One unfortunate aspect of human nature is that we tend to look at other people and say: “he’s more successful, luckier, smarter, better looking, more popular, and has more money than me.”  Ambitious, driven people are particularly prone to this mindset.  For years, I myself have looked at other young authors and have been secretly jealous of them.  This person got a book deal for $300K and had her first novel published at twenty-four.  That one got to promote his book on Oprah.  And so on and so forth.

Then, this week, I met someone who admitted that she was jealous of ME.  She said that she envied me because I became a published author at such a young age and as a result was able to shape my career around the things I felt passionate about.  She thought I promoted myself and my work effortlessly, and that when I lectured to an audience, I sounded like I had it all together.

Now, from my perspective, the transition from full-time marketing communications professional to author and public speaker has been anything but easy.  I’ve been turned down by New York publishers so many times I’ve often doubted my own ability.  I worry constantly about whether I really have what it takes to survive in my new industry.  I try very hard to do what I do well, but that’s not always enough.  I have setbacks.  I fail.

My point is that the old cliché is true – the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence. You may think the charming, upwardly-mobile senior executive who works in your department has the best life on earth, but you’ll never really know what it’s like to be in his shoes.  He surely has his own set of problems and insecurities.  So instead of being jealous of him, look for ways to improve your own situation, since, in the end, that’s the only one that matters.