Right now, I’m basically an average guy in the world. I don’t have a degree. I live in a nice house in a poor country. I work. I have stuff going for me but it’s not really clear how much yet. Life is hard, in a way. Things can get pretty lonely. Thankfully, I have family, and I do work hard. Being average shouldn’t last too long for me, I don’t think. I have a business and a degree in the works. I’m focusing on fields that should continue to be lucrative in the future, and I’m already farther along in my financial journey than the average guy where I’m from. But that doesn’t matter much in today’s world. Nowadays, people are judged by global standards. By those standards, I’m living an average life. Honestly a little below average in terms of pay, but I’m in control of that. Here’s what it’s like to be me.
Uncertainty
Being an average guy kind of sucks due to the uncertainty. You don’t know what’s going to happen, whether it be to your life or the world. The power lies elsewhere. Everyone’s more famous than you, more established than you, and smarter than you. You’re just a guy trying too make their way in the world. You know you’ve done a few things right, but you also know that there are people out there who are monumentally more intelligent than you are.
Regrets
I don’t have terrible regrets. But sometimes you think back and wish you had properly optimized. The world is a tough place. It’ll swallow you whole if you don’t work hard or pay attention to what you’re doing. I regret not understanding that sooner and when I was younger. Generally speaking, only the strong survive.
Boring work
If you’re an average guy, you’re probably working some job that most people don’t want to work. Or you’re grinding hard on a business that will pull you into the middle class. This usually means a lot of work that’s boring if you’re lucky. If you’re unlucky it’ll be hard or possibly even backbreaking. You do this work because you need to survive, not because they want to.
Lots of waiting around
You don’t have a lot of money, and as such you don’t have ways of streamlining your time. Every errand takes a lot of time, regardless of how easy it is. You are more intentional about how you spend your days, but you spend less of them doing productive things. You get used to nothing happening in your life, because nothing out of the norm happens.
Limited dating options
This is because I’ve taken the gamble of starting a business. Starting a business makes it harder to earn a decent income, generally speaking. It pays dividends in the long run, but in the short term, you’ll almost always be worse off dating-wise than if you had just gotten a high-paying job. I can meet a woman, but what are we going to do together? If my business isn’t up and running, then I can’t make any contributions to whatever household we build. This means that whatever we do will likely simply relate to hooking up. Pointless when you consider how much money things cost nowadays, and how much opportunity there is at the corner of a bit of elbow grease. Been there done that. A truly average guy is better off than me, but he has less time freedom. I intend to have both time and money in the long run. Design your life while understanding this complicated balance so that you can get what you want. Also, I’ve only been working hard for about four years, and I’m starting to get burned out. If you spend all your time desperately trying to get rich, don’t be surprised when you look worse than you otherwise could have. Over the next 20–40 years, I predict that we will see money mattering less and less for our quality of life. Everything that currently exists is only likely to get cheaper. Thank you, science.
Denial?
I could drown myself in debt, alcohol and other vices at this point? Why not? I’ve done my writing. Why shouldn’t I just get to 250 more articles, stop, get a minimum wage job, and drink away my passive income? It’s easy to do. When you’re an average guy, it’s easy to sink into denial. The world isn’t so easy to live in, and the lack of control can be frustrating.
Don’t be an average guy
Try to find a focus for your life. Try to create something. If you’re lucky enough to be able bodied, you want to strive to be able to get something out of life. Being average is painful and boring, but it’s a choice. Choosing to stay average if you have the ability to avoid it is a clear mistake. The life of freedom, happiness, and success you can live as an above average person is remarkable, and you only have one life to live.
Average is a state of being, but it isn’t necessarily forever. If you do something normal and honest, have average talent, and put in more work than most, you have a way of being above average. It’s really painful at the beginning. You’re clueless, blind, and you have a lot of work ahead of you. This is why it’s better to try stuff when you’re still young and delusional. We live in new world, a globalized world. Being average isn’t only likely to be a bit painful, it’s dangerous. Even if you work hard and are extremely talented, there will be a point at which you find yourself presenting as completely average. Try to be aware of and minimize that time period if you can.
Thanks for paying attention.
