It really hurts to be passionate because you end up having to become somewhat hypocritical to become successful, and then when you look back over your own work you realize how much better it could be, but that it can't because the market is disinterested in your true potential and rarely cares about the things that drive you...most people would rather be sold the idea of a pot of gold at the other end of the rainbow than to have to learn and work hard.

Due to flaws associated with humanity it is easier to push something that is slightly above average than it is to keep your work as good as it could be, especially when your customer base is nearly infinitely wide, the "appropriate" techniques in your industry constantly evolve and are never clearly spelled out, and the field you are working in is redefining marketing and what it means to have authority or a profitable publishing business model.

Just about any idea or piece of information is true given some set of circumstances during some point in time. But rarely is an idea universal, profitable, and specific. What % of people do we hurt in an attempt to help others? And where should we draw the lines?

Sometimes I wonder how I would have turned out if I wouldn't have had a persistent nagging sense of inadequacy from birth. If I didn't have it, I would probably be a happier person, but one who cared less, and maybe I would even be a bit less passionate.

I wish I could keep learning as fast as I did a couple years ago while being able to afford enough time to be able to spend that much time learning without selling watered down stuff or feeling some sense of guilt about balancing work / play / learning / mental health / social health.

So far one friend quit their job and just works for me, and another may do so soon as well, but as markets expand in size further specialization is needed to keep your head above water. Business isn't life. Marketing isn't life. I think I just need to be around people a bit more.

And as you gain more freedom and desire more human interaction and your curiosity wanders how long can you hold on to what you are doing. Most every opportunity I have has come out of what I do and yet I somehow feel a need for a break now and then...but I think if you really find what you are meant to do there should never be a need for a break.