When I was a kid I always wondered why everyone wasn't rich. It just seems like the ideal position to be in life doesn't it. You want for nothing, a state of exchanging your talents for monetary benefit.

As I mature in age I asked myself the same question again. Why is it that a disproportionate amount of people are poor. Why is that a disproportionate amount of people are fat. Why is that a disproportionate amount of people get the attention of the opposite sex.

Well, with as much certainty I can say with 20 years of life, it comes down to one word.

Effort.

See, it took effort for the scrawny 18 year old me to become the muscle bound man I am today. It took effort to put myself through countless embarrassing situations to then plug the asses of model tier women. It took effort for me to gather the savings that is respectable for a man of my age.

It is human conditioning to not stretch ourselves beyond what we are capable of today. But weirdly enough, our human nature is to reach for the skies. This disconnect is what usually breeds discontent in ourselves.

But still it didn't answer the question of why there was a disproportion between winners and mediocre losers. If it was just about effort, why doesn't everyone just do it?

Well it's very simple.

It's easier to take the effortless route.

It's easier to lose yourself in drugs than it is to cope with life.

It's easier to steal what you want than it is to earn it.

It's easier to beat a child than it is to raise it.

It's easier to be who you are today than it is to learn how to fail. Learning how to get up. Learning how to keep going. And most importantly, repeating that process.

Now as the world starts to kick back into gear, you'll start to notice everything going back to "usual". You'll notice most people will have a bit of cash "saved" from the lack of expenses they garnered from staying home. And you'll notice in how much of a rush they are to spend it on useless, depreciating shit.

I'm not saying I'm exempt from taking the easier route on multiple occasions. But I can say with surety that the results I got from it were extremely temporary. They added no value to my life. And I am also very sure I will never do it again.

So as you get back into the world, be conscious of whether you are just going through the motions or whether you are putting genuine effort into the betterment of yourself. Will the time/money you invest in something give exponential return in value to your life. Or are you just skimming through the moments where you could have learned much more about yourself. And if you are genuine to yourself, you'll realise how much of your focus earning your future self requires.

That is true effort.