No One Told Me The World Isn't Fair
What's in your control when everything else isn't?
Yep, the world isn’t fair.
Your fight will never be a fair fight.
One of the lessons I had to learn the hard way, early on, was that there are just too many variables in the world (and in the market) to pretend that “if I just work hard enough, good things will happen.” That’s just not true.
Other factors, like opportunity and timing, turn out to play a huge role in success. We like to think, at least here in America, that the American Dream is equally accessible to everyone if you just work hard enough, but it’s not. It’s just not a fair fight. Some people have better access to opportunities and backstops than others.
As you move forward in your life and work, it’s helpful to remind yourself of this. Not so that you can remember you’re fighting an unwinnable battle—but so that you can avoid unwinnable battles once you recognize them.
Instead, it’s useful to tune your radar to find your own unfair advantage. What is the thing that you do or can do that is unique and valuable enough that no one else could catch you when you take off?
It took me far too long to realize I could think in terms of unfairness and how I might position myself to have the uphill advantage from the beginning.
This introspection should feel like you’re looking for your superpowers so that you can match them with what the world needs.
What’s your unfair advantage?
No matter where you are in your journey, I think it’s helpful to ask this question.