For the outside voice, there are some common measurements for success, especially wealth and fame, which are relatively easy to calculate by numbers. Numbers, abstract but concrete.
For an inner voice, success is serving as self-satisfaction. Surely, people inevitably rely on outside confirmation, which will make their way smoother, which means less suffering, less pain.
However, such a safe and simple path might involve numerous compromises, which are enough to break a real part of a person.
For one’s entire life, they don’t need too much success; one small success is enough to reach the outside confirmation and is sufficient to sustain basic life. A significant success through repetitive and continuous attempts.
Therefore, there is no need to compromise the belief, just for one big success from the imagination, just for an outside voice. If lucky, it’s success from the outside, but inside, it’s broken.
Keeping going sustainably is the key — more attempts, more feedback, more revisions, more improvement. Then, success is not an outcome, but a slow growth from such a dynamic system. When it grows bigger, there is success itself. Therefore, it’s essential to reserve energy capacity for such attempts.