Putting the timeline to rest

Bear with me, the aim of this is not to fill the timeline with yet another ego trip. Instead, the aim is to make an honest reflection. From a young age, I was the kid who it all just came to. School wasn’t a challenge until the time came when I sat my high school exams, realized I hadn’t paid attention, and next thing you know, I was looking at grades that I couldn't fathom. At the time, what felt like the worst thing in the world would later reveal itself to be a gift. The reality had dawned on me: hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. When you understand your ability to be exceptional, yet you are the very reason that, by all measurable metrics, you are not—I know I am not alone in this feeling. So what does the worn-down genius do? He looks at life as a puzzle. He tries to process it all, assigning quantitative metrics to as many variables as possible in an attempt to synthesize the perfect plan to put life back on track. Forbes 30u30. This has been in my heart for as many years as I can recall knowing about it. I’m 26, and looking in the mirror, I must say it is unlikely. Statistically speaking, it is an improbable feat. A defeat I surely must accept long before its solidification. Who is to blame? None more than myself. To linger on this blame, however, is of no use. These days, I reflect on my mistakes. Free from melancholy, I approach them as a student. And the more spectacular the failure, the better. What may seem a paradox is my classroom. Assuming my life is not cut short, I have this very lifetime I have lived to be done at least twice more. So the question I ask myself is: how will I spend it? A specific answer is something I find very difficult to offer. So instead, I set rules for what not to do. And at the top of this list is to live for the approval, recognition, and praise of others. It is to provide value. To dominate in my own domain of intellectual curiosity. To be a student of life as long as it goes. When there is a dream, do not let others shake it. Grip onto that dream like your life depends on it. As Mufasa told Simba: Remember who you are. In the end, it won't matter if I was a genius or if I was recognized. What will matter is if I tried to be who I envisioned myself as. Did I strive, or did I settle? As J. Cole once said: "Only thing worse than death is a regret-filled coffin." So try before you die, or always wonder what if.