Plenty of farm families measure success by whether the land is in better shape than when they got it.

That is a definition of success with a long horizon built into it. Measuring by whether what you were handed is healthier when you pass it on rules out most fast ways to make money, since extracting value and improving condition point in opposite directions. It also gives you a standard that does not depend on comparison. You are not competing with neighbours, you are competing with the place as you found it.

Try it on something smaller that you have charge of: a team, a job, a room, a group chat. Ask whether it will be in better shape when you leave than when you found it.