Grass is always greener from the other side of the fence

Day before yesterday I was in a conversation with my best friend and I came across a really different experience which he shared. He belonged to a business family, his father was the one to keep the foundation stones of the business. Like any other boy born with a silver spoon in mouth, he was constantly teased and questioned by all of his friends, that why was he even pursuing his graduation. He even shared one of his experiences at school, where at a Parent Teacher meeting one of his classmate’s father blamed him as a bad influence and also mentioned that life is way easier for him because he has his father’s business to pursue. Whereas being the son of a serviceman the classmate does not have an easy way out, life is way tougher for his classmate. That very day he saw his father cry which was quite disheartening for him and it would have been for any of us as well.

After his graduation when he joined his family business he faced various different kind of challenges, his father had a different level of expectations from him, the society expected way too much from him and even his friends used to mock him because he could not chill out with them like before. His father expected that he will grow the business. The society always compared him to his father and expected him to even outshine his father.

At such a tender age he had the pressure of surviving and maintaining his family business, the pressure to prove himself and his father that he is worthy enough to carry forward his legacy & pressure to survive in this competitive world which is so dynamic and challenging. He did not have the scope or privilege of making mistakes he just had one chance it was a make or a break for him since first day in his office.

This conversation with him taught me that grass is always greener from the other side, even continuing a family business is not an easy task. The new lad joining the business could always shrink it or probably defame his family’s name in front of the world if he is unable to handle it properly. Considering such people, as only being dependent upon their father is also wrong because even though they get convenient entry and access to a well-established revenue-generating model they are the ones who maintain and flourish it further. Like any other parent, even their parents can only show them the path moving on the path in the correct manner is entirely on them.  Setting up a career is tough for them too, they certainly get a head start but that head start comes with the opportunity cost of societal pressure which is many folds more than what other people would experience. Like one has said that it is not easy to attain the first position but it’s even tougher to stand there and maintain that position.