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It Matters Not What Someone Is Born: In a world where opportunities and challenges are not equally distributed, this quote makes you question your limitations. Although it is unfair the way these opportunities are distributed, we all have a few of those amidst limitations. We can cling to these limitations as things that hold us back.

“It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be”

J.K.Rowling

Or, we can do the one thing which we can very well – FIGHT. In this article, we talk about this fight in a quote analysis. These are the famous words uttered by Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series. These words feature in the Harry Potter – Goblet of Fire book.

Meaning – It matters not what someone is born

Let’s focus on the meaning of – It matters not what someone is born -in the context of opportunities and challenges. Opportunities refer to the possibilities we are born with. Challenges indicate the resources we don’t have. In other words, there will never be a perfect combination of opportunities. We will have to work hard for what we want. That’s the only way we can achieve success.

No one has a complete mix of the two to achieve our dreams fully. There is always a missing piece. And everyone has to work hard! The true meaning of – it matters not what someone is born lies in the fact that we’re fully responsible for our aspirations irrespective of the limitations.

It also means that the justifications we give ourselves are pointless. It’s up to us to achieve our dreams and find a way amidst challenges.

It matters what they grow to be

We’ve seen so many privileged people with access to resources fail miserably. There are also examples of people who’ve worked beyond limitations to achieve their dreams. What is the difference between the two? If it was only the opportunities, there was no way for the underdogs to succeed.

I’m fascinated by how people move beyond their limitations to achieve their dreams. I agree that limitations are valid. But they can’t be an excuse. Excuses will always be available. To do justice to the quote – it matters not what someone is born with – we ought to think about our opportunities.

Limitations are a blocker, our best bet is to use and exploit our opportunities. Some possible groups of these opportunities are Talent, resources, imagination, capability, intelligence, IQ and EQ. It is always a great exercise to find out what your opportunities are. There are always two sets:

• Primary Opportunities that are available directly to you
• Secondary opportunities that you can leverage from your network

Both of these contribute to finding a way to achieve your goals.

Going beyond our challenges to grow what we want to become

It matters not what you’re born with – there must be a way to get what we want in life. These are your dreams and aspirations which are personal and of the highest value.

The first thing to do with these dreams is to break them down into realistic goals. Dreams have immense value in motivating you to make them a reality. Don’t let the dreams die in justifications of why you can’t achieve them. Instead, try to play to your advantage. Don’t fall into the trap which the majority of the population does.

The dream has chosen you for a reason and vice versa. Instead of finding all the reasons as to why you can’t be successful, find the opportunities you’re born with.