Every day on the Internet we are taught to be successful: endless advice from psychologists, bloggers and coaches pours out of the news feed. Samara photographer Pavel Dokuchaev rethought numerous wise thoughts of great people — and showed what recommendations look like in Russian reality.
My name is Pasha, I am 30 years old, I live in Samara, I work as a leading engineer for standardization and certification at the plant. And I decided to put into practice the advice of "pumped-up men in expensive suits."
The very theme of success, or rather, its distorted interpretation, has been spinning in my head for a long time. But this idea did not go beyond kitchen conversations and jokes, until in 2018 I started studying at a photo school. I remembered the idea again a year later when I was preparing a graduation project. And then she came to life.
While working on the project, I came across statistics according to which most Russians believe that a successful person is someone who lives in prosperity, who has material well—being. However, the cult of a "successful person" leads to the formation of social inequality, the division into "successful" and "unsuccessful", increases the level of aggression, dissatisfaction with the standard of living and professional burnout. Moreover, it works for both "successful" and "unsuccessful".
The character in the photo is an ordinary guy who decided to become successful. He does everything as he hears. Finds the advice to "use business style in clothes" — takes out a shiny suit from the prom and puts it on. "Do what you love" — drinks beer, as he loves it, but already in a presentable suit. "You need to take a risk" — goes to the bus station and buys a cheburek there. What is not a risk?
There's nothing wrong with most of the tips I've played. The main thing is to approach them wisely.
People really need motivation and support. But it is important that everyone chooses its sources.
Success for me coincides with the definition from Ozhegov's dictionary: "Success is luck in achieving something." And I think this "something" is the most important, because everyone has their own. And the advice that is really relevant for Russian realities is to keep your savings in dollars.
