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I remember meeting him and wanting to be him.

He was a Triathlete and he looked like a Triathlete. He had all the kit and he kept qualifying for massive races that I would never be able to race in and posting times that I would never be able to post. He was the same age as me, had two kids and travelled all over the place.

But he didn’t have a job.

He had a wealthy wife so he was effectively a sponsored pro Triathlete and by that measure, not a very good one.

So I tried to be him and it didn’t work so I changed my attention to someone else.

I tried to be the guy who was one of the best surgeons in the world, one of the best at what I do, and I tried to model myself on that. But it turned out he wasn’t very nice. He didn’t run a business, he wasn’t trying to be a Triathlete and he didn’t give much of a sh%$ about his family.

So I got disillusioned with him and I tried to be someone else.

I modelled myself on the best guy that I knew - the guy who was brilliant with his kids. He showed them fun and adventure. He nurtured them and looked after them and spent as much time with them as he could.

But he didn’t have a job.

Certainly not a job like mine. He wasn’t allowed to cut people open or teach people or try to make things better for a larger group of people.

He was a great dad though.

So I concentrated on the business and trying to make things better for everybody else. Trying to build something for the next 100 years which was so special and so amazing that everyone would “ooh” and “ahh” and tell us how great it was.

And then I dropped the ball and I wasn’t a cyclist or a Dad or a surgeon anymore and in truth, I wasn’t even a businessman.

It’s not about them; it’s about me.

It’s almost impossible (I find) in this day and age to not compare yourself to other people; to try to be like them or to try to get to where they say they are.

Only the strongest can stick to their own line, knowing that there are a million lines and a million paths to take. The only way to satisfaction is to stick to your own path.

Strength is what is required, not comparison.

Blog Post Number: 1681