Once, I asked an ex-colleague whether he was on LinkedIn. His answer was simple: He didn’t need it.
That answer stayed with me.
He was one of the kindest people I had worked with. Through him, I got my first chance to ride in a Mustang, a gift from his parents. Despite having a home-office contract, he even moved away from home to be closer to the team.
A year later, he resigned to join his family business.
Suddenly, his answer made sense.
His corporate career had been an adventure, a chance to explore something different before returning to a path that had always been waiting for him. He already had direction, support, and a foundation many of us spend years trying to build.
He was running a different race from mine.
Some people can explore, take detours, and walk away from opportunities because they have the resources, connections, and family support to do so. Others must build their own foundations, create opportunities, and navigate life without a safety net.
For some, a career is an adventure. For others, it is survival, security, and the hope of a better future.
So when we compare our progress, networks, achievements, or visibility with someone else’s, we should remember that we may not have started from the same place.
Perhaps we are not doing too little. Perhaps we are measuring ourselves against people running different races, with different resources.
We may all be running, but we are not all running the same race.
