What I Should have done When I was YOUNG

I didn't have an end goal in mind so i kept on running around in cycles, seeing the same face, trees and smiles more than twice..

When I was young, I wanted to be successful. That’s all I said. Nothing more, nothing less.

“I want to be successful,” I told my teachers, my parents, my friends—whoever asked. It sounded ambitious, almost poetic. The problem? I never really defined what success meant. At first, I thought success meant getting good grades. So I studied hard, aced my exams, and walked across the graduation stage with a smile. But as I looked at the certificate in my hands, I felt nothing. Was this it? Was I successful now?

Then, I thought success meant making money. So I took the first job that promised a fat paycheck. Long hours, endless meetings, a desk near a window that overlooked a city I barely got to enjoy. My bank account grew, but my soul shrank. I had money, but I wasn’t happy. Wasn’t success supposed to feel good?

Then, I thought success meant being admired. So I tried to impress people. I wore expensive clothes, shared only the best parts of my life online, and surrounded myself with people who clapped whenever I spoke. But late at night, when the applause faded and the screens went dark, I felt lonelier than ever. One day, I sat alone in my small apartment, staring at the ceiling, and a simple, painful thought hit me:

I never told life what I really wanted.

I wished I had been specific when I was young.

Maybe if I had said, “I want to be a writer who tells stories that touch people’s hearts,” I wouldn’t have wasted years chasing things that didn’t matter to me. Maybe if I had said, “I want to travel and experience different cultures,” I would have spent more time seeing the world instead of seeing numbers on a screen.

Maybe if I had said, “I want to live a life full of love, adventure, and purpose,” I wouldn’t have settled for things that only looked like success from the outside. Now, I understand. Life gives you what you ask for—but only if you ask for it clearly.

So today, I start again. And this time, I won’t just say I want to be successful. This time, I’ll be specific

Thank you for reading! Let's read to lead.