18 People Answer The Question, ‘What Is The Most Unfair Advantage A Person Can Have?’
By hoK leahciM
3. Ivan Mazour
Not needing a lot of sleep.
This is a genuine, and unfair advantage, since it is almost entirely genetic, and not based around lifestyle or nutrition. Some people (Margaret Thatcher, Napoleon, etc) were able to function very effectively on just 4 hours of sleep, leaving them 20 hours in the day to be productive. Others need 8 hours just to feel normal, and that is 4 hours that they fall behind every single day, with no way of changing that.
It’s easy nowadays to use all sorts of efficiency methods and systems to help you get more done in the day, but as you push this further you inevitably hit a limit where you are as productive as you can possibly be. Unnecessary work is delegated out to either people or technology, and you are left doing just that which requires your personal input. It’s at that point that the extra 4 hours become a fundamental unfair advantage.
4. Andy Warwick
Energy.
Some people have higher natural levels of energy than others, and it’s no coincidence that such people are often high achievers. Those of us who are more laid-back or innately lethargic tend to progress more slowly.
When I was at university I used to go swimming three times a week, play squash twice a week and go to 5-a-side football once a week. Despite all this exercise I never truly got fit and the football absolutely killed me. As a natural sloth, I’ve always had to bust my arse to maintain even a basic level of fitness and find even short bursts of only a little energy quite draining. My mate Kev on the other hand was one of those fortunate people with high default levels of fitness. Although he was a big-drinking chain smoker who did no other exercise than that one hour of football, he could turn up and run rings around us without breaking a sweat. My current boss is similar. He is training for a 75km run in Kenya and hits the gym every morning before pulling ten-hour days at the office. He zips around like he’s got an IV of Red Bull permanently pumping him full of caffeine, checking off tasks and attending meetings – throughout which he is always alert and contributing – about a whole range of projects without a moments rest. He often skips lunch too. Myself, I get exhausted just watching.
I’m sure you all know people like this, those annoying ones who need little sleep and have seemingly boundless physical and mental energy. It’s your coworker who studies for an MA, plays in weekend sports leagues, learns a language, reads a book a week and still has time when they get home to cook, help the kids with the homework and work on the car. I hate these people. They are able to squeeze so much more into their days. They get up earlier and go to bed later, and in the meantime work so effortlessly that they don’t get tired. They have the endurance to outlast everyone else and the energy and focus to be more productive, thus they tend to advance more quickly through the ranks.