It’s human nature to want to compare ourselves to others. That goes for just about anything, from business to sports, personal accomplishments and even our own happiness. The reality is, someone will always “have it better” than you. We would do well to heed the old adage, “Don’t measure yourself using someone else’s ruler.”

Everyone has gifts, but they cost us something. Think of those athletes who are dominant in their sport, and then imagine the sacrifice they have made, along with their families, to get there. Many of them started training in the single-digit years and devoted countless hours to their sport to get to that level. To me, balance is important.

This morning, I was talking to a long-term friend who has done reasonably well in business, but where he really exceeds is being a leader in his city on a public platform. This is his gift ,and when you add up his business accomplishments and his civic accomplishments, it equals three and not just two. It reminded me that the most important thing is to make the world a bit better place than we found it. It’s sometimes a daily challenge.