EPTFunny that I would write about dealing with failure today. Why funny you ask? Well, today, after I wrote that last post, has been a day of great success.
Firstly, our firefox plugin is all but finished. I've been playing with it, and it's pretty sick. No lag, looks good, is obvious on the page, but doesn't get in the way of the page at all.
Secondly, SC2Ratings was just added to the sidebar on r/starcraft. A huge source of advertising, and a nice big stamp of validation.
While it's clear what the problems with failure are (demoralization, frustration, quitting, etc), the problems with success are more subtle - but equally as dangerous.
1) Ego
If you bask in your success too much, you end up just being a jerk. Nobody likes anyone that always talks about how great they're doing. If your head is too big, it'll get in your way. Also, when something bad does happen, it'll hurt all that much more.
2) Emperor syndrome
I'm not sure if there's a real term for this, so I'll just run with Emperor syndrome. It's when success at something starts blinding you. In my case, with sc2ratings, it tends to take the form of ignoring updates to the site, not posting match results, not adding vods. It's easy to get excited and keep going for the next 'big win', and forget about all the little details that matter.
And why do I call this Emperor Syndrome? In ancient Rome, when a victorious general would return from battle, there would be a parade held in his honor through the streets. A slave would stand behind him holding a Laural wreath over his head, but would also be whispering in his ear, "Respicio. Respicio. Respicio." which is Latin for "look back. look back. look back".
3) Internet Hate
Once you get big enough you start getting hate for everything. I'm not anywhere near that level of success yet, I'm still in the kiddy pool so to speak, but it's something that you hear about a lot.
As long as you're aware of these things, they're pretty easy to deal with.
Tl;dr
Don't let it go to your head. Keep calm, and pull drones =p
