You Can't Grow Mangoes in Minnesota

We can’t do everything, but that’s ok. We can still do something.

"Compare and despair." When we compare ourselves with others, it is so easy for us to despair. 

When I read the bios of the Rhodes Scholars, I think, "Who are these people? Were they grown in a lab?"

While comparison with others can be dangerous, the economic concept of "comparative advantage" can be freeing. 

Even if a Rhodes Scholar can do just about everything better than I can, I can focus on my strengths — and we can all be better off.

It would be silly to try to grow mangoes in Minnesota. Perhaps you could do it with an elaborate greenhouse, but it makes more sense to import them from the topics — or eat apples.

We don't have to be the best in the world. We don't have to do it all. We can find our niches where we are comparatively quite good.

The sooner we get our mangoes from somewhere else and focus on developing what we can share with the world, the sweeter life will be.