The glamour trap — how society sells success and hides the self

Institutional Samvaad - 12 Februray 2026

Beyond Funding: Is Entrepreneurship About Ego or Something Deeper?

The Primitive Philosophy Behind Modern Entrepreneurship

Today, entrepreneurship is often reduced to money. Since enormous wealth can be made through startups, many people rush toward it without examining why they want to do it. The philosophy becomes primitive: more numbers, more growth, more accumulation. As children, we wanted more toys; as students, more marks; as adults, bigger jobs, bigger houses, bigger vehicles. The pattern remains unchanged — only the scale increases.

When you don’t truly know what you want, collecting numbers feels meaningful. You chase growth not because it fulfills you, but because you don’t understand yourself deeply enough to question the chase. This is why many founders celebrate when they exit their companies — “Now I am free from my own creation.” The business was merely a bigger toy; the person behind it never truly matured.

The Danger of Glamour and False Narratives

Entrepreneurship is often glamorized with statements like “We are adding value to society” or “We are building the nation.” Sometimes these claims are honest, but often they are decorative labels covering a simple truth — the pursuit of money and status. When money becomes glamorized, young people are pulled into a system they haven’t critically examined.

The danger is not money itself but the illusion surrounding it. When wealth becomes a symbol of worth, people imitate role models without understanding the emptiness behind the façade. A person who feels hollow inside may try to compensate through power, attention, or control. Without inner clarity, success can amplify inner frustration rather than resolve it.

How to Find the Right Job

First Find Yourself

Before asking, “What is the right job?” ask, “Who is the right person?” Often we say we are missing a job, when in truth we are missing ourselves. We search for roles and objects so we don’t have to look inward. A job never celebrates or suffers — the job seeker does.

Our education system rarely encourages self-understanding. It teaches us to talk about everything except ourselves. But once you begin to understand your own motivations and fears, work naturally aligns with your inner truth. Entrepreneurship may emerge from that clarity — and in that case, money becomes a tool or lubricant, not the purpose.

Where Is Love in Work?

We often accuse employees of betrayal when they leave for better opportunities, even though entrepreneurs themselves leave old jobs in pursuit of growth. This exposes a deeper question: Where is love in our work relationships? What is a loveless life worth if success costs human connection?

The Rat Race and the Illusion of Achievement

High Achievement Without Ownership

Young people are often trained to become high achievers. But achievement is only an event; it says little about inner fulfillment. If the goal is not truly yours, then even success feels empty. Ask yourself: If you were not conditioned by society, would you still chase the same targets?

A machine can be programmed to run toward rewards. But what does the machine gain from running? Similarly, when everyone chases identical shallow goals, it suggests those goals are externally imposed rather than internally discovered.

External Goals vs Internal Clarity

External Pressure → Fear / Pain → Achievement Event → Temporary Satisfaction
        ↑
   Lack of Self-Knowledge

True growth begins with internal clarity. Otherwise, decades pass chasing goals that were never yours. Many people realize this only in midlife, after years spent fulfilling society’s expectations. Youth should be a time of color and individuality — yet systems often strip people into uniform roles and identities.

Strength Is Not What You Think

You Don’t Need Strength — You Need Clarity

Saying “I need strength” often assumes you are weak. But many people are already strong — educated, capable, aware — yet conditioned to feel powerless. Pretending to be weak has advantages: it invites sympathy, reduces responsibility, and provides security.

True strength includes awareness, knowledge, and the willingness to face life honestly. Often, people hide their potential because asserting it feels rebellious. Yet life is brief; no moment returns. Recognizing your own power is not arrogance — it is honesty.

Self-Education and the Meaning of Self-Knowledge

Why Self-Knowledge Matters More Than External Knowledge

We usually say “my knowledge,” which implies that knowledge has an owner. The crucial question is: Who is the knower? We want to understand galaxies and atoms, yet ignore the one who experiences everything — the self.

A distant cosmic event has little direct impact on you, but your inner restlessness shapes every moment of your life. Education systems often avoid the topic of self-understanding, producing individuals rich in information but poor in inner clarity. This disconnect contributes to societal problems — from environmental crises to geopolitical conflicts — because external intelligence is not matched by internal wisdom.

The Central Role of the Knower

Object of Knowledge  →  Mind Processes  →  Knower (Self)
         (External)           (Bridge)        (Center)

Without understanding the center — the knower — all accumulated information remains incomplete.

Why Self-Understanding Is Rarely Taught

Ignorance is not always accidental; sometimes it is maintained deliberately because systems depend on it. Structures of authority weaken when individuals become inwardly aware and independent. That is why many systems focus on external subjects while ignoring the inner self.

Liberation, in this context, simply means not being inwardly ignorant. It means recognizing borrowed ideas, inherited goals, and unconscious conditioning. When you realize how many of your beliefs were planted by others, you begin to reclaim genuine choice.

What Liberation Really Means

Liberation is not mystical escape but inner clarity. It is the ability to examine your own thoughts instead of blindly adopting ideas from society. Many goals — wealth, approval, romantic expectations — feel natural only because they have been repeated endlessly around us.

Without rigorous examination, people become like high-functioning zombies: active but unaware. The world does not need mechanical achievers; it needs young people who are alive, sensitive, courageous, and capable of genuine love.

Building the Habit of Reading and Learning

Reading is not about copying historical figures but about cultivating honesty with yourself. Accept dissatisfaction honestly — recognize when time is wasted on distractions. Reduce unnecessary attention on trivial things so meaningful learning can enter.

Books are simply tools; knowledge is the real goal. Technology formats may change — audiobooks, digital texts — but the essence lies in conscious engagement with ideas.

Living Advice: Destroy the Inner System, Not the Outer World

Real transformation is not about building more external structures but dismantling false inner assumptions. High-pressure situations cannot be solved by turning life into a rigid task list. Life is an ongoing process, not a checklist to complete.

When choosing what is “right,” question your assumptions. Words like “right,” “family,” or “success” often feel clear only because they have been repeated so often. Instead of obsessing over tiny details while missing the larger picture, step back and understand the broader context of your actions.

Conclusion

Entrepreneurship, achievement, strength, and knowledge are not inherently shallow — but they become hollow when disconnected from self-understanding. The central theme is simple: before chasing external goals, examine the inner subject. Small acts of honest self-reflection transform how you work, learn, and live.

When clarity replaces conditioning, work becomes meaningful, learning becomes alive, and life becomes authentic rather than mechanical.