A common occurrence is the downfall of successful people.
It’s common to see children celebrities, musicians, athletes, business people, etc. have a significant downfall that’s hard to come back from.
People acquire money, power, fame, and influence and then don’t know how to handle it.
I’ve always been super curious about why that is.
Because I don’t know about you, but I plan to be very “successful” one day.
Now, money is not the sole way that I define success.
Not even close.
Nor is money my primary motivator.
Although it’s becoming a bigger and bigger motivator as I get older.
So, I do plan on working like hell to make a lot of money.
But I’m curious, one day when I have more money am I going to slip into the same trap that so many others fall into?
And what even is that trap? And how do I make sure I don’t fall in?
I’ve asked a few people on my podcast about this and have gained great insight.
Erwin McManus said that many people aren’t grounded before they reach that level of success, which means they don’t know what to do with it when they have it.
Jordan Montgomery had an experience where he lost his job and a lot of money, and he told me, “my character wasn’t keeping pace with my influence.”
Man, that’s good!
His influence, his money, his power was growing but his character was not.
And the thing about money, fame, power, and influence is it magnifies your character.
If you have strong character, you will use money and influence in a positive manner.
If you have s***** character, money and influence are destructive to you and to those around you.
Luckily, I have learned a lot about character from my parents, from my coaches, and…from my grandmother, my Granny.
My Granny passed away in 2021, and I had the honor of giving her eulogy. While preparing for it, I found her national honor society speech that she wrote back in 1956 – so cool!
A few lines from it:
Character is, I think, the most important part of your inner self. Your personality, your actions, your thoughts, words, deeds, and even your reputation are based, in some way, upon your character.
Character is made up of small duties faithfully performed, of self-denials, of self-sacrifices, of kindly acts of love and duty.
Beautiful.
How does this apply?
Your character is not something that gets built once and then you’re done.
Your character needs continual shaping every single day.
Your character is formed through small acts faithfully performed day in and day out.
Your character is something that constantly needs to be worked on so that when you DO become super successful one day…
And you do make a lot of money…
And you do have greater influence – your strong character gets magnified.
I think the goal shouldn’t be money and influence.
The goal should be strong character – the other stuff will follow.
To this day I keep my Granny’s words in my head – literally as well – by going back and listening to voicemails I have kept from her.
Man, I didn’t think I was going to get emotional writing this.
Anyways, last thing on this…
Be patient with success.
Whether that be in your career, your relationships, or your fitness.
Be patient.
One thing I like to say is,
“Success is supposed to take time because it requires you to form the habits necessary to sustain it.”
But what I’m now realizing is that it’s not just the habits.
Success takes time because it requires you to form the character necessary to use it responsibly.
To ensuring your character and your habits keep pace with your influence,
