Other people in their 30s: "Let’s invest into our new home."
Caesar in his 30s: "At my age, you had achieved so much more. Who will remember me?"
Julius Caesar, standing in front of a bust of Alexander the Great, suffering from the ultimate case of imposter syndrome. Alexander had conquered the Persian Empire, founded Alexandria, and was declared a living god by age 32. Caesar at the same age was still clawing his way up the Roman political ladder, deep in debt, and mocked by the optimates.
The irony, of course, is that Caesar would go on to conquer Gaul, defeat Pompey, cross the Rubicon, become dictator of Rome, and have his name become synonymous with imperial ambition for two millennia. But at the time? He was just a guy in his 30s staring at a bust and feeling inadequate.
Gorgocutie says: Even Julius Caesar had career anxiety in his 30s. Alexander conquered the known world before his prefrontal cortex was fully developed, and Caesar was sitting there thinking "I changed my name to dictator perpetuo and people still aren’t impressed." The lesson is that everyone’s timeline is different — though it helps if your timeline ends with being stabbed 23 times on the Senate floor.
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