Races to the bottom

Life is full of races to the bottom: some careers, businesses, communities, and activities that eventually become a competition for who’s willing to sacrifice more.

During the first years, skill and a decent work ethic are enough to get ahead. This lures many into believing they have an easy shot at winning.

However, as the race progresses, competition becomes fiercer. Skill and a decent work ethic aren't enough anymore. Keeping up requires an unreasonable work ethic, and getting ahead demands reckless risk-taking.

Participants with a narrow vision for success let their eagerness to win set their boundaries. As a result, they often find themselves with miserable lives – either because they sacrificed too much or took too much risk that turned out poorly.

Conversely, participants with a broad vision for success are more eager to have a full life than to win any race to the bottom. As a result, they set ambitious objectives for all important parts of their life. Then, they use these objectives to set their boundaries – what they aren't willing to risk and sacrifice. And finally, they use these boundaries to decide how to compete in races to the bottom and to what extent.

These are the real winners – not in the sense that they get number one (it happens rarely), but in the sense that they get out of the race more than they risk and sacrifice. They choose the conditions at which to compete and therefore end up with a good bargain.