I spoke with a RISD undergrad the other day who expressed how intensely he worked compared to some of his peers. “Why aren’t they as hungry as me?” he said. In the back of my mind I could see he seeked validation that he was somehow better than his peers as a natural human tendency. But I could tell he also wished to explore his underlying feeling that somehow if everyone were working at his own perceived level that he would somehow be … happier.

My answer was that first of all it is the world at large (not an individual) that judges excellence of outcomes, and that often a significant outcome correlates to one’s extremely arduous, intensely constituted work. Working hard however is not a sufficient condition for success. Working hard with passion. Now that’s what takes you somewhere. Because without a significant goal or vision in my mind, hard work is well … just hard work. Passion is driven by vision, mission, and a titanium-clad “can do/must do” attitude. But happiness is something else — it’s a willingness to connect with the equation of daily life.

So I asked the undergrad to continue working hard and pursuing his passion, but to also develop a passion for normal daily life as a regular human being in a community of peers because the roses do exist to be smelled. Friends matter more than any inanimate object, public recognition, or any other artificial motivator in life. Because life exists to be shared.