competition in the field

There are three critical facets to success: i'm going to call them (roughly) ability, skill, and motivation. I will use painting as a metaphor.

-abilities are your potentials, limitations, and flexibility. (how big is the canvas, how much paint do you have, and what colors?)

-skills are the tricks and understanding, and methods of communication learned during your life. (learning to apply the paint in the right way to produce a final product that looks how you intended)

-and motivation, similar to 'velocity equals speed and direction', is this inspiration, intention, and personal philosophy. (what do you want to paint and why?)

The people you know can be spider-mapped for these traits. Where are their greatest strengths and weaknesses?

Personally, I seem to find myself much stronger in ability and motivation than many of my peers. However, their skill sets are much more refined, which works much better in the short run.

observations on meaning

"Designer" is nothing more than a fancy word for "empowered." Empowered means rising up, above your meager role as a slave to your societal fate. For example, fashion designers create, and by doing so free themselves from the contraints of store selections and availability.

After the successful struggle, after breaking free, many designers become afraid; maybe afraid of being alone, maybe of losing touch with the society they left behind. And to be accepted back, they make the ultimate sacrifice: they offer to feed their new discoveries and creations into the monetary beast they worked so hard to escape.

Altruism rarely pays the bills.

*edit*(ps. i am reminded of a short film from years ago called 'More'. I found it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9u7WiDBek4 )