Number 2 Ain't Shit
Forgive my words. I’m a native Aussie, and I sometimes like to indulge in the odd bout of colorful language.
We swear differently Down Under.
It’s less angry and unlike in the US, it is considered largely inoffensive. There is a certain playful naturalness to the Aussie curse word, and it’s often utilized in common vernacular.
I was recently connected to a young and brilliant Korean born, Los Angeles based, healthcare executive.
He had, over an already illustrious career, led international teams in building out global hospital systems and reproductive health clinics. He was a rockstar COO, widely respected by his industry peers who had recently pivoted on a dime, and, together with his network introduced partner, were fully focused on building a regional home health and hospice provider network with leading hospital-at-home sensibility.
As we exchanged niceties and talked of our professional and personal backgrounds, he related a story about his business mentor, who had been a formative and life changing influence to him over many years.
His advisor had once told him, “Marc, you are the best number two that I have known, but you make a terrible number one!”
He said that at the time, he had been offended by the remark. It was only later in his career that he began to appreciate her comment. Since then, he had embraced this reality and rapidly advanced in his career trajectory.
Everyone has their intrinsically valuable role to play.
It’s not important whether we are a number one or a number two, as long as we don’t let our talents go to waste and be flushed away