Moving up in life
When you’re young and hungry, you’re naturally jealous of the high flying. Not the celebrities you read about in the papers, for they’re inaccessible, but the folks a few notches up the social ladder, far enough up to visibly afford a lifestyle you can’t, yet not so far up that they don’t bother telling you about it, to which you nod and hum and say “oh” and “nice” before wandering off to a reverie.

One day you too will be able to afford a car. You too will travel around the world and live in a beautiful, big house. You too will build a business empire and have attendants waiting for your orders, and genuinely be too busy for someone. And then you’ll stand up to those show-offs and look them in the eye.

Then you grow up and the economy booms and one by one, those dreams become reality. And yet, somehow, they don’t feel like a big deal. Those folks you’re preening at don’t even notice. You’re neither great nor eccentric. You’re just “normal”. It’s the worst response you could have anticipated. You look at your finances and see how much of your substantial earning is being eaten up by your substantial lifestyle and how little you’re saving. Makes you wonder. Are you actually achieving something remarkable, or is it just that the economy has changed and brought it within your reach, to which you’re responding like a reckless spendthrift? Friends point out the same and make you feel worse for yourself.

But you know what? It was worth it. It did wonders for your self-esteem. It took you out from being Mr “oh, but I’m not good enough” to being normal. And for others seeking inspiration, you’re a hero.

There are greater dreams unfulfilled. You’re now a person of the world. Go for them.