One of the biggest skills a person can possess is the ability to acquire wisdom. We acquire wisdom from reading, experiences, and the people around us. Opportunities come from people. People who other people like to be around are granted more opportunities. Consider all your life’s pursuits and how they were initiated. Usually, there’s a person or experience at the beginning of every story. Sometimes, the knowledge and insights that help you progress along your path will come from the people you least expect.
Understand that every single person on this earth is smarter than you about something. The moment you start thinking other people are “dumb,” humble yourself and understand this concept, or you will find yourself missing opportunities that seemingly not-so-smart people encounter all the time. School teaches us that if we get good grades, we’ll be fine. Life teaches us that people are the greatest resource we will ever encounter.
Sometimes people who seem to have it all together can’t teach you more than those who have tried and failed. Everyone has different starting points. One that started with more opportunities at level 5 may not be able to provide insight in how to go from level 0 to 1. We may see a person at level 1 and think they can’t help us reach the level we want to attain. But the person who was able to invest their resources to level up from 0 to 1 is likely a great source of wisdom even if we don’t initially perceive them to be.
We all have different starting points. The key is to move forward from our current state. If a person starts with resources in hand, there’s no need to try to move backward or pretend as if they started with nothing. That individual shouldn’t feel like less or embarrassed by the idea of “being born with a silver spoon.” There is no need for the said individual to strive to be included in the rags-to-riches tale. People are key resources in whatever path we choose to pursue. The goal of being able to say, “I did it all alone without any help,” will surely lead to encountering many avoidable setbacks. On the contrary, if one starts with less, there is also no shame. If one figures out how to start from scratch, they have learned great lessons. This individual will have to strategically put themselves in prosperous environments and can be a great resource for others who start from a less fortunate state. Everyone is a source of knowledge, regardless of their journey.