The Reese's Peanut Butter Cup principle, in action

During the '70s and '80s, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups ran a famous ad campaign in which a person carrying a chocolate bar and another carrying a jar of peanut butter would run into each other, and, after a flash of indignation, discover what a delicious combination the two flavors made together. I'd rank it as one of the most memorable ads of my childhood.

So, this morning, a college friend of mine alerted me to the Venn diagram you see above, while a post over at the rough-and-tumble Why Advertising Sucks raised a discussion about how you define success, and how others often try to define it for you.

To me, standing at the intersection of visual diagram and blog post, it seemed like peanut butter smashing into chocolate--better together than separate.

At the risk of going all Zen on you, I offer no answers of my own here--I only suggest that each one illuminates simple truths that are worth pondering for yourself.

Note: In the interest of giving credit where it's due, there's also a discussion about the "How to be happy in business" diagram over at What Consumes Me, the blogging home of its creator, Bud Caddell.