[quote=scaredycat]having a purpose and a couple of bucks in the bank are not mutually exclusive.

and the measuring sticks don’t ahve to be cash or stuff.

if you’re an academic, it’s publciations.

if you’re a law or med student, it’s grades.

if you’re a triathlete, it’s times.

wherever you’re going there’s something to measure oyurself against, and it’s probably not escapable, however much you try to pretend you live apart.[/quote]

MLK’s message was to measure people by their character…certainly not their perfomance in a specialized area(wether or not if I share an interest in that specialization). I find that most people,including those I might judge myself against, in any circumstance, are approximately equal to me and often less by this measure . Hat’s off to those who go way above the rest of us… There are not very many.Comparision to the point of depressing onself, is a vexatious habit that is optional.It is the result of conditioning. The right kind of pride wrecks your theory.