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When Jealousy and Envy turn into Growth and Learning

By now, you should know me.

You should know that I love everyone and everything — and that I’ll find good in every “evil” I face.

Well... evil — that’s just a point of view, isn’t it?
We might see something as evil, while someone else sees it as the greatest gift.
But that’s a story for another newsletter.

As I was saying: you know me.
You know I’ll turn the most disturbing thing into an advantage.

I’ve never read Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson.
It literally dropped into my life like a ton of bricks two days ago. I’ve only read the preface, but I’ll get to it soon.
Still — somehow, I’ve always been adaptative like that, long before I ever heard of that book. The few lines I read inspired me to write this post.

No matter where I go, what I do — even if I fall into the deepest pit — I always end up back on my feet.
That’s why my father calls me “The Cat.”
He thinks I have 9 lives.
If he only knew... I think I’ve had 37 so far, and I’m not done.

Every now and then, something happens, and I choose to be reborn with new knowledge.
Call it adaptation, determination, willpower, persistence, resilience —
I call it Faith.

I don’t have any religious affiliation.
I have Faith that something bigger than us — something that links all of us — always has something in store, if we make the right choices.
And even if we don’t, the opportunities to do better are always there.

Like Shania Twain sings in UP! —

"It can only go up from here."

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Lately, I wasn’t down. I wasn’t depressed.
I’ve actually been in one of the best phases of my life:
I just published my book.
My business is picking up again.
We’re moving into a new house.
You know… when everything just falls into place?

Well — that’s when you have to be careful with your thoughts.

Because I started to believe I was “the shit.”

And then... reality.
A few weeks after launching the book, I realized it wasn’t selling much.
I didn’t expect it to be that hard.

I asked for an answer.
But I didn’t really listen.
I jumped into posting everywhere, hoping people would discover the book and start buying it.

All I got were offers — from all kinds of “book marketing experts.”
You know the ones.

So one morning, I asked to clear the fog.
I asked for just one person to show up — someone who would truly resonate with me.

And I got my answer.
Just... not the one I was expecting.

---

I was scrolling through social media and saw an ad.
A French-Canadian author/coach/speaker.
Exactly what I want to become.

It hit me on a strange frequency.
Jealousy. Envy.
I couldn’t define it at the time.
Or maybe I just didn’t want to admit it.

This guy had it all —
Successful platforms, thousands of students, hundreds of conferences under his belt.

And I’m still human.
Of course I wanted all of that.
I still do.

So... I bought two tickets to his conference in my hometown.
My wife and I went on a Thursday night.

I liked it.
I wanted to love it... but I couldn’t.
I wanted to learn from him, yes — but I wasn’t truly interested in him yet.

Still, I registered for a call.
I knew it would be a sales pitch for his coaching, and I had no intention of joining.
I just wanted to talk. To see if we might collaborate somehow.

The call was five days away.
And those five days gave me clarity.

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At some point, I realized it:
I was jealous of him.

That emotion — one I’ve battled all my life — had crept back in.
Impostor syndrome.
That old beast came back that day.

But once I named it, I kicked it right out.

How?
By counting my blessings.
Counting my wins.
Looking around me.
And remembering how those 37 lives brought me here.

Then came the call.

And what a guy.

I was intimidated by his success at first.
I’m still in awe — but I’m not intimidated anymore.

We had a great conversation.
And since he’s already doing what I want to do — and doing it well —
I decided to enroll in his course.

---

I start next week.
And I’ve already learned something.
More about me.
More about my relationship with success — and with successful people.

I’m growing.

So starting Monday, you’ll meet the 38th version of me.
I hope you enjoy it.

And if you don’t?

Well — are you going to try to turn this around, or unsubscribe?

I hope it won’t be the latter.
But either way... I’ll adapt.

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