Finding meaning beyond material success

The clock is ticking.

Once out of college, you have to be ‘30 under 30.’ God forbid, if you miss it, ‘40 under 40’ is your absolute last chance. If you miss that as well, shame on you.

If you are in a job, you are wasting your life — look at all your classmates doing startups! Shame on you.

And if you do a startup, how much capital did you raise? Are you a unicorn yet? If not, again, shame on you.

And even if you built a unicorn, how long did it take? Did you say 20 years? That other guy did it in 3 years! Shame on you.

And even if you built a unicorn, did you make it to the Forbes billionaire list? No? Shame on you, again.

It never ends.

We are measuring ourselves against these artificial, unrealistic expectations. This is a trap. It will keep you miserable till your last breath.

Ambition is a good thing if that is your choice. If you want to build a big company, fantastic! Do it. But if you choose not to, it doesn’t make you any less.

If you are doing your best work, taking care of yourself and your loved ones, you are already doing amazing.

Age is not a deadline. Life is not a race. And your net worth is not your life’s worth.

You have a right to live life on your terms. The societal opinion is just background noise — ignore it.

 

– Rajan

***

Similar Posts