No One Talks About How Privilege Goes Both Ways
You can be privileged one moment and underprivileged the next
Privilege plays a bigger role than is often thought.
Many of you get great jobs or have amazing lives because of:
- Where you were born
- What university you went to
- Who your parents are
- A tech startup who hired you and then IPO’d and made you rich in stock options
I don’t say this lightly. Growing up in the western world gave me all sorts of advantages. Entrepreneurship lessons were force-fed to me as a kid. I got a laptop in 1992 at 6 years old and an internet connection in 1996. My home country of Australia is a safe place. We don’t have guns anymore. The health system is free. Water is plentiful. The government is stable.
Obviously, these things gave me an enormous advantage.
At the same time, you don’t control where you’re born. You shouldn’t feel guilty about where you grew up.
Even with all of these advantages I had plenty of disadvantages. I grew up with all kinds of mental health issues, although I didn’t know that until years later. The simple act of being rushed to school before I had a chance to finish my cereal led to anxiety…
