my simple life algorithm

It took me a fantastically long amount of time to realize what I have really been doing with my life: I have just been trying to maximize my uniqueness.

All the important decisions I made were simply outputs of this algorithm. I have always worked on stuff that made maximal use of my strengths, knowledge, resources and network. In other words, I have always worked on things that few others would prefer or excel at.

Note that there is something dangerous lurking behind this desire to maximize one's uniqueness. It is sort of like a secular person's jealous approximation to the notion of being chosen. On the other hand, it is not an egotistical desire at all, since the entire exercise of identifying your uniqueness is done from a societal point of view. (We are all collectively better off when everyone realizes his or her own uniqueness.)