Can Everyone Be Successful & Famous

The fundamental difference between a ‘privileged & entitled’ 19-year-old now & when I was a 19-year-old is that I & my real friends [Fakebook & Instagarbage weren't born in 2000] weren’t delusional. 

We all were studying in big ass colleges in Melbourne, yet we had the reality check that we ain’t going to make any impact on the history of the world. I always knew if Gandhi, who spent about 5 decades fighting for freedom, a decade in jail & kept 100s of fasts running upto 21 days, failed to bring a real change, I'm nobody. Every time, I missed lunch, I missed my mom - Every time I saw a cop I got mild jitters.  And the only cause I stood up & fought for was more nude beaches in Melbourne. 

At 19, our [my friends & I] greatest achievement were: 

1. Attending 50% of the classes with hangover/sleep deprivation [and falling asleep in half of those too]
2. Chugging beer and/or whiskey through the night & then going for a morning walk without sleeping
3. Stealing [nicking] $2 coins from the Coles supermarket’s abandoned trolleys
4. Stealing [nicking] furniture & appliances from Salvation Army bins
5. Stealing [nicking] almonds, chocolates, grapes, etc., from supermarkets
6. Reaching the highest score [2008] in Snake on Nokia phones
7. Wearing the same clothes, without washing, till it’s impossible to wear them anymore
8. Eating the biggest pizza & 240-gram chocolate bars for dinner with 2 litre Coke
9. Smoking three cigarettes at once [Some smoked seven]
10. Speaking with a tree & making friends with a possum who was sitting on that tree.
11. Duping a hot chic/lad into going out on a date with us

In 2018, the 19-year-olds are just as dumbfucks as we were, but they have this grandeur image of themselves. They’re their own superstars. They believe they can be WonderWoman, Batman, Zuckerberg, Jobs, Gates, Bezos, Thatcher, Musk, Spielberg, Nolan, Clooney, Messi. It's perfectly alright to dream 'big' till they start to believe that they have to be one of those SuperHumans within their 20s. 

Because the truth is there will never be another Ronaldo or Einstein or Leonardo Da Vinci. And even if there will be one, what are the chances that from the 7.7 billion people alive, it will be ‘you’

Another trouble is we simply cannot fathom the amount of inborn talent & persistent hard work of crazy levels that go into the creation of Floyd Mayweather or LeBron James or Michael Phelps or AB de Villiers. To give you a little reality check, in the 122 years of Olympics, only one person from the 2.4 billion people born in India in that duration has ever won a solo Gold Medal [Abhinav Bindra]. So, if you’re an athlete vying to win an Olympic Gold for India - the writing is on the wall.

Let’s go micro. I will tell you my story. 

I was a born cricketer. I excelled in batting, bowling [leg spin, pace, off-spin], fielding & also was a natural sports leader. And I loved absolutely cricket. My parents didn’t pressurise me to give up sports during high school. But I knew I was good within the school, but outside of it, it was mediocre. And outside of Dehradun, I didn’t even exist. I knew I can play cricket all I want, I will never be a true professional. At best, I will get to play the IPL. Not the Indian Premier League - the Iceland Premier League [where no one has ever played Cricket]

It was sort of heartbreaking that the 'one thing' I spent most of my time playing, thinking about, watching, and was really good at isn't something I can pursue because there were thousands of crazy-as-fuck geniuses out there 'killing it.'

Then I started doing what we're 'supposed' to do. I finished high school & went to college. I couldn’t make a real girlfriend till I was 23. I graduated at 24 [I took 6 years to graduate]. At that juncture, a job became priority.

One thing that may seem alike but is immensely different: Generation Old [Me] & Generation Young are both scared before they get employed for the 'first time'. But that’s where the similarities end as the reason for being scared is totally different. 

My generation was shitting its pants because we knew we’re bloody unemployable. And it will take the lethal combination of a miracle & absolute bad judgment for any of us to be employed 'ever'. Gen Z is scared because they’ve such high expectations of themselves that they can’t afford to burn even 3 months looking for a job after finishing their studies. No wonder, the colleges with campus placements are 'sought after' in India.

Yes, everyone has always wanted to be rich. But, when I wanted to buy an iPod in my first year of employment, now people want to buy their first mid-level car. By the fifth year of employment, people want to own a house & hope to be CEO by 30.

By those lofty standards, I'm an outright failure at 36. I moved back from Australia to India. I couldn't keep any job for longer than a year as I 'hated' every job I did. And even at my current workplace, I earn less than people earn at 26. 

And I can’t swim, drive [even bicycle], paint, sing, dance, or ride a horse. I’m technically so challenged that Google will employ a cocaine-addict dyslexic penguin, but me. I’ve lost to Australian girls, smaller than me, in arm-wrestling. And I'm too blunt to be socially likeable. And if you've seen me, you know I ain't someone you want to take home & drop your pants for.

I've been writing for 12 years. I have earned 'zero' bucks from my all the 4407 days of inspired writing, but I've made a living out of lots of uninspired writing for the multi-national companies. I'm not an author as both my books didn't get published. I will be finishing my third book in late 2019. And I can feel destiny that it will make me an author. Frankly, I don't give a damn if it does or not. My purpose was never to be an author or make money or be famous. My purpose, which I found when I was almost 25, was to write. And I write because nothing else makes sense & my life becomes meaningless when I don't.

I don't know if I will be successful & famous, but I know I will write on because I've fallen in love with writing for life. We're married without an option for divorce. 

Yes, mathematically, everyone can be famous & successful, but most of us [Google says 99.991% aren't famous] will not be famous or successful if we're judging ourselves by the 'possession' of the latest iPhones, Bungalows, Lamborghinis, hottest boyfriend/girlfriend, Insta likes, Pictures on billboards, showy Destination Weddings, & high-profile designations. 

For the world, I'm almost a failure. In my mind & heart, I feel ridiculously content. Why. Because I do what I love the most everyfuckinday. How many of the millennials & Gen Z can say that in the 'truest sense'.

If at 19, instead of believing I was a 'useless piece of crap', I had believed I was destined to 'rule the world', I perhaps would've worked harder at college & gotten one of them cool ass jobs at Deloitte & would've been married with two kids & a wife. But, I wouldn't have ruled the world [hardly anyone does] & deep down it would've killed me.

But, I didn't believe I was destined for greatness, so I chilled out in college & was ecstatic when I got employed at low pay. Instead of committing to a profession or a girl, I kept waiting. I didn't want to do something or be with someone I didn't love. When I finally found my purpose [writing] [P.S. I also found the girl but that's a long story], I held on to it like a mother holds onto her baby in the middle of a sand-storm. Even if everyone believes I didn't make it, I'm content & wake up each morning with the energy of a 19-year-old. I chose purpose over success & fame. I create everyday. Even if people may think it's terrible or even if it never makes me a single buck, I will stick with it.

You - if you're young & life is front of you - will have to make your own choices - the career, the life partner and what sort of human you gonna be - before the cold-hearted real world makes them for you.