The Unfair Advantage

I am very lucky. And so are you. We all have some kind of unfair advantage in our lives that gives us an edge over others.

It can be our innate talent, or location, or the family fortune. Basically, anything that we have no control over but still contributes towards our success is an unfair advantage.

When we think of the successful, the ‘self-made’, we tend to ignore the privileges they had. The privileges that played a major role in how things worked out for them.

Most of the tech billionaires come from Silicon Valley. Why? That’s the location advantage.

Most of the influential CEOs, doctors, lawyers, scientists, etc. completed their education from one of the Ivy League colleges. That’s the network advantage.

The dot-com and crypto millionaires, the real estate rich, the Jio youtubers, all had the timing advantage. They happened to be doing the right thing at the right time.

Now this doesn’t mean that they didn’t work hard. Of course they did! But being in a developed country; having world class education; working with talented people; having your expenses taken care of; makes your work exponentially more impactful.

So what’s the lesson here? Recognize your unfair advantages and double down on them.

Sure you’re not born in riches, but you do have the education to get there. Sure you don’t live in Europe, but your living expenses are much lower. Sure you’re not the most talented person, but you’re young — you have time and energy.

When you start paying attention, you realize how unfair life is. How it has been treating you a bit too generously compared to others. Why not take advantage?

If you want to dive deeper into the subject, here’s a book you can read.

Or, you can watch this video.

I really wish to know your unfair advantages! Reply to this email and let me know :)

Good luck,
Aachman