Success by Absence

Success in all endeavors requires the absence of specific qualities. 1) To succeed in crime requires absence of empathy, 2) To succeed in banking you need absence of shame at hiding risks, 3) To succeed in school requires absence of common sense, 4) To succeed in economics requires absence of understanding of probability, risk, second-order effects, or about anything, 5) To succeed in journalism requires an inability to think about matters that have even an infinitesimally small chance of being relevant next January, 6) But to succeed in life requires a total inability to do anything that makes you uncomfortable when you look at yourself in the mirror.