Some time ago, I was reading in my college library. It was when I saw a guy sitting near me and fiddling with his charging phone.
Minutes later, I was somehow distracted and — for god knows why — gave him occasional glances. When he flipped the switch off, unplugged his charger, stood up and started leaving, I knew why.
He was special.
As seen by his dragging legs as he walked, he had some form of walking abnormality. That brief moment struck me. It made me put down the book and started penning down my thoughts that revolved around a single idea — the unfair advantage.
🏃 Life is like a marathon
An unfair one, sadly.
Everyone sets off from a different starting line at a different starting time. Along the route, some of us receive guidance from professionals, the best gear, the best training environment and even the connections that allow some to skip some parts of the journey.
Of course, there are those who didn’t only start late, but have to run barefoot alone in the middle of the rain under constant criticism and doubts from the people around them.
I first learned of this idea — the unfair advantage — from a video summary of the book with the same title, written by Ash Ali and Hasan Kubba. It speaks on how everyone is born with some form of unfair advantage, whether it’s being tall enough to be physically attractive, or lucky enough to worry about where to go for a post-covid vacation than getting food on the table.
Take education 🎓, for example.
Maybe you were born in silicon valley, where you’re taught that founding a startup at 17 is as normal as “studying hard, entering a great university, getting a decent job, hustling, and retiring at 60 to ‘enjoy’ your life”.
Maybe you’re privileged enough to learn under an unconventional education system that accommodates mental health and focuses on all-around development.
Perhaps, you’re lucky enough to not apply for an in-house scholarship to go to Harvard, as it may lower your chance of getting in.
Needless to say, having a privileged background almost guarantees a decent environment for quality growth. Whether they’re money, intelligence/insight, location/luck, education/expertise, or status (MILES), these unfair advantages are totally unfair.
Well, that’s just the bad news.
🎈 The good news
You also have them.
By itself, being able to read this letter is an unfair advantage. It puts you above many people who don’t have Internet access. It also tells me that — just like myself — you have little worries about basic survival needs, but about first-world problems such as “my friend said the new Dr Strange movie sucks” and “Could an iPad Pro replace a laptop?”.
Heck, did you even realize you can read?
On my side, I have the privilege to write this letter and share my stories with you. I’m not compelled to work part-time to fund my studies. Oh my, I even have the luxury to procrastinate!
Damn. That’s really unfair.
🤷♀️ So, what now?
Life is unfair. You get it. I get it. What can you do about it?
I once saw this 👇 on a notice board in a library (another one).
The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.
—Mark Twain
Whether directly or indirectly, I’m sure you knew one or two geniuses in your life. They probably have higher IQ, play multiple instruments well, and are better at sports or whatever that put them above the rest.
But, if you were to ask those math geniuses (or gods) how much they spent thinking about the subject, it’d often be a shocking amount of time. Hence,
To call them “geniuses”, however, would mitigate the sheer amount of work that it took them to accomplish what they did.
—Michael O. Church, Does Genius Exist?
See where I'm going?
Each of us has certain forms of unfair advantages — some could even turn you into one of those “geniuses”. But, if you don’t take the time to discover and use your unfair gifts, what difference does your life have compared to those without them? With zero hard work on your talents or privilege, will your “genius” hold any meaning?
To sum it up,
The two most important requirements for major success are: first, being in the right place at the right time, and second, doing something about it.
—Ray Kroc, a pioneer of McDonalds’
—Thomas