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Timshel

·2 mins

‘East of Eden’ by John Steinbeck is one of my favourite recent reads.

It’s part biblical allegory, and part love letter to California and the American Dream.

Halfway in the book, you have two leads talking about the story of ‘Cain and Abel’ from the Bible. They’re specifically discussing one sentence in the bible. The sentence in question is one that is written differently in three different bibles. The variations are:

  1. Thou will conquer thy sins
  2. Do thou conquer thy sins
  3. Thou mayest conquer thy sins

The first one says one is pre-ordained, i.e. destined, to conquer their sins. It is inevitable. One can not fail.

The second says one is ordered to conquer their sins. There’s a higher authority demanding you conquer your sins.

The third says you may conquer them, if you choose to.

I believe every person thinks about their career in one of these three buckets. Some believe they’re destined for greatness. They will work hard and fear no failure because they inherently believe they’ll win at the end. There’s a confidence which is hard to understand for the others.

The second type believe the only way to live in this world is to grow grow grow. These are the ones who complain about capitalism and about how much they hate mondays. Like they do not have control over their lives. They have been ordered by the universe to live in this one way and no others.

The third type knows that it is a choice one can make. You can choose to chase success, to conquer the world. Alternatively, you can find your own path. The world is malleable and bends to your will. You can live your life the way you want to. No one can control or force you to do anything.

When it comes to entrepreneurship and life in general, the first and the third tend to be happiest. The second not so much. The first type has some level of delusion, but it is a helpful trait. They are happy because they know they will succeed. And because they know that, they also define whatever they achieve as success. The third one feel in control of their lives and accept life’s challenges with willingness and purpose.

I believe most of us are not type 1. We’re either type 2 or type 3. If we truly want to be happy, it’s better to mold ourselves into type 3. Remind ourselves that we may do what we want, as long as we care to do it. Timshel.