[PAPER RUSTLING]
Everyone loves the good rags-to-riches story.
Too bad we usually only hear the part that sells.
This is in no way an attempt to bash
those with financial privilege, scoff
at those who receive help, or mock any success story.
However, I do want to point out some less-than-obvious
privileges that many successful people
don't talk about when asked how they got where they are.
My goal is to help minimize our very human nature
to compare ourselves to those who
are more successful while being hard on ourselves
for either not being enough or not doing enough.
At the end of the day, you have no idea
what advantages someone else may have had when you
compare your life to theirs.
Here are just a few less-than-obvious privileges,
beyond coming from a wealthy background,
you rarely hear about in those 30 under 30 profiles.
Number one, they got to live at home or the door
was always open.
Many people don't realize the privilege in this.
While by now it's common sense that living
at home with a parent or both parents is a huge money saver,
the privilege of knowing you can always go back home
is a huge deal too, which makes it all the more frustrating
when people who save money by living with parents
don't acknowledge that as the huge step up that it is.
When you're living independently and paying
rent, be it solo or split amongst roommates, if money
is ever tight, the weight of not being
able to make rent on your shoulders
isn't as heavy when you have familial support as a backup.
Basically when your worst-case scenario
is going home versus being homeless, it's a blessing.
Number two, they had positive reinforcement.
Many people don't realize that having people
who love and believe in you, be it
friends, a romantic partner, your parents, et cetera,
does wonders for one's self-esteem and overall morale.
This is especially true when you receive
that level of love and encouragement
during your formative years.
Long story short, while there are
many people who use the negative messaging they received growing
up as a motivator to succeed, there
are many more who crumbled under the negativity and toxicity
of their environment.
Not everyone is able to scrounge up the self-assurance needed
to push through bad times.
Now imagine those successful folks
who were always told good and uplifting things
about themselves.
Even if they came from modest means,
they were loved and encouraged by their parents friends,
coaches, or teachers who saw something in them.
Number three, they had good mental health,
or just good health overall even those
with relatively good upbringings can.
Still suffer from mental health issues, ADHD, anxiety,
and depression are extremely real
and nothing to be ashamed of.
But even with the best access to therapy and medical treatment,
struggling with one's mental health
can be extremely debilitating.
Some sufferers still battle daily to just feel OK.
Now imagine those with no access to mental health care
due to a lack of funds or any other unfortunate reason.
Let's not forget physical health complications
that so obviously impact and impede
upon a person's ability to even do the simplest things.
Too often people take for granted
and undermine the benefits of having stellar mental and/or
physical health.
When you don't have to constantly worry
about what feels like a bleak present,
it's easier to focus on a brighter future.
Number four, they didn't suffer from a toxic home environment.
This one's pretty self-explanatory.
Having a toxic upbringing plays a huge role in anyone's life
no matter their tax bracket.
A toxic upbringing can mean anything
from direct forms of abuse--
physical, emotional, verbal-- to being a witness to abuse.
Growing up in an environment free from abuse
or toxic behaviors is a huge privilege
that many take for granted.
Number five, they only had to worry about themselves.
Having the beautiful freedom to only have
to worry about yourself, your things, and your dreams
is a major privilege.
Let's say your parents didn't hurt you,
nor did they intend to ever hurt you with their problems.
Maybe they even said they loved you every night.
However, their issues caused you to have
to grow up faster, because for whatever reason,
you were often left alone and had to take care of yourself
or you had to learn to be a caretaker from an early age.
This was often true for those who grew up
in households that were either single-parent households
or just struggling to make ends meet.
Oftentimes the older siblings took care of
and watched over the others.
Or some people grew up as latchkey kids,
and had to take on the role of parenting themselves
at a young age.
Another example, getting pregnant at any stage
of your life.
Even those in healthy relationships,
with help from their partner and parents,
will still tell you that it takes a village
to raise a child and that village is
a privilege in its own right.
At the end of the day, it is a luxury
to only have to worry about yourself,
it allows you to have the opportunity
to invest your time and your money
solely into your things and dreams.
Again, this is simply to say to only believe
half of what you see and none of what you hear--
more often than not, at least.
This is not to take away from the kudos
and accolades of those who are conventionally successful.
But there is no need to praise people at the expense
of putting yourself down.