Why I'm Jealous of People Who Sleep at Night

I'm not jealous of the rich.

Not their cars.

Not their mansions.

(Ok, maybe first-class flights, but only because economy kills my knees.)

I'm jealous of people who don't want more.

You know the ones—that 9-5 crowd that doesn't care about side hustles or "building their personal brand." The ones who are perfectly content showing up, doing solid work, and going home to actually live their lives.

No 5-9 grind for them. (That's startup speak for working on your personal business after your corporate job, in case you're normal enough not to know.)

Sure, you could call it lack of ambition. But scratch beneath the surface, and you'll see something striking: pure self-awareness.

"I'm happy where I am. I don't need to start a business."

"I like my job. I don't want to be an entrepreneur."

"My time is for me, not my 'personal brand.'"

That's some rare clarity right there.

Meanwhile, here I am, writing this blog/newsletter (blewsletter, anyone?) at some ungodly hour. The drive to prove I can do something beyond the 9-5 gnaws at my head—not unlike those rats in our ancestral Indian home's attic, keeping their teeth sharp on wood and all.

And from this one desire sprouts an entire forest of questions:

• What am I doing?

• What should I be doing?

• Is there even a point to what I'm doing?

Dr. Strange, if you're out there, I could use a peek at the right timeline.

But that's precisely why I'm jealous.

Those 9-5ers aren’t partially awake at 2 AM, questioning their life choices while flicking between terrible Netflix, Prime, and Disney and thinking of writing a script that I would want to watch.

They have something money can’t buy: clarity of mind.

And with clarity comes happiness.

And with happiness comes peace.

And who doesn't want themselves a good helping of peace?