Don't Compare.

I've been listening to a podcast called, The Founders. The podcaster, David Senra, meticulously delves into the lives of accomplished individuals from the past and present, ranging from Michael Jordan and Pablo Picasso to James Dyson, Christopher Nolan, and Charlie Munger. I think I have already listened to at least twenty episodes up until now. I’ve learned so many lessons just from listening to the podcast. It’s just incredible. I became to realize that there is a commonality shared among many of these remarkably successful figures. They started something young. Balenciaga was merely three and a half years old when he displayed an innate talent with needle. Michael Jordan was five years old when he started playing basketball. Warren Buffett was eleven when he purchased his first stock and nineteen when he first read Benjamin Graham’s the Intelligent Investor. The list goes on. Learning about the history of these extraordinary individuals has provided me with immense motivation that made me think that I should do things for myself – I should work for myself. At the same time, it made me think, “What was I doing when I was five?” or “What was in my mind during my teenage years when Warren Buffett was already delving into investing?”

When I was five years old, apparently, I spent my time just hanging out in the sandbox at the playground in front of my apartment! I had to ask my mom about this because I don’t remember a thing. When I was in the elementary school, I remember playing lots and lots of soccer with friends in the school field before, during, and even after classes. When I was in middle school (13-15 years old), I did the same thing. I was a small, tanned kid who relished every opportunity to play soccer in every recess and even after school. Of course, I did some schoolwork too, but in my memory, I was just a normal kid who liked to kick a soccer ball. When Warren Buffett started making money from his investment, when Tiger Woods was winning tournaments after tournaments, I was having fun playing soccer. This thought made me kind of sad. I felt sad because I realized that I am such a nothing in comparison to these people from whom I was drawing life lessons. What the hell had I been up to at age five? Or what dreams filled my teenage mind? I had no particular interest in anything. I had no obsession in anything. Time elapsed, and here I am.

These conflicting emotions within me were not good. They weren’t healthy for me. I had to get these emotions out of me and solve it. So, I called my gorgeous and wonderful girlfriend whose wisdom is akin to that of Mother Teresa and told her my contemplations after listening to all these remarkable accomplishments of these great individuals. After listening to my whining, she sent me a TikTok link of a guy who gives life lessons. I was skeptical at first but said, “Okay, I’ll take a look.” This gentleman, named Jefferson Fisher, said,

Take your time. It’s not how many things you have to get done. It’s the pressure that you put on yourself to get those things quickly. How many things in our lives are just self-imposed deadlines that nobody asked of us? We can eliminate this needless stress on our life when we change our mindset from ‘I have to get this done as quickly as possible’ to ‘it will take as long as it takes.’

How many times in my life have I set a self-imposed deadline? So many. I can’t even count. Even at this moment, I find myself imposing deadlines for the “accomplishments” or the “success” I desire, akin to the ones featured on The Founders podcast. Why put a deadline? Why not have no deadline? Everyone is different. Everyone has a distinct and unique path. Embrace that I am different from the others. Embrace that I am me. In fact, no one cares!

Tomo Fujita, the teacher of John Mayer at Berklee School of Music, wisely said,

Don’t worry.

Don’t expect too fast.

Be kind to yourself.

Don’t compare.