So, How Do I Compare?

I was reading my book, 1453, that I had mentioned earlier, and I got to the day the Ottoman forces storm the walls of Constantinople in mass. It's getting exciting, and then I read this passage:

"He [Mehmet, Sultan of the Ottomans] addressed them in the collbeoquial, paternal tones a twent-one year old sultan could rightly adopt with his tribe..."

And I first start to think that I've been writing the word sultan wrong as it shouldn't be capitalized like I did in the first paragraph. But then it really hits me, when Sultan Mehmet took the Holy Christian city of Constantinople he was only 21. Twenty freakin One.

I'm gonna be 21 in 10 days and what have I managed to do? Well I haven't taken a city, that's for sure. (At least I think he takes the city. I haven't finished the book yet, but I think it can be assumed he won, unless the author throws in a plot twist or two.)

Granted I still have 375 days to take a city by force in order to compare to the Sultan, but he spent over a year planning for the siege and creating siege weapons. Yep, not doing that in the garage.

But why should I be comparing myself to some Sultan who ruled 600 years ago? It's not like I can impress him by taking over Sydney.

But boy the stories I could tell if I were to take it.