Choose Impact Over Self-Importance

In high school my standardized test scores were so low I had to take the SAT's twice. 

I once asked if I was sent by "the enemy" after I failed for the 5th time to grasp the system in place at a homeless shelter I was volunteering at.

My first screenplays were so bad my friends didn't even know where to begin with their feedback.

As a kid, I was a great third baseman but couldn't hit the ball if my life depended on it.

-- And in college I once received a paper from a professor, who was once the ambassador to the Ivory Coast, that said, "Nick, I don't much understand what you're trying to say and I suppose you don't either."

The point is that some of my shortcomings were failures to push myself, while others were simply abilities I lacked. As a young man any talk of deficiencies would have compelled me to get defensive. I'd take criticism personally and fail to recognize the ways I could leverage my strengths, while being a shrewd judge of my shortcomings.

As I get older I realize how liberating it is to recognize you're not going to be good at everything. We're all given certain superpowers, or the ability to do certain things better than others. It's important we take stock of those gifts and find ways to use them for positive impact.

Unfortunately, a lot of people never grow up to realize all the teachable moments failure and deficiency can offer. A fixed mindset offers a stale outlook and a refusal to be open to ways to get better at life. One of the most counterproductive ways this philosophy can manifest itself is through defending bad ideas. Because we're insecure about our intellect, resume, or get caught up in comparing ourselves to others we allow our ego rather than humility to be our north star. When this happens the "meritocracy of ideas," as Ray Dalio calls it, gets buried in the rubble caused by insecurity.

What's much more interesting and courageous is recognizing when we aren't the best at something, or don't have the most influential idea, and instead identifying when someone else does. Rather than claiming ownership for something we didn't come up with we can do something much more engaging, uplifting, and noble: we can become the proprietor's biggest fan, supporting his or her idea as if our life depended on it. 

In the process, we lift each other up instead of leave one another behind. As a result, attainment of our goals becomes much more about creating impact rather than self-importance. And when we get behind someone something remarkable begins to happen: we gain the trust of others through our humility and conscious commitment to put the priorities of the group ahead of our own.

On to the Next One

"Shattered hopes of success must be transformed into the joy of new achievements." 

Nothing in life works according to plan. For some people, that reality has the potential of irreparable harm. Because their life has not lived up to some vision they developed for them self long ago they've lost all bearings, focus, and plan of attack.

In some ways, I fell into this trap. I'd basically wanted one thing since the age of 11 and when that dream was not realized exactly the way I'd hoped I felt quite lost.

The solution was slowly cultivating the belief this setback was an opportunity to find other ways to utilize my talents and offer value to the world. It may not have happened precisely as I'd originally hoped, but I realized my new pursuit had the capacity to be as, or even more fulfilling.

Don't give up on yourself. Your talents and abilities to serve others far exceed what you may believe to be possible. The trick is getting started and knowing through patient experimentation you will eventually stumble upon the next thing.