entitlement
Narcissus by Carvaggio
Mark Twain once said the world doesn’t owe you shit, it was here first. You play the hand you’re dealt and that’s it. No second chances, no do overs. If you’re lucky someone will clue you into this before you make a mistake you can’t recover from. Hell, you got to be lucky just to not be born into a horrible life situation to begin with. Life is hard and unfair. So many people are crushed by it before they can even start doing anything worth while. How are there those that get to live their dream? Are they “blessed” or rich from birth or have some kind of super power? No, they know one thing that the sooner you learn the faster your journey takes off. They know sacrifice, and I mean sacrifice not settling, not surrendering, not submitting.
A lot of people think sacrifice is being broke, or having a dead end job, or settling for whatever they can get. Sacrifice is trading comfort for strength. Sacrifice hurts. Sacrifice is scary. Sacrifice is slow. You sacrifice love for determination. Sacrifice is not feeding your kids or paying your bills. Sacrifice is missing your kids when you’re out chasing your dreams, Sacrifice is risking everything for the chance to become more then you are. Sacrifice does not get you a reward. It moves you down the road towards completion. Sacrifice is not supportive, its doesn’t care if you fail. It only wants to know if you wish to continue. You sacrifice friends, family, love, peace, safety, and comfort for life’s dream.
The sad thing is that most think just because they are good people, intelligent, and talented that life will just hand them their dreams come true on a silver platter. What they don’t get is good doesn’t always win, smart people can’t do everything, and talent can easily be defeated. Narcissism is when someone defines themselves by their positive traits and take that on as an identity without any willingness to grow. They don’t grow because they think they are entitled to reward for just being. Unfortunately for them the world wants action, not existence. No one cares what you think, they only notice what you do. There it is. Being is overrated. “I am” is a lie. The truth is in action.
Whoever does the most wins. “Evil” wins when “good” people do nothing. Smart people lose when they believe they don’t have anymore to learn and life delivers a big surprise. Working smart does not mean not working hard, it means working toward the right goal. Hard work will kick talents ass everyday. “Talent” usually means “better than everyone,” so beware of hubris. That sense of being god blessed and loved more than everyone else only ever leads to a sense of satisfaction. Your superior talent becomes a lid on the vessel. What you never see is the other guy, filling his vessel past your high mark little by little because they are out working you. You work hard, you see results; or maybe you don’t. So you keep working hard, until you see results. Then you work hard again. If your work hard you see results, or maybe you don’t. Never ends. Never stops growing.
The day I started my pre-med classes everyone told me it takes a lot of hard work to become a doctor. I asked myself what was I willing to do to become a doctor. What will I sacrifice. My answer was nothing. I didn’t want to be a doctor. One day in art appreciation studies I saw a painting that reminded me of how much I loved art and how little god given talent I had. I decided then and there that I wanted to be a professional artist and I would do whatever it takes to learn how to make art like I loved. It was and still is a slow process, but its a process. There is no magic spell to become what you want. You have to build it either from scratch or off your talents. You can’t settle at any point or make any excuses for quitting. You can’t let bitterness from lack of support stop you, you must go it alone if that’s how you’re gonna get there. No one owes you anything. Entitlement is food for the lazy and the delusional. Hard work is how shit gets done.