Paul Tchio 🇨🇲

Empty Success *** In 1985, Jim Carrey wrote himself a $10 million check. He dated it 10 years in the future for “acting services rendered.” Carrey was 23 years old then. A fledgling actor struggling to find work. He carried the check in his wallet everywhere he went. If acting didn’t work out, he was likely headed for a Canadian steel mill. But it did. 10 years after writing that check, Carrey got his big break. In 1995, he got the role for “Dumb and Dumber.” *** There’s a famous Carrey quote on success. After making it big in the movie business, Carrey said: “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of, so they can see that it’s not the answer.” You can roll your eyes at the quote. It’s easy when you’re rich to say being rich “is not the answer.” But there’s a powerful lesson in that quote. It’s the lesson of empty success. *** All of us pursue a superficial version of success at some point in life. Money. Fame. Power. Status. Whatever. Author @nytdavidbrooks calls this the “First Mountain.” Then through wisdom and growth we find our “Second Mountain.” The version of success that’s not empty. The version that’s fulfilling. *** Here’s my main takeaway from this: We must define “success” for ourselves. Everyone else’s definition will leave us empty. There’s nothing wrong with being rich and famous. But if we spend our lives chasing the world’s scoreboard, we will lose. *** Follow @TMitrosilis for more content like this.