[Skybird]

Are you aware that you need to put it to extreme interpretations in order to make your point on mediocrity? If somebody lives his life in a way where he can support himself and those next to him, does not depend on the money of others, and says that instead of raising himself a monument or building a big company he prefers to invest the rest of his free time for something he sees as more valuable to him, may it be for example family, or arts, or charity, or whatever - I fail to see what makes that "mediocre" a way to spend one's life. You define "ambitions" purely materialistically, and that is the essence of materialism/capitalism: that there is nothing of value in life that goes beyond material gains, possessions and money.

But that is simply not true, but indeed a very poor way to see life. If you were right, people should be the happier the more money and business succees they have. But that is not true, and especially very successful people in banking, medicine, big business, often pay a physical price for their excessice work overload, in becoming ill, physically or/and mentally.

Man does not live by bread alone. There must be more.

And just for the record, Castout has not complained about people being successful.

And finally, what is "success". Is it to be defined by just the level of admiration for you by others, as you express above? I would not necessarily call that "successful" beyond a purely statistical statement. To me it has more to do with being "fremdbestimmt" (nonautonomous). And to me somebody is the more unsuccessful in his life the more he is depending on others, both materialistically or intellectually and psychologically. Autonomy - is an alternative to a purely financial description of success. You may have let'S say some idealistic intentions, for which to realise you need to raise money. Okay, fine with me. But here the material aspect does not become the decisive criterion to judge success, but is just a tool. Success is to what degree that idealistic vision gets realised - whether it be by raising the needed money, or realising it in another legal manner.

Money as a tool is one thing. Declaring it the meaning of life - is something different. And the admiration of others - sorry, I am beyond that, really. I only really care for the opinion of people about me whom I really know and to whom I have a relation that I consider to be valuable to me. To know that there is a million of people knowing that I exist and just did this or that - means nothing to me.