The Internet has generated one huge machine to press upon every self-doubt I have. Any small victory looks paltry when compared against the people I think are great, who are all the more greater as time goes on and it’s easier and easier to be exposed to the true Rockstars. We are all surrounded by the best of the best of the best at what they do, or at least, people who are very good at promoting that version of themselves.

Too few of us, myself included, will ever be that kind of rockstar. I am not going to be one of the top 100 or even top 10,000 people in the world at anything I try to do. There are too many people, too much brilliance to hope for that. I am old enough and exposed enough to know I don’t shine that bright. Honestly, I’m mostly fine with that, though I can imagine how much healthier my self image would be if my world was smaller, even as I would be so much poorer for not knowing what else there was.

That’s why it’s so powerful when someone else truly believes in you. I will not be a rockstar. I’m not a rockstar. I have little hope of being a rockstar. I see that completely and objectively. But having someone in your life who sees that in you, who believes that potential exists but for luck and opportunity, is still so powerful. On the surface, I might believe the are delusional or exaggerating. But in my heart, it makes me wish I could prove them right.

I am better, because I have other people who truly believe in me, people I treasure and respect. It makes me want to be who they see and pushes me farther than I could go on my own.