BEWARE of this danger that comes with success.

“You can never get complacent because a loss is always around the corner. It’s in any game that you’re in - a business, game, or whatever - you can’t get complacent." ~ Venus Williams

Nothing Fails Like Success by Ria Story

It’s one of the greatest dangers success in life brings – complacency. Why? Because to become complacent means we quit striving for improvement, for growth, and for something better. Unfortunately, the risk of complacency rises with each level of success, personally and professionally.

We see it in sports teams, who come off a big win and simply don’t put the same effort into winning the next game. We see it in companies that experience huge profits and expansions, then fail just a few years later, unable to sustain the growth. We see it in people who get promoted to a great job but fail to develop their skills enough to keep the job. Success is everywhere – and many times, it leads to failure because the individual, team, or organization becomes complacent.

Success often quickly leads to failure.

Complacency happens to organizations, companies, and teams because it happens to individuals. When we reach a goal, individually or collectively, we feel entitled to the rewards, including the right to rest on our laurels. The successful person “has arrived,” and the temptation to enjoy what was earned, to rest, and to coast lurks just around the corner.

Past accomplishments should bring confidence, but all too often, they bring arrogance instead, causing pride. As you may know, “pride comes before a fall.”

Successful people may forget what it means to be hungry, and someone who isn’t hungry won’t fight as hard. Someone who isn’t hungry won’t be willing to sacrifice. Someone who isn’t hungry won’t give up in order to grow up.

Danny Miller talked about this in his book, The Icarus Paradox, where he discussed how corporate success often leads to corporate failure.

The problem with success and why it’s often the precursor to downfall is because success often doesn’t teach us anything. Success today is one of the biggest threats to future success because we don’t learn as much from it. We can learn so much more from our mistakes, or our so-called “failures,” and the lessons they teach us.

We learn more from the lessons of failure because they teach us principles. Success doesn’t teach us what NOT to do, it teaches us what we did right at the time. That’s a practice.

When we learn what worked once, we are learning exactly that – what worked once. It doesn’t guarantee what worked once will work again, or in the future, or when some of the variables change. And, they will change.

What is required to become successful is not what is required to remain successful.

In order to remain successful, there must be continued effort and improvement because change is going to happen, sooner or later, for better or worse.

The status quo in life is constant change. Children grow up, friends move away, jobs change, and people get divorced. As Benjamin Franklin famously said, “In this world, nothing can be certain, except death and taxes.”

We know change is certain. Because change is coming, we know if we don’t change too, success will certainly end in failure because nothing fails like success. Nothing fails like trying to stay exactly the same and not responding to the changes around you. Nothing fails like trying to remain the same in a changing world.

Complacency may be easy but it’s fatal to long term success.

“I will not allow yesterday’s success to lull me into today’s complacency, for this is the great foundation of failure.” ~ Og Mandino

Note: You and/or your team can join me and Ria on August 29th, 2018 (rescheduled was April 26th) in Carrollton, GA (near Atlanta) for a full day of leadership development and personal growth. The first half of the day, we will speak on Ria's book, Leadership Gems: 30 Characteristics of Very Successful Leaders, where we will focus on 30 character traits that high impact leaders intentionally leverage to increase their influence with or without a position of authority. The second half of the day, we will speak on our book, Change Happens: Leading Yourself and Others through Change, where we will focus on helping you learn to intentionally and proactively support, embrace, leverage, communicate, leverage, and lead change as you climb to the next level and beyond. Participants will receive a signed copy of each book. Click here for more details and registration.

What our clients are saying...

"My first words are, GET SIGNED UP! This training is not, and I stress, not your everyday leadership seminar! I have never been apart of anything like it. After 30 years in technology and two years in Concrete Construction, I have attended dozens and sent hundreds to the so-called 'Leadership-Training.' I can tell you that while all of the courses, classes, webinars, and seminars, had good intentions, nothing can touch what Mack and Ria Story provide. I just wish I had it 20 years ago...I could go on-and-on. We had 98% in attendance and 100% of the team that attended said that they were 'blown-away, they did not see their conviction and passion coming.' Many thanks, Mack and Ria!" ~ Sam McLamb, COO/VP CMP Pumping, Inc.

Sam provided the words above in a formal LinkedIn recommendation a few days after taking advantage of my special blue-collar industry offer below. He is already making plans to do it again!

SPECIAL BLUE-COLLAR LEADERSHIP OFFER

What I will do for you…

If you or your leaders will invest in your team, I will too because I value growing and developing the great people in the blue-collar workforce regardless of their title or position. I’ll pay all of my expenses to travel anywhere in the USA to conduct up to 4 hours of complimentary, on site leadership development training for any size group, large or small, at any level. This is my money and my time, not corporate money on company time. Why do I make this offer? Because, I have a passion for growing and developing the often overworked, overlooked, and underdeveloped blue-collar workforce and those who lead them.

Click here to watch a short testimonial from a blue-collar leader who went through many of my 1/2 day on site, leadership development workshops.

What you must do for your team…

Purchase 200 copies (direct from me for $3,600) of any combination of my three Blue-Collar Leadership Series books and/or Change Happens: Leading Yourself and Others through Change and distribute them to your blue-collar workforce. (We're paid up to $20,000 to speak. However, we waive our speaking fees for blue-collar leaders who are willing to invest in their team and take advantage of this special offer.)

Note: 52 weeks X 40 hours = 2,080 hours per year. $18.00 per book per person / 2,080 hours = $.009 (less than a penny per hour per person annualized investment)

Learn more about the 4 books (available as paperback, eBook, and AudioBook) below that are included in this special offer:

• Blue-Collar Leadership: Leading from the Front Lines
• Blue-Collar Leadership & Supervision: Unleash Your Team’s Potential
• Blue-Collar Kaizen: Leading Lean & Lean Teams
• Change Happens: Leading Yourself and Others through Change

I'm happy to get on a complimentary call at 334-728-4143. Let’s make it happen! 

Note: This offer is limited to on-site training within Blue-Collar industries and does not include conferences, seminars, etc. Learn more about my unique Blue-Collar Leadership content at www.BlueCollarLeadership.com.

Visit our Top Story Leadership online store to browse our 20 books on personal growth and leadership development. Then, shop there or search for them on Amazon as paperback, eBook, and many are also available there on audio too.

Note: I encourage you to be a river, not a reservoir. Please share my blogs with others if you find value in them. I believe in abundance and write them to help others become more effective, successful, and significant.

Make an impact!

Mack Story

I help leaders engage the front line to improve the bottom line.