🎙️ The Myth of Success – The Deeper Thinking Podcast

🎙️ The Myth of Success

We are told that success is the path to happiness. That ambition, discipline, and relentless effort will lead us to fulfillment. But what if this is all a myth? What if success is not a personal achievement, but a social construct—one designed to keep us striving for something that will never satisfy us?

This episode unpacks one of the most widely accepted yet deeply flawed narratives in modern life: that external success leads to internal contentment. High achievers often reach the top only to find it feels empty. Productivity culture demands we push harder, yet the finish line never arrives.

What if everything we’ve been taught about success is wrong?
Is ambition a path to meaning—or a form of self-exploitation?
Why do so many successful people feel unfulfilled?
If success is an illusion, what should we strive for instead?

We examine the psychology of ambition, the existential weight of achievement, and the cultural forces that shape our obsession with work, status, and productivity. Drawing on Jean-Paul Sartre on radical freedom, Christopher Lasch on narcissism and success, and Carl Jung on the shadow self, we challenge the fundamental assumptions behind modern ambition.

Why Listen?

If you’ve ever felt that hard work doesn’t bring happiness, that burnout is glorified, or that achievement feels hollow, this episode is for you.

This conversation explores:

• Why high achievers feel empty – The disconnect between external success and internal fulfillment.
• The social construction of success – How society defines "winning" in ways that keep us chasing an illusion.
• Workism and the cult of productivity – Why we've come to define our worth by how much we produce.
• Sartre’s concept of bad faith – How people deceive themselves into believing they must follow the success script.
• Jung’s shadow self – The hidden desires and fears that sabotage our pursuit of fulfillment.
• Late capitalism and the performance of success – Is success real, or just another product we consume?

This is a deep, philosophical conversation that challenges work culture, ambition, and the idea that success leads to happiness.

Further Reading

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📚 The Culture of Narcissism – Christopher Lasch
A groundbreaking critique of how modern society’s obsession with success and visibility has created a culture of anxiety and dissatisfaction.

📚 The Conquest of Happiness – Bertrand Russell
Explores why ambition and external achievement often fail to bring happiness, and how contentment comes from embracing the ordinary.

📚 Radical Freedom – Jean-Paul Sartre
A deep dive into how people deceive themselves into thinking they have no choice, and why true freedom requires confronting that fear.

📚 Atlas of AI – Kate Crawford
Examines how AI, capitalism, and modern productivity culture are shaping our understanding of work, ambition, and success.

📚 The Drama of the Gifted Child – Alice Miller
Explores how childhood conditioning around achievement leads to a lifetime of seeking external validation.

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If success isn’t real, then what should we strive for instead? This is where the real conversation begins.