Simple Truths

The world does not care about you. The world owes you nothing. There is nothing about you that deserves automatic respect or special treatment. Reality does not change based on your feelings or your opinions on how you would like things to be. Now that I have triggered many of you I should probably flesh this out a bit. I happen to think one of the most damaging things we do is to spend too much time telling our kids how special they are. How they can be anything they want to be and how they are going to change the world. This is bullshit. The vast majority of kids are no more or less special than you or I, and in fact if everybody is special then the word special loses all conceptual meaning. I put to you that what we should be doing is preparing our kids, and each other for the real world. A world that bruises us, disappoints us, that can often make things so hard. Yet the same world where doors will sometimes open unexpectedly, where a bit of pure luck launches us on a whole new and positive trajectory, opening up avenues we were hitherto blind to. Here's the thing, though; all we can really do is apply the principles and show the qualities that give us the best chance of acheiving the latter. Good patterns of behaviour, qualities such as a solid work ethic, an integrity of character, the courage to speak out about the things that matter. I have mentioned before and I do say again, many of you who will read this are abject cowards. There are times when you should have acted but bottled it, when you should have spoken up but remained mute. These ommissions make you a lesser person and less worthy or respect than those who stepped up when it mattered. Don't be a coward. Act. Speak. Project the most real version of yourself to the world rather than some carefully managed PR excercise. Oh by the way, your Instagram followers really don't care that much about you, nor those on any other Social media platform. Likes and comments do not a good person make. It's OK, even from here I can feel your heckles rising, but there is actually a point to this all. We spend so much of our lives speaking falsehoods not just to others but to ourselves. We end up living a shadow of the life that we could because we've lost sight of what the truth is. If I was going to elavate one quality above any other it would be honesty. Be true in what you say. Live true to who you are. Don't bail out in the search for authentic experience because the real loser here will be you. Be brave enough to fail. Brave enough to succeed. Brave enough to stand before others and be true to the core of your being. I do not want for much in life. I have money, an incredible wife, a degree of ability. But none of these things cames without a commitment to living the right way. I came from nothing and I worked like a dog and I took opportunities that came my way, which is to say that when such an opportunity presented itself I worked really hard to turn it into something good. Which brings us full circle. Life owes you neither happiness nor contentment or a cast iron route to success. You have to earn it. You will be a richer person if you do. And be brave. Be less fearful. Let the world know that for all your faults you have integrity and ability and have gotten where you are on merit. And when the knockbacks come take them on the chin. Don't capitulate to misfortune. Don't be a slave to hesitancy. My understanding is that we have one shot at this thing, so take a big swing at it. Who knows; you might just knock it out of the park.