NFA Finance

The Older I Get, the More I Understand the Villains

When I was younger, every story seemed simple.

There were heroes.

There were villains.

And you always knew which side you were supposed to be on.

The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve realized life isn’t that black and white.

I’ve found myself paying less attention to what made someone a villain and more attention to what made them become one.

Think about it.

Many of the greatest villains weren’t born evil.

They were shaped by pain.

By loss.

By betrayal.

By fear.

Magneto lived through unimaginable trauma.

Mr. Freeze was trying to save the woman he loved.

Killmonger grew up feeling abandoned.

Darth Vader was consumed by the fear of losing the people he cared about most.

None of that excuses the choices they made.

But it reminds us that every person has a story.

The older I get, the less interested I am in judging people by their worst decision and the more interested I am in understanding what happened before they made it.

I’ve seen that in business.

Some of the toughest people I’ve ever met weren’t born that way.

They were lied to.

Taken advantage of.

Burned by partners.

Betrayed by people they trusted.

Again, it doesn’t make bad behavior acceptable.

But understanding someone’s story changes how you see the world.

It reminds you that every person is fighting battles you may never know about.

Maybe that’s why the best villains are so memorable.

They’re not just the enemy.

They’re a reminder that pain, left unchecked, can change anyone.

I’ve learned that compassion doesn’t mean you excuse bad decisions.

It means you understand that people are often more complicated than they appear.

The older I get, the less I see heroes and villains.

I just see people.

And maybe that’s one of the biggest lessons life has taught me.

— NFA