08-15-2018, 10:10 AM
Just an intro to where this came from: I am very fortunate in that I have a five minute drive to work every day. That's a perk that I never want to give up! 
But for the last couple weeks I had to drive my son to school in the morning and so my daily commute is now closer to 40 minutes. (Still not bad compared to most, I know.)
But this morning I needed to be at work a wee bit earlier so I made sure I left earlier to leave room for traffic, lights, whatever might slow down the "normal" time it take to make the roundtrip.
I was still at work right as we opened, rather than early, because I got caught behind someone driving slow AND hit all the lights AND people walking across the street AND....etc.
My point being that no matter how well prepared we make OURSELVES we are almost always at the mercy of outside forces that are beyond our control.
It's the same in our careers.
That doesn't mean you stop preparing, or that you can never have things go your way. It's just an acknowledgement that a precious few are born into situations that allow them to get a jump on the vast majority of us. That a person can do everything within their power to better themself and still get caught up in the wash due to the actions of others.
That's why "rugged individualism" and "work harder" isn't the easy answer that some think it is.
You should never stop trying or stop working harder...but we should also understand that just because people are poor or unsuccessful it is not just a result of what they did in all cases.
But for the last couple weeks I had to drive my son to school in the morning and so my daily commute is now closer to 40 minutes. (Still not bad compared to most, I know.)But this morning I needed to be at work a wee bit earlier so I made sure I left earlier to leave room for traffic, lights, whatever might slow down the "normal" time it take to make the roundtrip.
I was still at work right as we opened, rather than early, because I got caught behind someone driving slow AND hit all the lights AND people walking across the street AND....etc.
My point being that no matter how well prepared we make OURSELVES we are almost always at the mercy of outside forces that are beyond our control.
It's the same in our careers.
That doesn't mean you stop preparing, or that you can never have things go your way. It's just an acknowledgement that a precious few are born into situations that allow them to get a jump on the vast majority of us. That a person can do everything within their power to better themself and still get caught up in the wash due to the actions of others.
That's why "rugged individualism" and "work harder" isn't the easy answer that some think it is.
You should never stop trying or stop working harder...but we should also understand that just because people are poor or unsuccessful it is not just a result of what they did in all cases.
![[Image: giphy.gif]](https://media0.giphy.com/media/1kwsTjL8BNqlszNtnCE/giphy.gif)
Your anger and ego will always reveal your true self.
