How You Already Have What It Takes to Succeed

Have you ever wondered how some people seem to get ahead in life? How does someone like Elon Musk succeed where others have failed? We're often told that success is directly correlated with hard work - that we won't get anywhere without putting in 10,000 hours or working 100-hour weeks. But what if that wasn't the whole story?

What if those who've succeeded simply had an unfair advantage over their competitors? And what if we find out that we've all got our own set of unfair advantages that we can use to succeed in our lives as well? Sounds intriguing, right?

This book is called "The Unfair Advantage: How You Already Have What It Takes to Succeed" by Ash Ali and Hasan Kubba. It's got some pretty eye-opening ideas that I think could be really helpful for all of us as we navigate our studies and think about our futures.

Life Isn't Fair (And That's Okay!)

The main thesis of the book is that life is fundamentally unfair. When we look at successful people, they usually didn't just get there with hard work alone. There were often other factors at play - things like luck, circumstances, and privilege.

Here's how I've come to think about it:

Success = Fair Play + Unfair Advantages

Let's break this down:

Fair Play: These are the factors we'd look at and think, "Alright, fair play to them." Imagine a startup founder who gets up at 3 AM every day, goes for a two-hour run, and then hustles on their laptop all day. That's hard work that any of us could theoretically replicate if we wanted to. It's fair game.

Unfair Advantages: These are the factors that give someone an edge, but aren't easily replicable by others. For example, if that same startup founder had super-rich parents who invested half a million dollars into their company from day one - that's an unfair advantage. It really helps the business, but it's not something the rest of us can easily copy.

Now, before you start thinking, "Great, so I'm doomed if I don't have rich parents," hold on! The exciting part is that we all have our own unfair advantages. They might not be as obvious as a huge cash injection, but they're there. We just need to figure out what they are and how to use them.

The MILES Framework: Finding Your Unfair Advantages

So how do we figure out what our unfair advantages are? The book introduces something called the MILES framework. Let's break it down:

M - Money

Yeah, having money (or access to it) can definitely be an unfair advantage. Take Evan Spiegel, the co-founder of Snapchat. He became the world's youngest self-made billionaire at just 24. But here's the thing - he grew up in a multimillion-dollar house in Los Angeles, went to expensive private schools, and had parents who were well-connected lawyers. This put him in circles that most of us can only dream of.

But don't worry if you're not rolling in cash. Sometimes, having less money can be an advantage too. It can make you more creative and give you that fire in your belly to succeed. We'll talk more about this later.

I - Intelligence and Insight

This one's pretty straightforward. Some people are just really smart or have unique insights into certain areas. The Collison brothers, who founded Stripe (a multi-billion dollar payments company), are a good example. Patrick Collison invented his own programming language at 16 and went to MIT early. His brother John got the highest ever score on his Leaving Certificate (like Irish A-Levels) and got into Harvard before even taking his exams.

But remember, intelligence comes in many forms. You might not be a math genius, but maybe you have amazing emotional intelligence or creative insights. Those count too!

L - Location and Luck

As Ray Kroc (the guy behind McDonald's) said, "The two most important requirements for major success are: first, being in the right place at the right time, and second, doing something about it."

Location can be crucial. Think about how many tech companies cluster in Silicon Valley. Being in the right place can unlock opportunities, help you make connections, and give you access to your target market.

As for luck - well, some of it is just random chance. But a lot of the time, we can manufacture our own luck. How? By exposing ourselves to more opportunities. Go to events, meet people, start a blog, put your work out there. The more you do, the more "surface area for serendipity" you create. You're basically increasing your chances of getting lucky!

E - Education and Expertise

Having a degree from a fancy university can definitely be an unfair advantage, depending on what you're going for. But it's not just about the degree itself. Education provides three main benefits:

Knowledge

Network

Signaling (showing others you have certain skills or qualities)

But here's the thing - these days, especially in the startup world, people care less about where you went to university and more about what you can actually do. Your expertise - the skills you've built and the knowledge you've gained - can be a huge advantage. And the best part? You can keep building this throughout your life through online courses, self-study, and practice.

S - Status

Status can definitely be an unfair advantage. Think about Elon Musk - his status is so high right now that if he starts any new company, it's guaranteed to get attention, no matter how wild the idea is.

But don't worry if you're not a global celebrity. The book talks about developing "inner status" - things like confidence and self-esteem. While these might not seem like unfair advantages (after all, anyone can work on building confidence), they can definitely give you an edge.

The Reality Growth Mindset

You might have heard about the growth mindset before - it's this idea that our abilities aren't fixed and that we can always improve and grow. It's a great concept, but sometimes people take it too literally and think they can achieve absolutely anything if they just work hard enough.

The book introduces a twist on this called the "reality growth mindset." It's about finding a balance between self-awareness and self-belief. As they say in the book, it's about "having your feet rooted on the ground with your head in the clouds."

What does this mean in practice? It means recognizing that yes, we're all human and cut from the same cloth. Whatever someone else has achieved, we can potentially achieve too. But at the same time, we need to be realistic. Not everyone is born with the same opportunities or talents, and that's okay. The key is to learn from others' success without getting depressed if we can't immediately replicate it.

Turning Disadvantages into Advantages

Here's something really cool - sometimes what seems like a disadvantage can actually be turned into an advantage. Remember how I said earlier that not having much money could be a good thing? Here's why:

It makes you more creative. When you can't throw money at problems, you have to come up with innovative solutions.

It can give you more motivation. That "fire in your belly" to succeed can be a powerful driving force.

Even being in the "wrong" location can be an advantage. Sure, you might miss out on some opportunities if you're not in a big city. But your costs will be lower, which means you can take more risks and your money will last longer.

Wrapping Up

So, what's the takeaway from all this? It's simple: we all have unfair advantages, even if we don't realize it. The key is to figure out what they are and how to use them.

When we think about success, it's easy to focus on all the things we don't have going for us. We might fixate on the privileges or advantages we're missing. But when we do that, we blind ourselves to the unfair advantages - the competitive edge - that we do have.

No matter where you are in life, you've got something to be grateful for, something that gives you an edge. It's not about ignoring the challenges or difficulties you face. It's about recognizing the realities of your situation and leveraging the unfair advantages you do have to help you live your best life.

Remember, it's not about comparing yourself to others or feeling bad about the advantages you don't have. It's about recognizing and making the most of what you do have.

And hey, if you're struggling to see your own unfair advantages, talk to a friend or family member. Sometimes others can see things in us that we can't see ourselves.

After all, we already have what it takes to succeed - we just need to recognize it and put it to use!

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