Here’s the deal, though… the difference between a genius and a lunatic is success. If any of these people would have pursued their dream, despite being turned down, for… say… forty years then died penniless and unrecognized, we’d just say oh, that JK, she wrote some kid’s book that no one liked and she just never stopped submitting it. It’s really sad—she could have gotten off of welfare and really made something of herself if she’d have gone back to school and become a legal secretary or something.
How do you know if your dreams are worth pursuing, or if you’re just going to die in debt, friendless and alone in a gutter because you wanted to be a writer/painter/whatever?
Success and the recognition of others /= a great idea worth pursuing. Persistence /= success. While you miss 100% of the shots you never take, statistically, you’re not assured to make ANY shots. You have the same statistical chances every time you shoot. This is like… playing the lotto. If your chances are a million to 1 every time you play. Your odds have not increased because you have purchased more tickets. The odds are still a million to one. I have statistics feels, and I got off track. What I am trying to say is… trying a million times is still the same statistical probability of success and recognition every time.
I think this is that sentimentality thing again, isn’t it? Buck up and try harder cos it’ll all work out in the end. And it’s like… you have no actual quantitative proof of that.
I need dis commentary.
Glad someone can use my jaded-ness. Usually I get told I’m far too pessimistic and I should “cheer up” and look the “bright side” because my pessimism is “obviously” the reason I am not “achieving.” I’m totes into quotes.
See, I would fall right in line with you when it comes to the chances of “success” (I, too, am “into” quotes) but I don’t consider myself a pessimist for it. I think part of the problem is that we have a common definition of success that is both too narrow and too high. If I have to build Disneyland or become a billionaire by writing fiction to be successful, I’ll never be successful.
People need to set their own goals… one can still aim high, but with the understanding that “high” is a relative term, and there will always be a number of spots that aren’t at the very peak of the mountain that still have a nice view.
