the anti-heroine of an era of bathtub gin, organized crime, and jazz, clouded in the smoke of fired guns and cigarettes.
Obsessive people tend not to be very good at leading happy, balanced lives, and they’re not very fun to be around. They’re tormented. But at the same time, obsessions are responsible for so much of human greatness and accomplishment throughout history: Michelangelo, Beethoven, Einstein, Steve Jobs. How many people who have changed history would you describe as ‘chill’? What obsession gives people is an almost pathological focus and single-mindedness. But sometimes the success that obsession generates can come at the cost of others. I became a little obsessed with making my two daughters realize their potential with their piano and violin playing. But even now my daughter will say, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I played the Mendelssohn concerto at 13.’ There is satisfaction, a real feeling of joy and fulfillment, in the product of obsession that I think people underestimate.
— “Tiger mom” Amy Chua weighs in on “obsession”
— “Tiger mom” Amy Chua weighs in on “obsession”