What do people dream of beyond success? The decisive difference between those who can keep going and those who burn out

If asked what is necessary for success, I think my younger self would have probably answered like this.

Know-how.
Marketing.
Ability to reach people.
Product design.
Delivering value to others.
And, the ability to take action.

Of course, none of those are wrong.
But after trying many things, I realized that in the end, that wasn't what really mattered.

Ultimately, I think the most important thing is whether you can keep going or not.

And it's not about whether you can keep going when things are going well.
When sales drop.
When the response slows down.
When you suddenly feel cold and wonder, 'Does this even have any meaning?'
When the fire inside you slowly fades away.

Can you keep from quitting at that stage?
That is a huge factor.

Business isn't a clean, upward slope.
It's like emotions. It has waves.
It goes up and down like stock prices.
It can fall apart on a monthly basis, and stagnate on a yearly basis.
Sometimes, there are years of 'endurance periods'.

But many people quit when things go down.
Why?
Because they mistake the waves for failure.

Sales dropped.
The response decreased.
Applications slowed down.
Even though it might just be a period of adjustment, people immediately interpret it like this.

'I'm not cut out for this.'
'I have no talent.'
'It was impossible after all.'

No, that's wrong.
It's not over.
It's just that a wave has come.

That's why I think successful people aren't necessarily those with special talent, but those who have passed the point
where ordinary people quit.

However, if I end the story here, it's a bit incomplete.

Because the reason for stopping isn't just the downturns.
There is another, quite troublesome thing.

Achieving your goal and burning out.

This is exactly what happened to me.

I myself had a period where I was running hard, strongly seeking things like time freedom and financial freedom.
I wanted to be free.
I didn't want to be tied down.
I wanted to use my own time for myself.

That goal was incredibly powerful for me at the time.
That's why I could move, and why I could work hard.
Even if it was somewhat tough, I could move forward because what I wanted in the future was clear.

But when I achieved that to some extent, what happened?

I lost my motivation to a surprising degree.

It wasn't that I wanted to be lazy.
It wasn't that I had become a person who didn't want to do anything.
It was just that I didn't have the next 'I want this'.

I think this is quite important.

People don't quit because things are hard.
They quit when their dream runs out.

Some people break when they hit a low point.
But some people reach a certain point, feel satisfied, and then stop.
The latter is actually more troublesome because even I don't know the reason why.

From the outside, people say, 'You have freedom, you have some money, why aren't you moving?'
But inside the person, the engine itself has stopped.
There is no reason to step on the gas.

At this point, many people think, 'I need to boost my motivation.'
But honestly, that's weak.
Artificially created motivation runs out quickly.
That's not sustainable fuel; it's just an igniter.

What is truly needed is not motivation management.
It is finding the next dream.

Moreover, that dream cannot be a weak extension of the previous one, like 'I want to earn a little more' or 'I want to be a little more comfortable.'
If it's that, it's just a rehash of the previous goal, so it won't stir the heart.

Perhaps what is needed next is not a dream to satisfy yourself.
I think it's a dream that transcends yourself.

This story also overlaps with Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
Generally, 'self-actualization' is known as the pinnacle, but in Maslow's later revisions, the theme of 'self-transcendence' is placed beyond that.
In other words, it is the question of what you serve and what you create beyond your own achievements and fulfillment.SAGE Journals)

I think this is quite essential.

The first dream is a dream to fill a void.
I want money.
I want security.
I want freedom.
I want to be recognized.
These are all very human and not bad. In fact, they are important.

But a person who has satisfied those to a certain extent will inevitably encounter a different question beyond that point.

'So, what will you use that freedom for?'
'For whom will you use yourself?'
'What do you still want after you are satisfied?'

If there is no answer here, people stop.
They burn out.
Or they escape into consumption.

Games.
Videos.
Shopping.
Stimulation.
Killing time.
Endless information intake.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with that kind of time.
I play, I rest, and there are times when I want to zone out too.
But when that becomes the center of life, I think people quietly rot away.

Satisfied, yet empty.
Free, yet unable to move.
Time, yet no way to use it.

This feeling is quite hellish.

Therefore, there are two things necessary for persistence.

One is to endure the downturns.
The other is to have a dream big enough to keep you moving even after you have burned out.

In other words, it is this.

