The Dangers of Success

Maybe I should title this post: The Dangers of Middle Management, Relative Success and Laziness, but that wouldn't fit in my narrow layout here.

I'm looking back over several years of my career and realizing that I've worked very hard to get where I am today. I'm young and, relatively speaking, I've gone a very long way. This is a good thing, because it means that I'm not only ahead of the curve, but I have much further to go.

This has its benefits. From the satisfaction of belong to, and making an impact on, the shape of new media to the ability to buy a nice seafood dinner when you feel like it without breaking the bank. These are two very different things - I'm proud that I've been able to accomplish them together but, somewhere along the line, this has a make or break point.

It could be argued that if I focused much more of my time on participating in our humble community, volunteering myself to decision-making boards and committees and building the next generation of applications and events with the aim of educating others to do the same that my impact would be greater felt and, in turn, my satisfaction more rewarding.

But then where would I make my money? I like those seafood dinners; if I ate beef I'd probably want to make it a steak. So, the other side of the equation: sell out.

I went to art school where I studied communication and journalism. I have fond memories of wandering campus and seeing painters by the fountain, dancers under the big banyan tree and musicians and actors out by the lake. Today I work in business development and if you ask any current student at my alma mater, they'd likely say that I've sold out.

I'm okay with that, like I said before, I like those seafood dinners.

Now, I'm faced with a dilemma. I don't fundamentally believe that by making yourself an industry expert, or "important" person, that opportunity will follow. I do think it's important to be an industry expert, if you're to be successful, but if your driving reason is business, well then, business is your primary objective.

One needs to make a personal decision on which path to take.

That's where Relative Success and Laziness come in. I'd like to run my own company again and, this time, I'd like to do it successfully. But, in order for that to work, I'm going to have to bust my ass making it reality. Why do that when I can bring home a decent, reliable check each week? Because I have to.

The problem with Relative Success is that it's easy to accept. I suppose that every entrepreneur is faced with this at some point. Taking that leap is a hard thing to do. So my question is, how do you prepare for that?