The Art of the Hustle 2 (Complete)

Chapter Forty-Six

Trevor sat with Dr. Chang discussing his past.

"I was asked in an interview once if I could go back in time and give myself advice, what would I say. I hadn't really thought about it, but when asked I said, I wouldn't change a thing because I like how my life turned out. But upon further reflection, the answer I gave presupposes that this version of my life is the best version, which it may not be. If I gave myself advice, there is a chance I could make my life better.

"So what advice would you give your younger self?"

"I would tell myself to be kinder to others. I remember saying and doing some not-so-kind things to people, and that was unnecessary. I think I could still have a happy life while being nicer to people."

"How were you unkind to people?"

"You know, just saying offensive comments to get a reaction out of them. I once rented an apartment in which I didn't own to a kid. I'm not sure how that played out for the kid, if he got evicted or forced to move, but that always stuck with me. Even though I was desperate, I shouldn't have done that."

"Let's go back to the first thing you said. You would say offensive comments to people to get a reaction out of them. Why do you think you did that?"

"I was looking for was authenticity. I felt everyone around me was always so fake and putting on an act. We are told to behave a certain way in public, speak with a certain inflection, and not say certain things. I never liked that. Show me who you really are. Tell me what's really on your mind. So when I would say something offensive, it would catch people off guard, it would challenge them, and in that brief moment I could see them for who they really are."

"Okay, so being kinder to others. What else?"

"I wished I was more open minded as a teenager. I grew up in a small town surrounded by very ignorant people. I didn't grow up with the internet so access to information wasn't so readily available. I grew up with a very narrow perspective of the world."

"How could you have changed that?"

"I guess read more," Trevor responded. "I wished I was more positive too," he added. I harboured a lot of anger, bitterness, and resentment that eventually went away when I became successful and more mature. But growing up, I had a lot of angst."

"That's a very common feeling to have," Dr. Chang said. "Often children feel very powerless and that their opinions don't matter or their voices are not heard. To combat this, they often act out or seek attention in unproductive ways."

"I agree with you, and to add to your point. I would often compare myself to others. Some other kids I went to school with seemingly had better lives than me — more money, nicer parents, better family, and overall had a happier childhood. I remember feeling like an outcast most of my life. I felt I was different."

"You are different. But different is good. It's just hard to recognize that as a kid."

"Yeah."

"Is there anything else you would change?"

"I would tell myself not to care so much about what people think of me."

"Do you think your younger self would have listened?"

"I'm not sure. I recognize now that when you're in high school, reputation is everything. So I'm not sure if I could have avoided that, especially when I wasn't confident with many aspects of myself."

"What aspects of yourself were you not confident?"

"I was skinny, short, pale, soft spoken, didn't have nice clothes, no car, no money..."