Why?

"It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail."

Supposedly, this quote is attributed to Gore Vidal.  or Genghis Khan.  Or Larry Ellison.  But whoever created it... man, it's an ugly sentiment.

Is this something we should take life advice from?

Life's not a zero-sum game.  Never has been.  I'd much rather be middle class now that the richest person in 1916.  Life has gotten better- which means that, for one of us to be successful, the other one doesn't have to lose.  Everyone can be better.  Which is the opposite of the sentence above.

That mentality- the idea that someone has to fail for you to succeed- should be dying.  Instead, it's not only thriving, it's growing.

Look at social media- there are far more stories reported and linked that talk about someone's failure- or the hope for someone's failure.  

A thought experiment.  Keep track of the stories you read online this week.  What is the ratio of positive stories- stories about people or things succeeding- compared to negative stories, tearing down people or ideas?  

I'm as guilty as anyone.  But I'm noticing it more- and I don't like what it says about me.  So I'm trying to stay positive in what feels like a negative era.  

To an extreme?  Maybe.  I've been accused of being nothing but 'rainbows and unicorns' before.  

But I want to succeed.

Hell, I want everyone to succeed.

What's wrong with that?