I talk about Personal Growth, Management, Infrastructure and More | 👇JOIN +2k readers 👇
This executive is living in fear
|
It’s not a story of mine. No. The great Nassim Nicholas Taleb, in his book Antifragile compared two people: a high-level executive with a good salary, dressed in a suit and tie, and an immigrant taxi driver, self-employed, with a variable income and dressed as best he can. ​ Taleb remarked that, while the executive may seem to have a calmer, more secure life with a better salary, better suits, and nicer restaurants, deep down, he lived in immense internal fear. He sh*t in his pants. This fear comes from his status. Everything he now has and doesn’t want to lose. Comfort zone or the pay check drug. ​ The executive trembles whenever company cutbacks are announced, loses sleep thinking he might be fired, and feels like his world is crumbling if his boss calls him into the office for no apparent reason. Why? Because the well-paid executive fears losing his lifestyle, being unable to pay the three mortgages he has, the car, and his kids’ school fees. And he fears this because, unlike the self-employed immigrant taxi driver, he has two major problems:
​ Therefore, the taxi driver is more antifragile, which essentially means being better prepared for unexpected events, disruptions, and change. ​ The taxi driver is used to earning a lot some days and nothing on others, having good months and less favorable months, and above all, dealing with uncertainty and change. ​ Security and certainty vs. uncertainty and change. ​ But you could work this around in your favour. ​ You could simply accept that there is no greater security or certainty than knowing that life is uncertainty and change. ​ This is why personal growth, remain flexible and alert, a side business or investments, are so important to keep your pants clean. ​ If you look for help in that regard, you can click below and start working.
PD 1: If you liked this email, don't keep it in secret and forward it to a friend. They will thank you enormously one day. PD 2: If somebody has sent you this email and you want to receive emails like this yourself, visit vicentevalencia.com PD 3: If you want unsubscribe, click the link below. ​ |
Vicente Valencia
I talk about Personal Growth, Management, Infrastructure and More | 👇JOIN +2k readers 👇
Yesterday a subscriber told me that writing every day was too much. Too much pressure. I answered back as Grant Cardone would do. “Sir, you’re confusing my belief and passion in knowing this is the right product for you and your company with pressure. Please don’t misinterpret my enthusiasm for pressure. Now, let’s do this”. To all people with passion. To all people that love to deliver better infrastructure. This is for you. The top 15 Lessons of a successful project The top 15 lessons of a...
These days, still in Spain, I had the opportunity to talk to many infrastructure professionals. Things are slow. Bad. Nothing new. Construction companies are risk averse. They prefer private clients now… aka, data centers and batteries. Projects are small. Lenders are worried. Etc. Look. Every guru out there is writing, talking, showing "projections for 2026"... It's as typical as the new year eve. It arrives every year. Together with their mistakes. And my friends, gurus included, forget...
You learn by doing. As Robert Kiyosaki said if you think that mistakes are bad, you’re doomed. Imagine yourself with this attitude: “I’ve taken action, I’ve made some mistakes, and now I can learn from those mistakes”. In this case, you’ll be a much richer person. In your pocket and your mind. “People who must be perfect, or cannot allow themselves to make mistakes, are often people without much 20/20 vision. They are the people who make the biggest mistake, which is to fail to learn from...