That Moment When You Realize You’re Not The Unicorn You Thought You Were

When we were little princes and princesses, mommy and daddy told us that we were special—that we were different—and that praise continued as we entered grade school. As it manifested itself into cushions for our egos, we understood that we added something more to the world and that the imprint we left on whatever we touched would make that thing that much better because we were unique. Well, I hope I’m not bursting anyone’s bubble, but that’s not necessarily true. But there are ways to sort this out.

I was one of those people who felt like the proverbial unicorn—like what I had to offer the world was somehow different than whatever the over 300 million people in America (and even more overseas) had to offer. Just like your fellow writers, you believe you are the voice of your generation, or like your fellow politically savvy peers, you’ll change the face of politics and be the next minority to lead this great nation, whether ethnically different or as a female or transgender. Musicians, models and artists are a dime a dozen and MBA holders aspire to be the next mega business mogul. So what makes you different? Your work ethic.

Not everyone has what it takes to actually stand out. An exorbitant number of people waste their talents away everyday knowing they can do more but don’t do anything about it. They believe their dreams wont really come true and that that lasting impact they were so sure they could make on the world is probably a made up fantasy so they just move on to the next simple thing. I wouldn’t call them lazy, the real world is just really big…and scary…and hard!

We’ve all heard the quote “Nothing worth having comes easy” or Teddy Roosevelt’s “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty.” And that’s where you come in.It will take long hours and sacrifice and people will come in and out of your life; but not everyone has what it takes to withstand the stresses that come with being a “unicorn.” And if standing out and making a name for yourself is what you really aim to do, then do that. Be a sponge. Gain more experiences. Make the right connections. Map out a plan and focus on your goal because you’re not the only one with a clever business idea, or who can lead, compute, build, write or create.

This article, "Why Generation Y Yuppies Are Unhappy," spells it all out for the unicorns of our generation. I might’ve sent it to everyone in my contacts. Great read!