"Then he [God] throws you into self-mortification. so that you continue to strive and, for a while, to pride yourself upon your efforts, thinking that you are advancing or achieving something; but afterwards you fall into despair and feel no joy."  I think this is one way in which most of the American people have failed so miserably.  Our whole culture is flooded with the idea of self love.  Not self love as in being comfortable with ones self but a superficial self love that is derived from television and magazines, people are told (not suggested to) what to wear, how skinny they should be, how they should act, what is "cool", how much money they should make, how relationships should go, ect...  We are told that we only amount to what we can gain as opposed to what is true,this truth being what we can give.  Those who strive for fame and fortune have no joy when they achieve what they strived for, they only seem to want more money and more fame.  The more they get the less joy and satisfaction they have.  So why do so many people strive for these things?  Is it because they are stupid and can't see that pattern of increased wealth and decreased joy?  Is it because they know no other way?  These questions can only be answered by those living this life, but what I can say is I hope everyone would just stop and think, in order to realize what is truly important in live.  Then we can fight back at the social modeling of the mass media.