500 Memes

tawheed:

There is no speed limit in life.

This chart (found here), reminded me of an important lesson I learned in life, which I try to impart on pretty much anyone that comes to me on life/career advice. It’s the idea that there is NO SPEED LIMIT in life.

I originally learned about this concept from an article by Derek Sivers (link below) - but have started to conceptualize it more and more as I reflected on the path I took in my own life.

As social creatures, we tend to think in terms relative to what we know to be true and possible. So naturally, when we come to figuring out how to achieve a goal (e.g. getting the job or career path that we want), we tend to sequence our steps and our lives in the pace and order that think to be “normal.”

What is normal? How did you define normal? Well, you can say that… “most people in my field took 10 years to get their PhD…” — but then my answer is “do you want to be like most people?” Is that all you’re aiming for? “Most People?”

The truth of the matter is — everyone thought the world was flat until it wasn’t. Everyone thought that birds were the only thing in this world that could fly until airplanes started flying. And similarly, no one thought you could get to 18 million users in 16 days until well… someone did it.

The lesson here is that there is no such thing as “normal.” So quit thinking that way. This is one of the VERY RARE occasions in life where you are indeed one unique snowflake.

So quit making excuses and plans that emulate the norm, and start pushing hard to change the norm. 

And if you do get pulled over, just answer: “I’m sorry officer, I was just trying to make it rain.”

* Derek Sivers article: link