{"id":16663,"date":"2020-09-19T00:48:45","date_gmt":"2020-09-19T00:48:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qryptonyght.com\/?p=16663"},"modified":"2020-09-19T00:53:08","modified_gmt":"2020-09-19T00:53:08","slug":"villain-or-victim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qryptonyght.com\/de\/villain-or-victim\/","title":{"rendered":"Villain or Victim?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Is it ok for me to get into the same line of business as my friend?<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Imagine that Jack and Andrew have been friends for years. Jack has always been a chef with his own moderately successful catering business. Andrew, an office manager, has always had a knack for cooking and suddenly decides that he wants a career change. He decides to go to culinary school and becomes a successful and much sought-after chef. Did Andrew do something that can mean the end of a good friendship with Jack?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m always a bit annoyed and critical of someone who copies something I did, my thought is – where is their originality?<\/em> If on the other hand, they told me they liked what I did and wanted to try it, I would happily help them get it done while eliminating any mistakes I had made. That\u2019s a little weird right? You would think so, but there is a quote of seeming unknown origin that says \u201cGood artists copy; great artists steal\u201d; <\/em>meaning that a copycat duplicates what you did but someone who improves on what you did owns <\/em>it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Its human nature to be a little miffed yet a little flattered at being copied. \u00a0<\/em>I had a conversation about this with a friend today and he had an interesting take on it. He said if I had grown up with younger siblings, I would have had a more practical sense of how we all learn from each other. His younger siblings aped what he did all the time because they were impressed by their older brother and looked up to him, in some instances they even copied the mistakes he made!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What\u2019s your take on whether it is socially acceptable to date your friend\u2019s ex?<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m a romantic at heart, so I believe everyone owes it to themselves to wholeheartedly pursue love. That being the case, I have no beef with anyone who wants to date my ex, why would I? if that\u2019s my ex then it means he wasn\u2019t happy with me or I wasn\u2019t happy with him! Of course, it could also mean we were miserable together, so we agreed to go our separate ways. How would it benefit me if I prevented him from finding happiness with someone else? That is obviously a rhetorical question, I gather some would get immense satisfaction out of knowing that their ex is miserable!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve been party to this type of scenario at some point. You were either the villain or the victim. I\u2019m somehow quite magnanimous when I\u2019m the \u2018victim\u2019 but although I think of myself as a bit of a rebel when it comes to following the rules, I feel uncomfortable being the villain. A friend once told me that she won’t care if I had a casual relationship with her ex, but later she told me she was still in love with him! This taught me that it is perhaps best not to get involved with a friend\u2019s ex. Walk away if you value your friendship.<\/p>\n\n\n

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It is always best to think of how our actions will affect others<\/em><\/strong>.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, this is easier said than done! In the first scenario, you may focus on expanding the scope of the service or product your friend offers and hence, feel comfortable that you are not doing the same thing. The problem is, your friend may not have the same view! They may see you as being in direct competition with them for the same target market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The alternative then is to offer helpful advice and try to steer your friend in the direction you would have taken to make the business more successful. Of course, if you\u2019re an overbearing know-it-all like I am, your friend may not see your vision and may choose to ignore your helpful advice…. bummer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the second scenario, your level of care for how your action may affect others will depend on variables like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n