Embrace being the bad person

"It's better to be an a**hole earlier than to have to be an a**hole later."

Somewhere inside of us, we all have some traits of an asshole. Depending on certain situations and circumstances, you may seem like more of an asshole. And that's okay.

It is extremely liberating to admit that yes, we are assholes. At the core of humanity, we are all sinners, the religious would say. We are just inherently flawed people, trying to do good. That is a firm but fair asshole. Remember, being an asshole doesn't mean you don't have to be kind. No, quite the opposite. Be kind, uphold strong values and it is because of your integrity to uphold such values, you can often be seen as an asshole.

"Nice guys finish last." These words "nice" and "asshole" are often misinterpreted. 'Nice' is a neutral word. I say this because I have been that 'nice' person too. 'Nice' is often the smiling mask one puts on to live in a state of neutrality. "I don't want conflict of any sort so I will be polite and nice." As such, people may walk all over you and you will still stay smiling, finish last and then complain about it to the world. Rinse and repeat. No.

Have a goal. Quadruple check the goal. Be solution oriented towards your goal. Be relentless. Everything else will come. That means you must be prepared for conflict, negativity and rejection. You must be prepared to make mistakes and fail and embrace all the good AND the bad that comes with it.

In order to help others, you must be able to help yourself first. You have to take care of yourself first. Many take care of others because they cannot truly take care of themselves, so they feel better about taking care of others. I'm all for helping others, that is my passion and the purpose of my career. However, you must balance this with having yourself in order too. That means you have to be an "asshole" too. Be clear, be concise and decisive. Noone is just the hero or just the villain.