"Why do we assume 'legitimate success' is found in the 'self-made man?' Why do we celebrate those who 'did it' alone? This mindset amputates the hand that helped lift the ‘self-made’ successor up to victory, in hopes that someone they believe in will one day make an impact on the world for the better. Together.”

I'm afraid we've reached a point where the "self-made" (artist, entrepreneur, etc.) is growing increasingly more and more detached from their foundation. It's not their fault either—if anything, it's "ours" as the onlookers and cultivators of cultural advancement. We live (and often thrive) in a culture that celebrates doing it yourself without assistance. We stand on the pedestal of self-made and simultaneously discredit the ones who helped raise us up in the first place.

The ones who came before us, learned by enduring a harsher reality than we have to, and created the standards from which we operate are deserving of a platform much larger than what they often accept in the first place. It’s these people whose wisdom we desperately need but often disregard due to our cultural hunger for a life that’s built entirely on our own.

There’s dozens of ways we could try and articulate why this is the case, but within the last 12 months I've learned to look at things differently—in a way thats conducive to appreciation for the help we often receive, rather than striving for a lifestyle that boasts in self-made advancement, which, put simply, is a life of loneliness.

A victory on your own is impressive, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with a big win that you’ve ushered in based on your own efforts. I think personal victories are to be celebrated with great joy and appreciation for what’s gone into them. However, I’m afraid that too many battles won independently leads to a life that severs the need for humility. I’ve come to realize that shared victory, collaboration, and strain on your own methods, workflow, and often your ego are all rewarding beyond comparison to a victory gained with no one to cherish it with.

In light of this, we must exercise removing ourselves from the rushing waters of “self” that our culture is so fond of. It’s easy to get swept at the feet and caught up in the illusion that we don’t need anyone. In reality, we need all the help we can get to further our culture in the right direction.

This exercise is important not just for artists and designers, but for the mothers attempting to get through the day, the fathers trying their best, the young adult struggling to understand what their purpose is, and the culture that feeds on individualism. The idea of doing it on our own is attractive because we've grown in our appetite for selfish gain, leaving behind the awareness that more often than not, collaborative growth is fruitful in ways that "individual self" could never achieve. 

So we must ask ourselves – What are we striving for in our day-to-day and in our culture? What can we do to set ourselves apart from the rest in the midst of the individualist world that we live in? And what does true success look like? I’m unsure if we’ll ever reach a point where everyone agrees on the answers to these questions, but I do know for certain that wherever true success is, it’s found with the help of others.