Leadership
The Curse Of Success
By Dr. Wale Akinyemi
Something beautifully interesting happened over a weekend recently. I had gone to speak at an event and, as always, I was accompanied by my team, which included my book table team.
I have a passion for growing young people, especially those who have had to fight for things that some of us take for granted. These young people reveal just how privileged we are, even when we don’ t want to admit it. They are the ones I have spent the last two decades mentoring and nurturing- paying fees for, getting accommodation for, and frankly, being a father to. Most of them have never known what it means to have a father, and I am the first and only father figure they have ever had.
Anyway, the CEO of the company hosting me called the MC for the day and asked him to send for the young man at the book table. Little did I know what was about to unfold. One thing we do whenever these young people come on board is to immediately invest in their appearance and wardrobe. Thankfully, we had gotten him some new clothes, so he looked very smart.
The CEO then told the MC to allow this young man a few minutes to talk about our books and let the 500 people in attendance know what each book contained. I froze. Still, I did not want to interfere, so I let things flow.
When Francis was given the mic, the place lit up. To put it in our Nigerian parlance, he was FIRE.
I was so excited as I listened to him explain each book with oratory clarity. It was magic unfolding before my very own eyes! I didn’ t even realize when I tapped the CEO and exclaimed that I had never seen this before. I was“ discovering” Francis the same way everyone else was.
We had been looking for someone who could serve as a spokesperson and sales ambassador for our books- someone who could read them all and communicate
The greatest threat to success is not failure; it is success itself. Yet you will never see“ success” listed as a threat in a company’ s SWOT analysis. Nobody ever says,“ One of our weaknesses or one of our threats is our success.” But it is true. Success creates a subtle arrogance. It blinds you to anything outside the formula that made you successful in the first place.
articulately what was inside. We had been searching for Francis, yet Francis had been with us all along. He had ridden in the car with me before. We had shared meals together. We had even travelled together on numerous occasions.
While I was looking for someone to do what he just did, I didn’ t realize he was right there. I was looking for Francis, yet Francis had been with me all the time.
This revealed a major crack in my leadership journey and one that I believe will define the winners from the losers. I was looking everywhere for Francis, but the real issue lay in another question: Where was I not looking?
The answer to my biggest question and the solution to my greatest need were not where I was looking, but where I was not looking.
So I ask you this same question today: Where are you not looking?
The human mind is naturally programmed for the familiar. It is a pattern recognition machine. That’ s why when you see 2, 4, 6 … your brain immediately predicts 8, 10, 12. The mind loves sequences, predictability, and routines.
But there is the seldom spoken of danger that familiarity can become a prison. When life presents something outside of the expected pattern, most people freeze. They get stuck because their mental operating system is not trained to explore the unknown.
This is where the majority of people live- within the comfort of the familiar. They repeat cycles, replay patterns, and
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