The Main Difference Between Being Young & Old

When you're young, your parents and teachers provide you with welfare. If you fail, they fail. Teachers are paid to think about your needs as a learner. Parents have a social and moral obligation to take care of your economic and developmental needs as a child. What this means is that most children get spoiled and they think everything is about them.

Kids can act up in school, and teachers will still teach them. Kids can act up with their parents, and their parents will still provide them with a roof over their head. After graduating from college, life changes. If you fail in a career or relationship, nobody else fails.

As an entrepreneur, I have to almost exclusively focus on other people's needs in order to get their attention and interest. Especially living in New York City, people are overworked and constantly behind. This means that getting them to do something as simple as return an email or phone call can be challenging. The situation isn't much different if you're an employee.

While my ego liked being the center of the world as a child, I think it feels better in terms of self-respect to be self-sufficient and thinking about other people's needs. If anything, I wish I had this mindset when I was younger.