The Universe Won’t Let You Fail

Your Next Breakthrough is on The Horizon

Today’s post is about a true story about a good friend of mine. For the sake of maintaining this friend's privacy, his name has been changed to Ryan for today.

We’re going to learn a little about Ryan’s story — and why it’s relevant to you being a badass at whatever you want to do in life.

Although that may be a bit of a stretch.

It’s probably not relevant or relatable at all unless you allow it to be.

Because it’s not in the exact details of other people's lives to which we can necessarily relate — but in the spirit.

The human spirit, that lives in all of us.

Ryan was a top-notch kid. In high school, he played varsity baseball and graduated with a 4.3-grade point average. He mostly kept his head down, did his work — and did what he was supposed to.

Ryan's performance on the field and in the classroom was enough to attract attention from one of the most prestigious universities globally, The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania.

Notable graduates include:

Graduates of Wharton Business School Include:

• Warren Buffet
• Donald Trump
• Elon Musk
• Jeff Weiner

Halfway through his first year, Ryan's social life was on fire, but his grades were not. He was being influenced by a new group of kids, staying out late, using drugs — and even started selling them at one point.

Not only were his grades slipping, but he was eventually kicked off the baseball team for continuously showing up late or completely missing practice.

When he got kicked off the team, his father wasn’t playing games. He told Ryan that he needed to get a student loan to pay for the rest of the semester.

It was a $30,000 loan in his name.

He was 24 years old.

With no employment.

This was an eye-opening experience, and he eventually got his shit together and graduated on time with a BS in economics with a concentration in finance.

Now he was off in the big world. Ready to seize and conquer.

Kickass and take names.

In other words, it was time to find a job.

That’s what college grads do.

Except, upon graduation — Ryan had no solid job leads.

The finance industry is extremely competitive, and his 2.9 GPA from messing around in his first year wasn’t making his resume look any more appealing to employers.

Embarrassed, he temporarily moved back in with his parents for a few weeks while submitting some job applications.

“ No big deal,

Ryan would say.

“This is normal. This happens to kids. I messed myself up by graduating with a below-average grade point average for my industry.

I may just end up having to settle for a lower-paying position to get started…” ,

He would tell us. Perfectly aware of how his past mistakes may have affected his current situation. Slightly on edge but still keeping his cool.

Uncertainty

A few weeks back home turned into a few months.

A few months quickly turned into six months.

At this point, Ryan and I are talking on the phone several days throughout the week.

I’m questioning him about his resume, interviewing tactics, and we’re trying to prod at why an ivy league graduate couldn’t land employment at a half-decent financial firm.

I was living on my own already and learning about online business and formulating my first business idea.

After discontinuing college a few years previously — I was fully (and openly) embracing the entrepreneur type of life.

I was hopeful and excited, and Ryan’s situation seemed to reinforce my notions about going to college directly out of high school.

Because there he was, with an “in-demand” degree from not only an accredited school; but a highly esteemed private university that specializes in producing some of the world's most elite people — and he currently had little to show for it.

8 months have gone by since graduation, and Ryan is starting to panic a bit.

He was slightly annoyed at the $30,000 loan he now had to pay back each month without a job.

But he also knew it was nothing compared to the $240,000 — almost a quarter of a million dollars, that his parents had shelled out for the rest of his years at UPenn.

While I tell this story on behalf of my friend, it’s at this point in the story that I can’t or won’t pretend to know what was going on fully in his mind.

We talked about it regularly, and he voiced his frustration, but I knew nothing of the torment he was probably facing behind closed doors.

I’m sure at times, he felt like a loser or a failure.

Someone who wasn’t worthy of the goal that they were chasing.

He probably doubted himself, questioned decisions that he’d made — and wondered if any of it was even worth it.

Which is something almost all of us can relate to.

Luckily for my guy Ryan — I’m happy to say that his part in this story ends fairly well.

A year a two months after graduating from Wharton, Ryan found part-time employment with a firm that wasn’t necessarily distinguished — but it did allow him finally get his feet wet and make a few bucks.

A few months after that — he signed a full-time contract as a financial analyst with a more reputable firm that started at $80,000 per year

Ryan just turned 26 in February and is currently enjoying his view of downtown Dallas from the 19th floor of his apartment balcony.

From what he’s shared with me, the workload more recently has been kicking his ass, which is a subtle reminder that he will have to continue working hard to maintain what he’s got.

As Ryan and I were recalling and laughing about this situation that didn’t occur all too long ago, he said something that resonated deeply with me.

I don’t remember the exact words — but he was making references to simply not knowing what the future would behold.

And how we often work extremely hard at something, not knowing for sure if it will pay off or not.

We think it will pay off. We want it to pay off. We believe it will work out. We want to see the fruits of our labor come to fruition in the exact way that we had hoped and dreamed of.

But sometimes it doesn’t.

Actually, most of the time — it doesn’t.

Things and events in our lives rarely turn out exactly as we predicted.

Otherwise, it would be too easy. The game of life would be rigged.

Without discomfort, challenge, or something that throws a fork in the road and makes us question our skills or abilities — there would be no learning.

No learning. No growth. No desolation of the ego.

All things that each of us can’t get enough of.

Closing

Having a friend like Ryan and being someone like myself is a cool thing. We represent two separate groups of thought and both have our opinions on the world, money, and God.

Ryan believes in college and simply going into business and getting a corporate job. He loves it. (So far)

I believe in being an entrepreneur and starting your own business if college wasn’t or isn’t right for you at this time.

I love trying to learn and explore the things that actually matter to you at your own time and pace.

Plus, being your own boss sounds cooler than having a boss.

I couldn’t tell you which life model to pick.

Mostly because I don’t have much to show for my side of the equation yet.

And that’s okay. Because my story is not yet complete. And neither is yours.

So don’t give up. Don’t stop putting in the hours.

Keep working on that thing you feel drawn to working on.

Keep working on your craft so you can become the best in the world at it.

Don’t quit putting in the effort just because you aren’t seeing the results you desire yet.

And don’t lower your standards or settle when you know you can do better.

Ryan demanded a certain price point — he got it.

I demand a particular lifestyle — and I’m confidently working my way there.

“Bro, I’m pretty sure if you try hard enough — the universe won’t let you fail…”,

was probably my favorite thing Ryan said the other night on the phone.

And I couldn’t agree with him more.

-MDM