Today I caught up with an old friend of mine. We used to be colleagues when I first entered the workforce and ever since then, we have remained great friends. It has been a while since we last met and after hearing of all the things that had taken place was, to an extent, awe-inspiring. He spoke about his third child (that now makes three girls) and how busy he has been taking care of them. He also spoke about his investments and how well they are doing. He spoke about early retirement and his great career. He also spoke about how he is undertaking another undergrad degree at university. So at this point my jaw almost hit the floor. Yes, I was composed… just. And yes, I was truly happy for the guy. And as I was looking across a table almost small enough to pass for a stool, I saw a guy who was only a couple of years older who has, in a sense, accomplished so much more than me. At no point was I ever jealous and to be honest, I was really proud to see that he had done so well. I was always taught to celebrate the success of others as your own.

So after this meet, I walked away a little dazed and felt the need to do some soul searching. So what does one do when in need of some time to reflect? Well, I went to buy some batteries… as you do. And as I was scouring the shelves for some 3V 2016 batteries, an article I recently read crossed my mind. It is about an employee (Kejia Zhao) at Facebook who wrote a blog on success and whether he was succeeding ‘fast enough’. So here is a guy in his late 20’s, working for one of the biggest tech companies asking himself whether he was succeeding at a rate that was acceptable. In my books he is doing very well but if you have a read of his blog, you begin to say to yourself that maybe, just maybe, you’re doing alright yourself. He speaks about his grandfather who only tasted real success when he was 58 years of age. This fact alone is somewhat reassuring to pretty much every Joe Blow you meet on the street.  I guess the part (to quote) that really stood out were the closing paragraphs in the blog.

‘Don’t be in so much of a rush. Be easier on yourself. Comparing yourself to what others are doing is a waste of time’

That really sticks out to me and gives me some much needed hope. If you have the time, why not read the full blog. It really is a good read. You can find it here:http://kzhu.net/does-life-end-at-35.html

So what is the point of this post? I guess what I really wanted to convey was that everyone can be spectacularly normal. You don’t have to look at others who are achieving massive success and think that you are some sort of misfit, black sheep or failure in life. Smile and give yourself a much needed pat on the back because without you that bin wouldn’t be emptied, or that photocopier will always be out of paper, or that loan would never be approved, or… or… the list goes on and on. Smile and be thankful that you are who you are. To be honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Stay safe and keep on smiling!