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This executive is living in fear
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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.
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Vicente Valencia
Weekly insights on how to perform when it matters | High-stakes decisions. Real situations. No BS. | 👇JOIN +2k readers 👇
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