The problems of success are real... I watched my peers and my friends and the ones that were older than me, and I’d watch how miserable some of them were. I’d listen to them telling me they couldn’t envisage a world where they did what they always wanted to do, anymore, because now they had to earn a certain amount every month just to keep where they were. They couldn’t go and do the things that mattered and that they really wanted to do, and that seemed as big a tragedy as any problem of failure. And after that, the biggest problem of success is that the world conspires to stop you doing the thing that you do, because you are successful. There was a day when I looked up and realized that I had become someone who professionally replied to email, and who wrote as a hobby. I started answering fewer emails and was relieved to find I was writing much more.
- Neil Gaiman, reminding graduating students of the Philadelphia University of the Arts that if they fail, at the very least they'll get less email. You can watch the entire commencement address here.
No comments:
Post a Comment