Success carries its own set of pitfalls, chief among them over-confidence. Success tends to breed contented self-satisfaction, a belief that you got it all covered, that you mastered your craft, that you have little if anything more to learn and nothing to fear.
Pride cometh before fall and complacency is a champion’s biggest challenge and the root cause of many a decline and failure. Symptoms include the proliferation of blind spots and sentiments such as “We are doing just fine.” and dismissing, rationalizing as unimportant or even ignoring small mistakes, believing there is nothing to be learned.
I’ve always endeavored to act as if the wolf was clawing at my front door, sincerely knowing that if I didn’t, sooner or later, the wolf would be!
Closing Quotes:
“Complacency is a continuous struggle that we all have to fight.” – Jack Nicklaus
“Of all the things a leader should fear, complacency heads the list.” – John C. Maxwell
“I think it’s dangerous to think that you’re successful, because then you become complacent.” – Tommy Hilfiger
“Complacency is the forerunner of mediocrity. You can never work too hard on attitudes, effort and technique.” – Don Meyer, 1944-2014
“I will not allow yesterday’s success to lull me into today’s complacency, for this is the great foundation of failure.” – Og Mandino, 1923-1996, ‘The Greatest Salesman in the World’
As always, I share what I most want and need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier