The Four Dangers of Success

The Four Dangers of Success

I’ve become convinced that most people handle failure much better than they handle success. Failure can make a man, and success can ruin a man. I’ve seen it in the lives of the business leaders with whom I’ve worked. I’ve seen it in politicians. I’ve seen it in athletes, in actors, in celebrities who regularly make the news and in local hometown titans.

“Regular people” who win the lottery sure do feel successful, but research shows that lottery winners are more likely to declare bankruptcy within three to five years than the average American.

Even Tom Brady has wrestled with the idea of “Is success enough?

Perhaps the challenge of success is why Albert Einstein once said, “Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.”

It’s not that success is bad, but it must be digested.

When you digest something, you’ve broken it down and it becomes part of the body, not just an attachment on the side or something that sticks in your gut and causes nothing but pain. Success is something you fully consume, or else it will fully consume you.

How can success consume you? Four dangers come to mind:

First, success often causes an overinflated view of your abilities. Think of what success brings—congratulatory praises for the star athlete from well-meaning friends, family, and fans; a bigger office, a fancy title, a higher salary, and other perks for the rising-star executive; standing ovations for the speaker or preacher; honors and accolades for the straight-A student. Everything here shouts, “I did this!”

Second, success often brings with it a sense of entitlement that harms your relationships. People simply treat you differently when you’re successful. They don’t question your decisions as often or as forcefully. They go to greater lengths to accommodate your whims. They ask your opinion, even if you have no particular expertise on a subject. And they laugh at your jokes, even if they aren’t funny. Entitlement says, “You exist to serve me” rather than “I exist to serve you.”

Third, success is addicting, and you become willing to do just about anything to keep it. King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, tried to have a man killed when his rule felt threatened. If Solomon could do that, then we’re all vulnerable. We’ll cut corners, abandon friends, work longer than we should, go back on our word, and more. And we do it to remain at the top. Success becomes an idol, a false god we serve.

Fourth, we can go to the other extreme and get complacent. A.W. Tozer wrote, “Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth.” But it’s not just about the spiritual. Martin Filler said, “The danger for any artist whose work is both recognizable and critically acclaimed is complacent repetition.” Successful CEOs stop looking to lead. Successful parents start phoning it in for their younger kids. You get the idea.

Success often seems great until you wake up and realize it is costing you everything that really matters because you’ve slowly abandoned the beliefs and the people who got you to the top. Jesus said, “For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?” (Matthew 16:26) And yet, I’ve coached and watched so many people trying to gain the whole world. Be careful!

I’m not anti-success, though. The message here is how to digest success, not how to avoid it. I’ve seen the amazing good that people can do with success when they digest it properly. When they use their authority, their finances, and their acclaim to help others and to serve God, they always end up living a more fulfilled, satisfied life.

Proverbs 27:21 says, “The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, and each is tested by the praise accorded him” (NASB). The praise of men refines us. It reveals who we really are inside—do we get our value from the praise of men or do we see the praise of men as something fleeting to be viewed and used wisely?

So how do we digest success? It begins with the simple but challenging matter of remembering—remembering who helped you in your success, remembering the more noble purposes of success, and, most of all, remembering the deepest source of success: God.

If your success turns you to this kind of remembrance, three good things will result:

  1. Success will increase your humility and rein in your arrogance.
  2. Success will cause you to think, “Look what God enabled me to do!” instead of “Look what I’ve done!”
  3. Success will trigger a desire to help others, promote others, and leverage your good will for others and God’s kingdom.

In the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, God warns the Israelite people of their future success. Perhaps a warning of success to come sounds odd, but look at what He says to them (and to us): “You may say to yourself, ‘My power and my own ability have gained this wealth for me,’ but remember that the Lord your God gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm his covenant he swore to your fathers, as it is today. If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods to serve them and bow in worship to them, I testify against you today that you will perish” (Deuteronomy 8:17-18).

William Collins

Future Me Now AI : Who Are You Becoming? "Experience your Future Me Now so you can live fearlessly"

3y

The other challenge of success? If you are broken inside ( which we all are ) then we will ultimately create a scenario where we will find ways to self-destruct in order to bring yourself into “ balance “. Most “ successful “ entrepreneurs will go through several business failures before they get that one figured out

Like
Reply

"Third, success is addicting, and you become willing to do just about anything to keep it." <-- This is especially true for many of those who are successful in politics.

To view or add a comment, sign in

More articles by Stephen Graves

  • The Other Half of the Tree

    The Other Half of the Tree

    "Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world." —C.

  • The Relatable Producer: Being Results-Driven and People-Focused

    The Relatable Producer: Being Results-Driven and People-Focused

    Going into the 21st century, Peter Drucker wrote, “The most valuable assets of a 20th-century company were its…

    1 Comment
  • How To...Work With People

    How To...Work With People

    Any frequent flier knows there’s a spectrum of airplane problems that can occur. On one end is “No peanuts.

    1 Comment
  • Five Truths About Gratitude

    Five Truths About Gratitude

    Many of the stories in the Bible capture Jesus walking from one place to another. One story shows him interrupted by a…

    4 Comments
  • The Dangers of Celebrity-ism

    The Dangers of Celebrity-ism

    Quick. Name the Christian you admire the most.

  • Six Pictures of God’s Kingdom

    Six Pictures of God’s Kingdom

    From time to time, I go back and read one of my favorite parts of the Bible: the parables. These are the very short…

    1 Comment
  • 6 Mistakes in Managing High Performers

    6 Mistakes in Managing High Performers

    The mere presence of talent doesn’t guarantee success. In fact, the presence of extraordinary, unprecedented talent…

    1 Comment
  • Three Tips to Change Behavior

    Three Tips to Change Behavior

    Albert Einstein supposedly said, “If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.” I say…

    2 Comments
  • Macro, Micro and Non-Managers

    Macro, Micro and Non-Managers

    Micromanagement comes naturally at a start-up. You know this if you’re a founder.

  • 5 Tests of a Leader

    5 Tests of a Leader

    Some storms brew on the horizon. We can see them coming and we have time to maneuver.

    1 Comment

Insights from the community

Others also viewed

Explore topics