I also mistrust the responses when powerful and successful people are asked for the keys to their own success:
- First, because most people are oblivious to the fact that blind luck plays a huge part in the outcome of any one life in our chaotic universe: "Well Bob, it's all about privilege... privilege and being in the right place at the right time."
- Second, because many actual success secrets are either not repeatable or not able to be shared: "Insider trading, Bob -- oh, plus I bought two congressmen and a supreme court justice."
- Third, because the skills required for success in one area don't necessarily translate to success in another: "You know Bob, being a completely amoral asshole with zero ethics has contributed significantly to my success... as a hedge fund trader."
- Fourth, because of the propensity for people to commit a false cause fallacy (cum hoc ergo propter hoc and particularly reverse causation) in viewing the causes of success: "I'm passionate about my work, Bob; I dream big and work hard and I focus on the end game."
In regard to the last, there's actually a book that describes the common traits of millionaires with the assumption that by emulating these traits the reader could also become a millionaire. There's never a question of whether a random sampling of non-millionaires would show the same traits (I know janitors who work extremely hard) or whether being a millionaire might cause the traits in question, rather than the reverse (it's easy to follow your dreams / delegate the tedious stuff / focus on the positive when you have money).
That said, there are real keys that can help a person become successful (by their own measure of success I should add, not necessarily a capitalist one). For example, the ability to fail frequently, gracefully, and learn from ones failures. The willingness to nurture and maintain a network of connections in your community. Taking good care of your meatsuit to avoid illness and injury. Practicing gratitude but not complacency. All helpful habits that have been shown through research to directly correlate with happiness and success in life.
I point this out because so much of magic seems to be geared toward success-oriented goals -- money, fame, popularity. Everything from modern hokum like The Secret and Prosperity Gospel to ancient grimoire spells to gain wealth, win in battle, or compel love. Now far be it from me to complain about practical goals (since most of my own magic is practical) but we need to be smart about it. First, because ancient goals are not the same as modern ones (how much buried treasure have you found recently?) and second because fluffy-headed goals will bring fluffy-headed results.
It amazes me that in pursuit of happiness the best many people can do is a sports car and a hot blond wife. Seriously, where's the imagination? Where's the questioning of the status quo? Where's the acknowledgement of what years of research has shown -- beyond a certain point things don't necessarily make us happy and looks can certainly be deceiving? Cheap, glossy magazine collages of mansions and Ferraris and supermodels -- all things that greedy soulless men in suits have told us we need. You want to be successful? Spell for LUCK. Spell for INSTINCT. Spell for KNOWLEDGE. Spell to FREE YOUR MIND from the chains of advertising.
There's nothing wrong with admitting you want or need money. To live nearly everywhere in the Western world, money really is a necessity. And it's the height of privilege to tell other people they don't need it. Sure 20-year-old freegans and neo-hippies and street kids may not... but the first time they get sick or injured or for gods sake have kids of their own to look out for, they'll know the bounds of security and the real, important things that money is, in our world, needed to buy.
Acknowledging this is the first step to coming into a healthier balance with the powerful archetype that is money. You have to understand and see the forces that control your actions and thoughts before you can step away from them enough to exert some control. Because I'm not talking about living completely outside our current society. I'm talking about living within it, while retaining an objective awareness of it -- which is a much more difficult proposition.
It amazes me that in pursuit of happiness the best many people can do is a sports car and a hot blond wife. Seriously, where's the imagination? Where's the questioning of the status quo? Where's the acknowledgement of what years of research has shown -- beyond a certain point things don't necessarily make us happy and looks can certainly be deceiving? Cheap, glossy magazine collages of mansions and Ferraris and supermodels -- all things that greedy soulless men in suits have told us we need. You want to be successful? Spell for LUCK. Spell for INSTINCT. Spell for KNOWLEDGE. Spell to FREE YOUR MIND from the chains of advertising.
There's nothing wrong with admitting you want or need money. To live nearly everywhere in the Western world, money really is a necessity. And it's the height of privilege to tell other people they don't need it. Sure 20-year-old freegans and neo-hippies and street kids may not... but the first time they get sick or injured or for gods sake have kids of their own to look out for, they'll know the bounds of security and the real, important things that money is, in our world, needed to buy.
Acknowledging this is the first step to coming into a healthier balance with the powerful archetype that is money. You have to understand and see the forces that control your actions and thoughts before you can step away from them enough to exert some control. Because I'm not talking about living completely outside our current society. I'm talking about living within it, while retaining an objective awareness of it -- which is a much more difficult proposition.
