TL;DR: Some readers recently complained that I am too harsh when discussing career or the careers of my peers. They feel I owe them the label of "Excellent." Let me be very clear: "Excellence" is a meaningless concept. It is the "Little Star" a kindergarten teacher gives you for sitting quietly. In the adult world, nobody cares how excellent you are. The market only cares about one thing: Can you satisfy a demand? If you are waiting for the world to reward you just because you have a high GPA or a pristine resume, you haven't entered the adult economy yet. You are just a very expensive piece of unsold inventory.
James here, CEO of Mercury Technology Solutions. Tokyo, Japan - March 14, 2026
A few days ago, I wrote about why "Excellence" is a trap in the AI era. Some readers felt I was being too cynical, arguing that people who work hard and achieve high academic or professional standards deserve to be recognized as "excellent."
If you want a Little Star (Spy X family), you can have one. But if you take that Little Star to the bank, they will not let you deposit it.
The world is divided into two distinct operating systems: The Child's World and The Adult's World.
1. The Child's World: The Illusion of "Excellence"
Twenty-five years ago, my friend told me about a late-night conversation he had with his college roommates. His roommate described him "perfect" future girl friend: "She needs to have slightly better grades than me, a slightly better family background, make slightly more money, be slightly taller, and have a slightly better temper so he can coax me when I'm mad."
My friend, who was very practical even back then, asked her roommate a simple question: "If you are a perfect hexagon, and you want a girl/guy who is a slightly bigger hexagon so he completely covers and protects you... what exactly does she need YOU for? Couldn't she just find another who isn't as 'excellent' as you, but who is willing to coax HER instead?"
That roommate was living in the Child's World.
In the Child's World, the rules are written by teachers and parents. If you study hard, get a 4.0 GPA, and become "excellent," the system promises to reward you with a good job, a good spouse, and a happy life. You believe that because you are excellent, you deserve the world's kindness.
This is a lie. The school system only rewards you because your parents paid the tuition. The moment you graduate, the tuition stops, the teachers disappear, and nobody cares about your GPA ever again.
2. The Adult's World: The Physics of "Demand"
I was not an "excellent" student. By academic standards, I was garbage.
But as a college student, I was making 3 times the monthly salary of the tenured professors in my department.
Why? Because I wrote macro scripts (bots) for people who professionally grinded video games. Could my computer science professors have written those scripts? Of course. They were brilliant, like stars in the sky. I was like mud on the ground. But the professors didn't do it, and I did. I satisfied a market demand; therefore, the market paid me.
This is the core rule of the Adult World: You are only compensated for the friction you remove and the demand you fulfill.
In 2008, I was a manager. The engineer providing our document was a junior from Tsing Hua university—a massive overachiever with a flawless GPA. But he refused to provide the register configuration documents for our software team. His reasoning? "If your software team is actually 'excellent,' you should be able to figure it out yourselves through testing."
I absolutely lost my mind. I told him: "Do you think this is a college coding competition? Who cares how 'excellent' you are? If you delay this documentation, our R&D cycle lengthens, we miss the market launch window, and millions in funding go down the drain. Are you here to make money, or are you here to show off?"
He was furious. He said, "I am a 1-in-10,000 scholar! How dare you speak to me like that!"
He was "excellent," but he was completely useless to the investors. Why did I become a high-level executive and eventually an investor myself, despite being a terrible student? Because when a coal-mine boss (investor) needed a technical system built, I didn't quote my GPA to him. I just built the system that made him money.
3. The Multi-Dimensional Moat (How to Survive AI)
This brings us to the brutal reality of 2026.
If your entire identity is based on being a "single-dimension excellent" worker—meaning you write the cleanest code, or you draft the best legal briefs, but you refuse to adapt to human demands—you are dead.
You are a single diode from an iPhone. You might be a perfectly engineered diode, but a diode cannot make a phone call. An entry-level Xiaomi phone is infinitely more valuable than a standalone Apple diode because the Xiaomi phone is a finished product.
AI is the ultimate single-dimension "excellent" worker. It will code better than you, write better than you, and it doesn't need a pension.
How do you survive? Look at the classic Chinese business drama Da Ran Fang. The protagonist, Chen Liuzi, was a brilliant but illiterate businessman with a terrible temper. His partner, Lu Jiaju, was a wealthy, educated student returning from abroad.
Lu Jiaju couldn't run the business himself. But he survived and thrived because he satisfied Chen's demands. Chen lacked education; Lu provided it. Chen lacked social grace; Lu became the diplomat. Chen lacked a formal network; Lu brought his elite background.
Being a rich kid is common. Being a good student is common. Being socially graceful is common. But combining all three to perfectly patch the vulnerabilities of a brilliant, aggressive founder? That is a 1-in-a-million Multi-Dimensional Moat.
Conclusion: Grow Up or Get Replaced
Stop demanding that your boss, your spouse, or the market reward you for your "excellence." Unsold excellence is just inventory. And AI can manufacture that inventory cheaper than the cost of your electricity bill.
The first rule of the universe is survival. Figure out what the market (or your boss, or your partner) actually needs, swallow your pride, and satisfy the demand.
If you refuse to do that, you can sit at the children's table and wait for Universal Basic Income. I hear they might give you $600USD a month. I hope that's enough to buy a Little Star.
Mercury Technology Solutions: Accelerate Digitality.
