Be your own benchmark

Matt Weston, 30 Aug

A how-to:
1. Never hate your enemies.
2. Define your own success. “Don’t live by other people’s definitions of success. Hit your targets, not theirs.”
3. Don’t be a cog. “Since you were five, schools and society have been teaching you to be a cog in the machine of our economy […] it’s essentially impossible to become successful or well off doing a job that is described and measured by someone else.”
4. Don’t be average. “[benchmarking] stresses us out. […] In addition to the stress, benchmarking against the universe actually encourages us to be mediocre, to be average, to just do what everyone else is doing.”

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Reader comments
6 comments so far, add yours below

Barry Rostock says:
I disagree with 3. Have you seen how much lawyers earn?
by Barry Rostock on 31 Aug

Mike says:
I agree with 3. Who says lawyers are successful or well off just because they earn quite a lot of money.
by Mike on 20 Sep

Jon Boy says:
I disagree with 3. It’s not about money, your company car or your corner office. 3 almost contradicts 2, set your own definition of success. It’s more than possible to be a happy and successful cog, if that’s what you want from life.
by Jon Boy on 20 Sep

Ian Hewitt says:
I totally agree with you. As an ex “cog” I have finally escaped and am now doing it my way. It is a new learning experience and not easy as I have nearly 40 years of being told what to do,but I am loving it!
by Ian Hewitt on 20 Sep

Simon Mitchinson says:
I completely agree with 2 and 4. I would develop 3 into “Know the rules; decide which ones to follow and when”. As an entrepreneur, I am happy to be conventional - but only when it suits me. Concerning 1, why can’t you hate your enemies?
by Simon Mitchinson on 21 Sep

Matt Weston says:
I. Thanks all. Short answer for Simon is
It affects your judgement
by Matt Weston on 21 Sep