DOESN'T Matter If You Started Early Or Late

 

WHO says THE EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE WORM?  Me Me Me, I said it a zillion times and even as we speak now, I truly believe in it.  BUT if I tweak my question and ask if DOES IT MATTER IF YOU STARTED EARLY OR LATE?  No Senor, for many compelling reasons, it DOESN'T matter at all, NOT to me at least.  IF I have to defend my dissertation and IF this happens to be my thesis, the very core of this idea is that the FINAL OUTCOME, the FINISH, the END RESULT is all that matters.  NOT WHEN did you start it out.  NOT HOW long did it take you to traverse that journey from Point A to Point C [via Point B OR any other forked road[s]]😡😡😡

In my early twenties, I thought I was doing everything right [BUT I was wrong].  I thought I was working damn hard, kicking my ass hard enough, and WHERE possible, I intentionally avoided the multiple distractions WHICH came in different forms and shapes camouflaged as teasers.  WHILE some of my colleagues were out chilling OR travelling [OR for some, they were just biding their own sweet time], I was so immersed [and submerged] into my 'building blocks'💚💛💜

I then thought that IF I started that early up front and IF I can put in the work as early as then, I would gain that headstart and eventually all my efforts and timings will pay off.  Oh Oh, moving fast forward, I'll admit that my results and my records then were spotty at best.  I achieved some.  I failed in some.  NOT the best record that can give me the bragging rights BUT enough to push me farther.  Learning skills was one.  I thought if I equipped myself early on, that would give me the edge.   At that time, IBM's Lotus Notes was lording it over the market and I [wrongly] thought then that if I equipped myself with its LotusScript and its Formula Language, I will zoom ahead of the pack💥💥💥

Alas, I was all wrong because eventually, IBM's hold of the Lotus Notes market dissipated faster than WHAT I anticipated.  End result?  I was like holding a huge pail of water that was empty after all.  WHY?  WHEN I started early on in the game?  This brings me back to full circle that it DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU STARTED EARLY OR LATE because at the end of the day, the world we live in is too fluid, with one too many dynamics that get into the equation😡😡😡

Our takeaway:  Some of my realizations [WHICH I summarized below] did sink in enough for me to get back on track:

• WHEN you hustle early, you expect to fall into place sooner
• WHEN checking all the boxes, think 5 to 10 steps way ahead
• WHEN you have a blueprint, LIFE does NOT always follow it
• WHEN you are so focused in your journey, MURPHY's Law can kick in, ANYTHING THAT CAN GO WRONG WILL GO WRONG.  In a nutshell, got to have a Plan A, B and C!!!