On Success & Failure

I have lately become a Robin Sharma fan. In his book, 'The Greatness Guide', he says, 'Nothing fails like success.. Success actually breeds complacency, inefficiency and -worst of all- arrogance'. People 'go on the defensive, spending their energy protecting their success rather than staying true to the very things that got them to the top.'
The thought was striking since one always heard the opposite. So I circulated the quote among friends. This morning, a lady friend emailed her response and emphatically stated that she disagreed and the matter was debatable. I went back to the quote to be able to appreciate what made her express such strong disapproval.
Well, who doesn't seek success? All of us do. And those who do manage to become what in Bollywood or Sports rankings is often described as Number 1, do flaunt their position, market-price and often contempt for competitors. Robin Sharma is merely highlighting that our focus, even while at the top, should be to go on improving ourselves rather than become complacent or condescending. If our industry and innovativeness has taken us to the top slot, we must continue to excel rather than assume airs and worry only about slipping or sliding down the ladder. Most of us do falter, lose focus and come down the rankings. We end up with the first best-seller, be it a movie or a book; the first grand slam; the first major success. A perfect example of success finally failing to deliver consistently.
It will be misreading Robin Sharma to infer that he is decrying success. He is only highlighting the need not to be bogged down with our achievements but aim still higher. The message displayed outside the local YWCA once read, “The widest room is the room for self-improvement”.