Them vs. Us

I've been into self-development for a number of years now.  It all started when I was 18 years old.  I was a freshman at Wake Forest and pursued an internship with a painting company.  I would be in charge of a complete section of my state and head all sorts of different teams to go on painting jobs.  I saw all the money I could have made and all the successful "business men" that also did the same and I was pretty motivated to do well.  That lasted for a few months until I didn't make enough money for the company to stay on.  That really sparked a lighter inside of me to become successful, particularly in my career.  After that experience I went to the library and stumbled upon a book by Tony Robbins called Personal Power.  It was groundbreaking to me.  From then on, I went on a personal journey to better my life.  I started reading all sorts of different books on business, entrepreneurship and money.  I then moved on to different books on health, spirituality and general happiness.

Those books really played a huge role in who I am today.  It put my on a great path in life and I wouldn't be where I am now without them.  I also started to surround myself with other people that were into self development, entrepreneurship, and bettering ones life.  At first it was great to be around them and to some extent, it still is.  To be around the motivated, positive, action-oriented people only gets your motors running to be the same.

Then I started to realize that these type of people tend to be elitist.  They think since they've read all these books and are taking the steps to "better their life" that they are better than anyone who is not.  They'll point their fingers at those who aren't doing the same thinking they aren't on the same level as them.  So although it has been great working on myself and being involved with self development, I try to remind myself that it is  simply a different path than many others, not a "better" path.  I'm going to try my best not to see myself as better than anyone else because of my path in life.