Quote:
Originally Posted by ToothSayer
I don't disagree that a strong emotional or base-need-fulfilling hook is needed for greatness. Does it have to be ego though? Is it ego to enjoy the challenge of playing a game well? Of gaining mastery of a complex system? I don't know that it is. Do you need ego somewhere along the way to get the point where you have the intellectual capability/skill to even do well at high level pursuits?
For me, taking on hard challenges is about the thrill/satisfaction I feel of my mind working to full capacity. Kind of like a some athletes get. I see that as separate to ego - it's more the joy of living.
Interesting discussion to have. I see the enjoyment of competition and challenge as being somewhat separate to ego. But maybe that's just a lack of (self?) awareness on my part.
Achievements in certain areas necessarily comprise an element of accomplishment or performance relative to others (sports are an obvious example) but in many other areas this element of comparison with other people, (winning, being better/smarter than others) as a motivation can be completely absent. This element could theoretically remain absent even when one achieves a level of such competence in an area of expertise that this person could be the best there is without being aware of it or caring about their performance relative to others.
An imaginary sportsbettor could love sportsbetting and all the work that comes with it so much that his life goal is to be the best sportsbettor he can possibly be. His goal is to develop the best models he can and to find the best edges his 'opponent', the market, has to offer. He is completely immersed in this process and is regularly or even permanently in a state of flow when he is working.
Money itself may not even be a driving factor for this person but merely a manner of keeping score. No matter how much money he makes, his goal is to get even better at the game of beating the market. His motivation can derive wholly from his love for sportsbetting, his drive to find the best edges the market has to offer and the wonderful feeling he has when engaged in this activity.