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That writer's take on competition: I've permanently cut relations with creators who are "competitive", either overtly or passively. I've even had a few throw fits on the phone when I got gigs they wanted (they'll deny it now, but whatevs, rear view mirror person in denial).
I'm rarely even looking at what other people do on a daily basis except for "WOW look at that, hope I can be as good someday!" over Golden Age Illustrators, and am just in my own groove. I get that some people need to be first at things, which is why they make a big deal...
over things like "I was the first person to make a comic on the Moon while standing on my head!" I will only care if I think the comic is good. Winning awards and getting prime jobs is wonderful, and easy for me to make light of needing recognition because I got plenty, I guess.
But external validation takes many forms, and without internal validation, it's never enough. You need to have a holistic center. Someone else will always be wonderful and getting the attention, and if you don't have it together, that moving spotlight will drive you crazy.
Back in the 1990's, after I'd been a pro for 10 solid years already, another creator was very angry my work was going well and theirs wasn't. "YOU don't deserve mainstream success!" they shouted. Well, the people and publishers have spoken. I guess I deserved it after all.
Bottom line, so much about success in the creative arts is subjective: you can think you're better than this person or that person, but in the end, it's not entirely up to you. And your greatest "competition" is yourself...
You can't "measure" a winner the way you measure the winner of a race. There's no one way to win and there's no real "winner". There's a sliding scale of personal, professional and financial reward that differs for each person.
If you want to view all the creators around you as competition, you can certainly do that, but I don't think it's productive or helpful, and I personally avoid people who give me that vibe. I don't need it in my life or work.
I used to run about 40 miles a week, and a runner came up one day and went, "Hey, let's race!" and I was all, no, I just want to jog, and she kept pushing me, so I turned around and went the other way. I'm just out here jogging at my own pace. I'll end up where I want to go.
Anyway, tweet storm over, thanks for always being an interesting and supportive twitter bunch. Here's a book I worked on which I hope you will like, because @neilhimself and many wonderful artists in here. Great printing at a great price. https://amzn.to/2Yu1B5X
1 more thought: thinking you can game a "win" in artmaking as a "competitive" value is like thinking you can make someone fall in love with you by being the prettiest or richest. You can have assets, but people love what they love. And they love art you won't make. And that's OK
