There is no prize for what I do

Seinfeld was presented an award for his outstanding achievements in comedy. 

Naturally, his acceptance speech was about why all awards are stupid. 

Your whole career as a comedian, he said, is about making fun of pretentious, high minded, self congratulatory, bullshit events just like this one. I really don’t want to be up here. But we feel the need to set aside a night to give out these jack off bowling trophies so all these people can pat each other on the back about how much money they’re making boring the piss out of half the world. 

That’s not a comedy bit, that’s a sermon. Because in a world of participation trophies and competitive individualism, real winning is staying in the game. 

Real winning is showing up to play every day. Real winning is doing the work because you’re a junkie for the process. Real winning is rejecting the standard badges of success and embracing the pure delight of knowing that your soul is better off for having created something today that didn’t exist yesterday. 

Awards are just a way for those who don’t count to keep score. 

And any time some blowhard gives an acceptance speech about how honored they are to receive it, what you’re really hearing is the sound of a squealing dinosaur who doesn’t understand the cultural changes exploding around them. 

There is no golden prize we’re all playing for anymore. 

The only thing worth chasing is the privilege of doing more work. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…  

Are you forgetting to do work that matters because you’re too busy telling your peers how good they are and bestowing awards on them?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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Namaste.