Why Entitlement Is Killing Your Potential (And What to Do About It).

AHMED ABUSHARBAIN

Why Entitlement Is Killing Your Potential (And What to Do About It).

From the Streets to the Stage: How Losing Early Gave Me Everything

I’ve been in the wireless game for decades. But long before I built my first store or sold a thousand phones a month, I was just a kid trying to survive.

Born in Saudi, raised in Dubai, one of nine siblings, life was loud and life was hard. My father didn’t have much, but he had values. He taught us to stand tall, work with our hands, and never ask for more than what we earned.

I sold T-shirts before I sold phones. Literally. At one point, I even sold my car and drove a van to New York just to stock up inventory. I didn’t know about profit margins or strategy. I just knew I had to hustle. Because nobody was coming to save me.

Adversity Was My Business Coach

I didn’t come from a trust fund. I didn’t have mentors or masterminds in the beginning. What I had was rejection. Closed doors. Empty bank accounts. I’ve opened stores and slept in the back. I’ve been down to my last dollar and still found a way to make payroll.

I remember once watching my last employee clock out while I stayed behind to clean the floor. That’s when I realized something:

The people who win in life are the ones who stop expecting someone else to fix it.

That’s what adversity teaches you. When you get knocked down enough times, you either stay down or you learn how to punch back with purpose.

Entitlement Is a Disease And It’s Spreading

Let’s be real for a minute: too many people today expect success to come easy. They think a logo and an Instagram page means they’re in business. They get mad when the world doesn’t hand them likes, leads, and Lambos.

But success doesn’t care about your feelings.

I’ve seen guys with $0 in their pocket change their entire lives just by outworking everyone. And I’ve seen folks born into comfort lose everything because they couldn’t take one hit. The difference? Hunger. That fire in your gut that refuses to give up.

Entitlement says “I deserve.” Adversity says “I’ll earn it.”

Perspective Is the Real Privilege

I once met a man who changed my life, not because he had money, but because he had perspective.

Topher was an ice cream seller with one leg. No handouts. No complaints. Just a cooler, a crutch, and a smile.

He didn’t ask for help. He just wanted to work. Rain or shine, he walked five miles a day on one leg to provide for his family. And he wasn’t bitter. He was grateful.

That man had more strength in one leg than some people have in their whole body.

So I gave him a job. Not out of pity, but out of respect. Because a character like that can’t be taught it’s forged in fire.

Stop Waiting. Start Building.

If you’ve been blessed with health, freedom, and even one good idea you’re already richer than most of the world.

Don’t waste it waiting for someone else to believe in you.

Nobody handed me a manual. I built one from scratch mistakes, bruises, and all.

So if you’re reading this and life feels unfair? Good.

Let it mold you. Let it wake you up. Let it push you harder than ever.

Because at the end of the day, adversity isn’t your enemy. It’s your edge.

You just have to use it.

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AHMED ABUSHARBAIN

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