Always remember, the loudest person in the room is the weakest. Yes we understand that it is a bit difficult to be humble, especially when you are perfect in all respects, and in your respective industry.
When things are going great you of course want to pound your chest, take all the credit, and look like the greatest thing to ever touch green earth- but we’re here to tell you you don’t need to do that.
In reality, no matter how successful you are or what you have accomplished, you are just a dot in the universe. Think about how many people exist, have existed before you, and will exist after you. You were never known before your existence and your only goal in life should be that you are never forgotten after your existence.
Nobody likes the arrogant asshole that just sits there and flaunts around all his so-called accomplishments and brags about what he plans on doing in the future. The respected man and the man that is remembered is the humble one that never feels a need to flaunt.
We are not saying that you should just be quiet your whole life and not say anything. You are going to accomplish a lot in your life. You are going to climb mountains you never thought you would climb and if you want it bad enough, the world is yours. But the man that is grateful and appreciates everything that has come his way and stays to himself is the one that stays successful for the longest period of time.
There are those who experience success and go into the world and tell everyone they can about it. They make sure the world knows how well they are doing with all their cars, bottles in the clubs, and the girls they are banging.
They love to be the elephant in the room and the one everyone is envying- but those are also the people that usually end up broke after only a few short years; they are the ones that never achieve success again.
Take a look at someone like Mike Tyson who made $400 million in his career and then filed for bankruptcy. Then take a look at someone like Allen Iverson who made more than 100 million in his career, was never humble, tried to show off, and now has nothing.
When success is given to someone after they have worked hard for it, it’s a gift. It is given to them because they have deserved it, but they also need to know how to handle it in order to be able to hang on to it. The last thing you want to be is the one who is seen as a cheap show off- those people are just losers. The ones who are quiet and keep to themselves are the ones who are dangerous. They end up being successful.
Most of the billionaires I have ever met in my life you would never be able to tell their status. The reason is because they are humble and they understand that with great success comes a great responsibility, a responsibility to control and handle themselves, functioning in society. Then you have the thousandaires and the low level millionaires who flaunt around town as if they were billionaires. Funny how it actually works.
Look at someone like Steve Jobs who never really showed off or let the world know how much money he had, or how he spent it. He kept it all to himself and just continued working hard, changing the world. That was his goal- his goal wasn’t to show off. Then you have someone like Jay-Z who is extremely humble, no matter how successful he is, because he always remembers where he came from and how tough his journey truly was.
Being given success is being granted a lifestyle that can slip right from under your feet. It is an opportunity, and if you handle it humbly and live your life humbly, it will keep you and your mind grounded and disciplined.
Do not boast about being better than the other branches. If you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
In other words, no matter what you do, no matter how successful you are, no matter how lucky you are, never boast about being better than others. Because in the end, you are really just a branch. Whatever you do is just part of that branch, connected to other branches and a tree that is way larger than you.
All the people who have gone before you, all the knowledge they built up, the language they coined that you use to communicate, the businesses and industries that rose to give you work, water, shelter and food, the upbringing your parents, teachers, or other loved ones gave you, what your friends have done for you, and so on.
That’s the root that supports everything you do and everything you are. Not to mention the Creator of life itself, who I call God. Recognize all that. Be humble. Always be thankful.
More than anything, remember the root. Remember where you came from and those who helped you get to where you are. No one on this Earth is 100 percent original and no one’s knowledge is 100 percent their own. Ideas and inspiration come from elsewhere. You yourself are unique, but you come from elsewhere, not from yourself. Remember that. Be thankful for that. Be humble.
Preston Waters | Elite.
