Yesterday I learned that someone I know has earned enough money to retire. My immediate response was jealousy. I compared myself with them. I placed the value of their achievement and legacy over my relationships and the remarkable place and time in which I live.

I watched this video today.

The speech reminded me of the debate surrounding Amy Chua, author of the "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother". I haven't read the book - only excerpts and interviews. The discourse surrounding the means of child rearing is polarizing. Perhaps the means isn't so binary. At face value, the Chua premise is the antithesis of vulnerability. But it does seem that the approach includes significant investment and interaction. It also bucks against our notion of entitlement pervasive in American culture.

What is skewed is the definition of perfection. Is perfection technical? Perhaps yes, if that is the goal. However, I can write a novel that is, or close to, technical perfection in structure and the manner in which the story is told. But if the novel doesn't reach the heart, is it perfect? On the flip side, a poorly written novel will fail to provide a platform on which it is possible to touch people. Among its other themes, the Black Swan covered the struggle between technical perfection and art. It did it well.

The pursuit of excellence in my craft is fulfilling. It is also empty when I am too comparative and calculating. It becomes the exultation of myself and focused on my dominance over others. It is empty and ultimately self destructive. My excellence only becomes creative when I am vulnerable. It only becomes meaningful when it is shared.