My time to shine

When I entered adulthood, I felt lost.

It seemed to me that everyone had it all figured out.
While I was the only person who didn't know what I was doing.

And I saw people who shine like no other.
So naturally, I was drawn to them.
I followed them as they led the way.

But as I walked further and grew older.

I realized that I could also make my own light.

It might not be bright enough to lead the way for other people. But at least it's enough to help me find my own way.

In time, we will be light.

It's our time to shine.

Behind the story

Adulting is hard.

After finishing school and starting my first job, I thought it would be a breeze. I imagined I just needed to work hard, socialize after office hours, get promoted, and become a boss in no time.

However, more often than not, I didn't even know what I was doing back then. Forget about becoming a boss. I can't even finish the tasks in front of me with confidence.

So most of the time, I followed people around me who looked like they knew what they were doing.

After years of doing so, I realized that I hadn’t improved as much as I had hoped.

The reason is that I was following them. I stayed on the same track, keeping up the same pace, and kept the exact distance between us. Thus, I have always been behind. I will always be behind.

How to Outgrow Your Idols‍

Trying to follow someone is not the right way to improve yourself in the long run. Once your mind is set on a person, you might think that they are the best at what they do.

You’ve set the highest bar on them without knowing that you might have set it too low. Here's food for thought:

What if you can be better than your idol?

Find People and Steal Their Skills‍

One way to do it is to find other people with amazing skills and experiences. You can go online and literally follow them on Twitter.‍

Once you follow a bunch of people, find the skills that you want to master. Compare their skills to one another and see who you think is the best at it.

Observe how they work, and what they share online, and learn from them. You don’t have to follow everything a person does. A specific skill would do just fine.

For example, you might want to:
- Write like John,
- Design like Jane,
- Work in X company like Jack,
- Build side projects like Jimbo.

This is when you start to pave your own path. This is when you make yourself unique.

Set your goal and do things differently from your idols by stealing only specific skills from people you admire.

Don't try to replicate their lives. Steal their skills and design your own life.

‍Outgrow the person you adore the most

‍Having idols is excellent, but it does not mean you must follow them in everything they do. Once you learn from them, start to make your own path.

Find others you want to learn from, observe and steal their knowledge, set a goal, and stick to it. It will not be fast because if it is, it will probably not get you far.

Once you’re done stealing someone’s skill, find other people and repeat.

Remember this: You don’t need to set a bar because you have unlimited potential.

I hope you find this post inspiring.

And whenever life feels too much, remember:

It's not going to be easy,
But it's not impossible.

Brian.