I’m Happy Being the Screw-Up: My Mom Gets To Knows Really Know Who I Am

R3ciprocity.com - Prof David Maslach: Innovation; Research Life; Striving Towards Happiness · Jan 19, 2026 · 11m

I feel that I am the most successful person alive, and I know that sounds really presumptuous of me.

But I want to explain.

If I was to look at the norms or the way that we’re supposed to treat my career and classify my career, I would inevitably come to the conclusion that I am a failure. By very definitive measures. I’m considered very much behind. I’ve heard that I was supposed to have X number of publications. I didn’t get any of those.

The reciprocity project doesn’t make me any money. Very few people are using it. I’ve been working at it for ten years and I’ve spent so much money that…