What is necessary for success is not to keep going through sheer willpower.
It is to continue while making adjustments and to have a dream that transcends yourself.

Only when these two are present can a person run for the long haul.

Here, this connects to the topic of the AI era.

I believe that from now on, many people will be forced to face this question.

As AI develops, a significant portion of work will be reorganized.
At the very least, current major reports suggest that the near future is less about "the majority of humanity becoming unnecessary for labor" and more about "many jobs being affected by AI, changing the nature of the work."
The IMF estimates that about 40% of global employment will be affected by AI, and about 60% in developed countries.
The WEF also predicts that while 92 million jobs will be lost by 2030, 170 million new jobs will be created, resulting in a net increase of 78 million.
In other words, for now, the main trend is "reorganization and redefinition of the meaning of work" rather than "immediate job extinction." (IMF)

Robotics is the same.
Sales of professional service robots increased to about 200,000 units in 2024, a 9% increase from the previous year.
However, the major background to this is not that "humans have become unnecessary," but that "there is a need to fill labor shortages."
In other words, we are currently in a phase of supplementation rather than complete replacement. (IFR International Federation of Robotics)

But that is not what I really want to say.

The problem is not just whether AI will take away jobs.
It is that as AI advances, it will become harder for humans to escape from the "meaning of life."

Until now, in a sense, we could make excuses.
Because there is work.
Because I am busy.
Because it is for a living.
Because I am struggling just to get by.

But if AI and automation advance and more people move toward a direction where they "do not have to work just to survive," everyone will be faced with the same question.

"So, what do you want to do?"
"What do you want to exist for?"
"Where do you want to dedicate your time?"

This will no longer be a question only for the few who have succeeded in business.
It will likely become a question for many more people, more broadly.

And I think many people will be lost here.

If you become free, you will naturally awaken to a higher purpose.
It is not that simple.

Most people will first drift toward comfort.
Toward stronger stimulation.
Toward easier consumption.
Toward more frictionless ways to kill time.

But sooner or later, they will realize beyond that:
"I won't be fulfilled even if I keep doing this forever."

I think what is needed at that time is self-transcendence that lies beyond self-actualization.
Not to fulfill yourself, but what will you cause to happen through yourself?
What will you leave behind?
What will you serve?

In other words, it is not small desire, but great desire.

Small desire satisfies the self. But great desire goes beyond the self.

If your only goal is to satisfy yourself, you will stop once you have achieved a certain level. But people who have a wish that transcends themselves are strong. Even if you don't feel like it today, even if sales drop a little, even if you feel lost, you can still come back. That is because you are not moving based solely on your own mood.

For me personally, that was truly difficult. After running in search of freedom and obtaining it to some extent, what do you place inside yourself? Honestly, this question was quite heavy.

But conversely, people who find that are strong. Truly strong.

That is because they are no longer moving just because they are 'lacking something and need to work hard.' They start moving on a dimension of 'I want to realize this,' 'I want to make this happen in the world,' or 'I want to turn this pain, this experience, into something useful for someone else.'

Once you reach this point, persistence is no longer about willpower. It becomes closer to a prayer. It becomes closer to expression. It becomes closer to a mission.

So now, if you have stopped, I think there is only one question.

Are you stopped because you failed? Or are you stopped because you ran out of dreams?

These two things may seem similar, but they are completely different.

If it is the former, you just need to correct your course and continue. If it is the latter, you have to go dig for your next dream.

Moreover, that dream does not have to be grand from the start. It does not have to look like the 'correct' answer. You don't even have to think about whether it will come true for now.

Just something that truly makes you tremble. Not something that would make you happy if you did it, but something you feel

you don't want to die without doing.

Once you reach that point, you can start running again.

Success is not just about winning. It is not about becoming free. It is not about being satisfied.

Perhaps the real success lies beyond that.

After you have satisfied yourself, what do you still dream of? For whom will you use yourself? The AI era will likely force this question upon each and every one of us.

That is why I think.

What is truly needed in the coming era is not just the skill to earn money. It is not just the willpower to keep going.

It is the power to have a dream that transcends yourself.

Those who have it can bounce back even after a setback.
Even if they burn out, they can relight the fire.
Beyond freedom, they can avoid being swallowed by the void.

And perhaps,
the people who will be strong from now on
are not those with talent.
Nor are they the most efficient.

They are the ones who can continue with a sense of purpose.