I wanted to offer a couple references that I believe offer very salient advice on two concepts from Author and modern Philosopher Alain de Botton as you carry on your journeys.  Alain helped to start the School of Life in London in 2008, which is a social enterprise determined to make learning relevant in modern culture.  His messages are candid, clear, and memorable for when we get rattled around a bit from day to day.

Defining Success:

“The more you know what you really want, and where you are really going, the more what everybody else is doing starts to diminish.  The moment when your own path is most ambiguous, that’s when the voices of others start to loom large and become very threatening.”  “Ultimately, to be properly successful is to be at peace as well.”

Not My Fault:

“To blame someone for not understanding you fully is deeply unfair because, first of all, we don’t understand ourselves, and even if we do understand ourselves, we have such a hard time communicating ourselves to other people.”  “Therefore, to be furious and enraged and bitter that people don’t get all of who we are is a really cruel piece of immaturity.”

I hope that you find a few connectable thoughts in his messages.

MITM