Rahul Singh

It’s not often said, but most success, as society defines it, stems from some level of insecurity.

Insecurity is a powerful motivator, driving individuals to keep pushing themselves and others every day. It can originate from childhood, becoming a permanent part of us, or develop in adulthood, typically in a more temporary form.

Children raised in perfectly healthy environments, with no apparent gaps, are less likely to experience deep insecurity. For them, the status quo is comfortable. Why wouldn’t it be when their experiences haven’t triggered any insecurity?

Substantial success—whether in wealth or status—requires breaking the status quo. By definition, achieving status necessitates change. Making significant money involves innovation, finding opportunities, and altering the existing market landscape—all forms of challenging the status quo.

As adults who have achieved some level of success, we often rationalize our childhood experiences, seeing our families as “perfect.” But in many cases, we’re simply justifying the gaps we choose to overlook—and that’s okay. Why dwell on blaming our circumstances?

This mindset is echoed in countless quotes from successful people. None of them advocate for blaming circumstances or complaining. Instead, they express immense gratitude and a forgiving attitude toward their environments, whatever those may have been.

In the startup world, where I’ve encountered many founders as one myself, I’ve noticed that most successful ones are driven by insecurity. Those who don’t seem insecure are likely just better at concealing it.

Insecurity can arise from being a loner in school, financial struggles, poor relationships with parents, difficulty making friends, witnessing family hardships, academic failures, or a lack of attention from the opposite sex. The list is endless.

For me, it was poor academic performance and not getting enough attention. These insecurities pushed me to do things differently—sometimes just for the sake of standing out. And it worked for me! This created a loop of positive reinforcement which led me to do so many other things in life.

If everyone in my college hostel had been starting businesses in 2014, I wouldn’t have done it. I did it purely for the attention it brought.

Over time, I grew to love building things, creating products and services that people enjoy. But even today, much of what I do is driven by a desire to be different. I can tone it down when necessary, but I don’t think it will ever completely go away.

Sometimes it works in my favour, and other times, I look foolish.

But I guess that’s the nature of our insecurities.