Who do I think of as successful?

Steve Jobs? No. Richard Branson? Guess again…

On Tim Ferriss’ amazing podcast, he always asks his guests: who do you think of when you think of the word “success”?

In preparation of being worthy to be on that show one day, I have been thinking a lot about my answer to that question.

But before I tell you my answer, I want YOU to answer a quick question. Yes you, dear reader. When you look at a leaf on a tree, do you see it as an independent plant budding and growing and falling on its own, or as a mere part of the tree?

Imagine for a moment in your mind’s eye a large knotty oak with 227,721 small green leaves all budding and growing and falling… but in fast-forward. Imagine the entire 1,500 year lifespan of a majestic oak through a stop-motion camera that takes a picture four times a year… just once a season.

Run through your imagination quickly and collect all of the 341,581,500 leaves that have fallen over the years. What does that pile look like? Imagine yourself kicking it up the and dancing in it.

There are around 300 million people living in the United States today. But how many people have ever lived before us? Current estimates are over 100 billion. What are we as human beings successful at, if not dying?

Who do I think of when I think of the word “success”? I think of those who have died before me so that there would be an opportunity — a season — for me to be here today. And I think of what our tree must look like.

Further reading: The Egg (a short story by Andy Weir)

For more of my thoughts on life, pick up my new book, Finding Success in Failure: What I Learned From 10 Years of Startup Mistakes.