What did you have for breakfast?

According to every WhatsApp forward ever, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Therefore it is only logical that I spend 700 words discussing the same . Lets take a sample He and She to see the impact of their breakfast routines on their respective lives.

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He complains a lot but He is gainfully employed. That is after all what he has been working all his life towards. The stability. The predictability. But as with everything, desire kicks in and the want for something bigger and better sets in. Something shinier. He wanted it bad. After a long time, he felt the drive to work for something.

But it didn’t work out. The opportunity fizzled out. They said he wasn’t a good fit. He was dejected, after a long time. Felt the full brunt of not getting something he wanted. Goes without saying that for the entire day and the weeks that followed were full of self-wallowing and self-pity with a topping of angst. "How can life be so difficult? Is wanting more in life so wrong? How does one go back to a life of stability?" were the questions he was left to ponder with

Oh and almost forgot, he had Chocos and milk for breakfast that day

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She is the makeup artist you know, the freelance photographer you follow, the one-person fashion brand you negotiate with, the freelance stylist that you might be aware of, the social media hustler you admire, or the independent digital marketing expert whose reels you like.

She is many of this, all of this but definitely not gainfully employed. No recurring or steady source of income. She takes things one day at a time, not because of philosophy but because thinking beyond that only gives anxiety.

She is obsessed with the craft, apologetic about earning money, and ultimately abused/exploited by customers. She wants to quit but hopes for change. She needs more money but gets more joy from looking at that finished dress or photo or customer review one more time than her bank balance.

She spends thousands making the reel that she cannot afford and spends hours coming up with content for a post that no one is going to see and creates something flawless for a customer who isn’t going to appreciate it.

She is going to send a proposal today that is going to be deemed expensive or inexperienced by a potential customer. She is going to discuss a 50% discount on an already at cost proposal because of “limited budget”.

She is going to continue submitting these proposals while making content to stay relevant in a platform driven by an algorithm that actively disincentivizes because “no boobs”. She is going to continue to make content in the hope of getting further visibility and getting what could be termed as “gainful employment” in either studios, brands, or agencies.

His lowest base is her highest aspiration, while her daily fulfillment level is higher than his lifelong level. When every day is a struggle how does one get the strength to move, forget fighting. Her horizon of opportunities and income is at a daily and weekly level with an ocean of rebuffs behind her and another ocean in front of her.

On a typical day - she wakes up, follows up with the 7 active possible opportunities that might convert, execute on the one opportunity planned for the day(for things like food and rent), deals with customers coming back with requests for discount and shitty work, comes to term with the fact that one needs to improve the pipeline for next week to ensure that there is coverage for food and rent next week. All this for doing the thing one loves.

Oh and almost forgot, she has rejection for breakfast on a typical day

Remember, Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.