What do you bring to the table?

I always thought that life is linearly increasing and, as long as you work hard, you will do well in life. Wrong! After so many years spent studying, I thought I was worth something by having good grades. Again, wrong!

I learned that you are not worth more than the resources you bring to the table that other people might need. If those resources do not mean anything to others, then you are worth nothing. This is not fatalist answer, but a verified one. By resources, I mean money, knowledge, contacts, emotional connection, services, etc. Nobody will care about you, unless you have something to bring them that would make them happy or, at least, that can help them achieve something or become someone they want to become.

Why you?

This was a question that I had been asked during my start-up days a lot. This was a very difficult, painful, and philosophical question that became so frustrating to the point I would say. That’s it! I quit! After 26 years, I was unable to answer this question. But then I realized that people do not really care about your answer, they do not care about you, you, they care what they can get from you. I was not prepared for how difficult and complicated life is and, for sure, I did not know what I could bring to the table. I thought I was smart, that I knew it better than others. It turns out that I did not know anything and, worst part, that I was worth nothing. My mind was trained to memorize complex ideas, solve problems and replicate theories, but it was not prepared to serve others and, surely, it did not have the humility needed in order to do that.

With these thoughts in mind, my dear reader, what do you bring to the table?