It wont be easy to measure yourself in the new paradigm by using the metrics of the old.
The way i see it, being a bum is the best choice as long as not being a bum perpetuates the status quo.

Is it better to be a successful slave, or a failure at accepting this paradigm's yoke?
Do you build the bars of your own prison and be hailed a success?
Or, do you accept that to succeed in the new paradigm the old way of doing things must be rejected?