from sensuality - taste and desire for protest. The more negative you get, the more you will want to get rid of it. The more you are struck by beauty, the more often and deeper you will comprehend it. Voltaire said: "True pleasures are impossible without true needs," and Italian designer Massimo Vignelli believes that "the life of a designer is a struggle, a struggle against deformity." The danger lies in the fact that a sensual person who has been struck by dirt, garbage and injustice will feel more miserable than a rude person. Dali protested against realism, Lebedev - against the post-Soviet design of the nineties, Henry Ford - against the irrational use of human resources, Schopenhauer - against Hegel (they were contemporaries, but the ideas of the first went much further), IHE. All their activities are based on the thesis that “what is now is wrong.” All these people suffered from the negative and it made them look for a replacement and enjoy it.
Another plus of sensuality is that a sensitive person is one of those who are sensitive to himself — his own imperfections, mistakes, and he can protest against himself, deny himself and become better.