Success is doing what is necessary. Success is knowing I did the best I could given my limited abilities. Success does not need approval. My greatest success is not known to anyone but myself.
The greatest of failures are those who look for the best place to hide inside one of two caves: the cave of someone’s approval, or the cave of the someone’s disapproval. The narcissist is a failure. But so too is the megalomaniac.
“To see yourself is to die, to die to all illusions and all hypocrisy. It takes great courage to dare look at yourself – something which can take place only in the mirror of the Word. You must want only the truth, neither vainly wish to be flattered nor self-tormentingly want to be made a pure devil.” (Soren Kierkegaard)
“The megalomaniac differs from the narcissist by the fact that he wishes to be powerful rather than charming, and seeks to be feared rather than loved. To this type belong many lunatics and most of the great men of history.” (Bertrand Russell)
Patrick Watts 