Narcissism

Alex Bogusky

I was reading Fast Company the other morning, picking through the features, and I was grabbed by "Alex Bogusky Tells All: He Left the World's Hottest Agency to Find His Soul", by Danielle Sacks.

It was fascinating for a number of reasons, most not relevant here. In short, the titular figure is an adman of rare renown. In the middle of much success, he dropped out of his role to pursue...something. (You need to read the article to find out more.)

Near the end of the profile is the following set of quotations (emphasis is mine):

"I don't think we're good at being selfish," Bogusky had mused to me on one of those idyllic Boulder mornings. "Most of humanity, we're total rookies at being selfish and being narcissists. Because if you're really good at narcissism, you get to the point where that rookie kind of selfish doesn't even exist. A really excellent narcissist would be a really powerful tool for saving the planet. If everyone was a perfect narcissist, there would be nothing to worry about because we'd automatically fix everything and our purchases would be so benign. It's not self-absorbed, it's just knowing what's good for self. Let's say that steaks, scotch, and lots of cigars are what you put in your body -- that's a rookie-narcissistic move. That's where we're uneducated narcissists. But as we perfect our narcissism, it comes around where you're actually doing things that feel like sharing, that feel like connected behavior."

I told my friend this theory, and he said, 'You may be the most narcissistic person I know. It used to piss me off, and now I've come to be okay with it.' "

Does this sound like anyone?

Inadvertent though it may be, it perfectly describes and explains Lance Armstrong. But, does it damn him?

I plan to explore that question in a coming post: Lance Revisited.