A warning for when you level up

Couple of weeks ago, at the time of writing this, I met with my accountant and squared up my taxes. Since I had to pay more taxes this year than I had in previous years, it’s caused a sort of fight amongst my family:

For example, Peanut and I went over to my grandparents last weekend for dinner. And while I was in the basement helping my grandpa rearrange furniture, I overheard my grandma complaining about my high taxes.

She didn’t mean anything by it, I’m sure. But she seemed almost angry that I had to pay such a high bill to Uncle Sam, not because she disagrees with taxes, but because of the implication of it, i.e. that I must’ve made lots of money to get a high bill.

And it rubbed me the wrong way.

Now, don’t get this twisted:

My grandparents have been some of the most supportive people in my life. That’s why this was such a shock for me. But the unfortunate fact is this:

This is a common problem that happens as you level up. It’s the ole’ “crabs in a bucket” metaphor: As soon as one crab realizes he can climb out of the bucket, the others try to pull them down and bring them back to their level.

That metaphor’s great and all, but it doesn’t do being in the actual situation itself justice.

And that’s the moral of today’s story:

Be prepared for people, even your closest friends and family members, to be one of the many crabs in the bucket that try to pull you down as you escape.

And if you want help leveling up faster, so you can deal with the situation sooner rather than later, grab a time here, and let’s see if partnering together makes sense.

Capisce?

John