The geniuses in history books had tutors, failures and long nights. The book just skipped those chapters.

Histories compress. A life gets summarized into the few moments that turned out to matter, and the tutors, the funding, the decade of unremarkable work and the projects that went nowhere all get cut for space. What is left reads like talent arriving fully formed. That version is inspiring and slightly poisonous, because it sets a standard nobody ever actually met.

When someone makes you feel behind, go find the boring middle of their story. Read the long biography rather than the summary. It almost always contains a stretch that looks a lot like where you are right now.