The underdog in a graduation gown.

“Just start it.”

“I can’t”

“Why not?”

“I’m too busy.”

“When in the next 10 years

are you not going to be too busy?”

It’s 2015. I’m at dinner. With a couple of my most ‘grown up’ friends. They are drinking mature wine from expensive glasses. I’m drinking sparkling water, laced with an exotic sounding flower.

I always feel elevated after seeing them. Taller. More upright. Like an air of adultness and achievement has been absorbed. Smarter and more refined. By osmosis. And association.

Both great humans. And accomplished senior leaders, with MBAs. He’s asking me when I’m going to start mine. I’m justifying why I can’t:

“You don’t understand. I work full-time, have only one income, rent and multiple mortgages. My job is stressful. And I want a social life.”

He knew I was stalling. They knew I was ready.

I believed I never would be.

You see I’d never been to uni. I turned down multiple places for other priorities - primarily promotions and pilgrimages.

This wasn’t just imposter syndrome. This was genuine fear.

That I couldn’t do it.

Because. People like me don’t end up with lives that look like theirs.

The underdog.

With not much of a bark. And barely any bite.

I’ve always rooted for the underdog. A small child with an over-sense of responsibility. Excessive need to care. To protect. To look after. To see the cold person, in the training room (H2BH 015/365).

As captain of numerous sports teams I’d pick the people no one else wanted. The boy with the asthma pump and eczema cream. The girl with too much weight, dandruffed hair. And awkward gait.

I saw in them, what I felt the world thought of me.

It’s never really changed. Influences all aspects of who I am, how I live. The way I lead. The groceries I purchase. Why I choose the odd bunch - visually imperfect vegetables that dream of being tasted. Not wasted.

Unsurprisingly, I dedicated my career to being of use and service. To those most in need. To those who lost their voice. Or never had one.

I chose to fight for the ones that weren’t ever meant to win. Ensuring they’d have at least one chance to start the race.

Research shows underdog leaders outperform traditional leaders 64% of the time. Building connection and loyalty through shared struggle. Harvard Business Review found teams led by self-identified underdogs show 23% higher engagement and 3x more innovation. Creating competitive advantage. From disadvantage.

That dinner changed my trajectory. My friends changed my mind. Going to uni at 40, changed my life.

Three years later I experienced my first graduation. For two post graduate qualifications. The one person without an undergraduate degree, receiving a High Distinction, MBA.

An imposter who forgot to stay scared. Or in her lane.

I still pick the underdogs. Buy misshapen mandarins. Fight for the voices that were never supposed to speak. Because I finally understood what my grown-up friends were trying to tell me:

We're all too busy. Unqualified for the life we want. Winging it. Waiting to be the kind of people who deserves it.

But.

The difference between underdogs and top dogs isn't pedigree.

It's having the courage to take the first bite.

H2BH 036/365