I don't know if this is an African thing, but there's a there's a thing about seeing the best guys in a certain field of interest of yours and quickly assuming you should do all you can to be around them.
On second thought, it's not an African thing, I believe that the desire to roll with the best is a global phenomenon, the drive to make that a reality without considering several other factors is at best infantile.
Not minding your personal make-up, not seeking to know the "industry leaders" beyond the surface level before joining up with them is a bad idea. A good example is just wanting to be in Elon Musk's circle without considering his work ethic and some of his lifestyle choices.
Such decisions don't end well. Your hero becomes "toxic", not because he is, but because you didn't put every single thing into consideration.
You were over-inspired.
I love how Daniel Vassalo puts it - "I got out of the rat race when I realized I didn’t envy the winners’ lifestyle."
On second thought, it's not an African thing, I believe that the desire to roll with the best is a global phenomenon, the drive to make that a reality without considering several other factors is at best infantile.
Not minding your personal make-up, not seeking to know the "industry leaders" beyond the surface level before joining up with them is a bad idea. A good example is just wanting to be in Elon Musk's circle without considering his work ethic and some of his lifestyle choices.
Such decisions don't end well. Your hero becomes "toxic", not because he is, but because you didn't put every single thing into consideration.
You were over-inspired.
I love how Daniel Vassalo puts it - "I got out of the rat race when I realized I didn’t envy the winners’ lifestyle."
I think we often fall into this trap when we let the wavepool of cultural trends make absolute influence on what we tell ourselves we want out of life.