The past month my colleagues (and to a smaller extent, I) have slogged our asses off for a product that a company that happens to pay us is building. I watched and wondered - why would someone invest so heavily in something that is at best a tenuous link?
The obvious answer is ambition, and that is certainly true for some of the people involved. But for the rest…it’s just the need to be passionate about something.
Sublimating oneself comes naturally to humans. It doesn’t matter what the object of adoration is, the act itself is transcendental and purifying. Some people adore god or children or parents or humanity in general, others adore a project at work.
We’re all looking for a way to rise above ourselves.