When I was driving to the shop yesterday, I kept telling myself, “Remember who you are.”

Not in an ego sense, like I think I’m some big deal. More in the sense that I, and all of us, have something unique to bring to the table.

I have a pretty good grasp on what I bring to the table, but sometimes I forget and sell myself short. This mantra helped me get realigned with what I feel like I’m on this earth to do.

To be honest, I was saying, “Remember who the fuck you are” in my head. That kind of rah-rah stuff usually sounds corny to me, but this time it hyped me up.

The thing is, no matter who you are or what you’ve done or haven’t done, the odds of you even being here are almost impossible to comprehend.

There’s a popular calculation from Ali Binazir that tries to estimate the odds of one specific person being born. It isn’t a proven scientific figure, and the assumptions behind it can be debated, but the final number is so enormous it’s difficult to understand: roughly 1 in 10 to the 2,685,000th power. That’s a 1 followed by more than 2.6 million zeros.

Think about that. You specifically being here is an incredible chain of events. All the people who had to meet, all the circumstances that had to line up, and all the things that had to happen for you to exist.

So what’s the motivation for me sending this to you?

My hope is that you find some gratitude in it like I did. The fact that we’re here now is worth appreciating. When I think about those odds, it makes me feel like there’s a reason I made it this far.

Remember who the fuck you are.

You’re the one who made it.

— Bus