Money, fame, and power …
These three combined are more than enough to spoil an individual, any individual.
You stop creating value and solving problems people are suffering from and start chasing praise from your audience, protecting your gains, and destroying opponents.
You stop being practical and focused, and start getting distracted by politics.
You stop connecting, or even losing, your old friends who were with you at your beginnings when you were just scratching your way to the top. And start getting closer to people who just know you for your status.
That’s the real dark side of being an entrepreneur.
Being at the top for a moment doesn’t mean you will be there forever, but everyone loses their mind when they hit the adrenaline of getting there.
And that’s when the journey to the bottom begins.
Usually, the journey to the top takes a ton of time and effort, and the crash to the bottom happens in a millisecond.
So what should you do to protect yourself from such a fate?
Pray to Allah.
Kneeling to Allah 17 times a day is a powerful reminder that you are just his servant and you will be held responsible for all your actions.
Never ignore feedback even if it’s toxic feedback.
Feedback is feedback whether it’s toxic or is sugar coated, get to the core of the message, analyze it, try to understand the real reason people are giving you this feedback and whether it has any legitimacy, and start improving yourself accordingly.
Listen to the silence
What is not told is way larger than what is told, your subordinates might not have the courage to speak up for the issues worrying them, but that doesn’t mean they are not worried, that means they are scared to speak. Their actions might not be logical to you if the fact that they are worried is hidden from you.
When you’re in a leadership position then you’re dealing with human psychology which is so delicate, so you need to handle it professionally.
Don’t get deceived by the hypocrites
Those are the ones that are going to destroy you if you let them, they don’t love you even if they show otherwise, they don’t care about you, they’re like parasites that when they finish sucking up your blood will leave you a dead body and start looking for the next prey.
Conclusion
Every stage in life has its challenges, being a successful entrepreneur isn’t an exception.
Always remind yourself that this is temporary, because it is, ultimately you will die and leave everything behind.
