MBA2364 Why You Shouldn't Follow Highly Successful People + Free Ride Friday

0:09Heyo! Welcome to the$100 MBA show. No fluff, just the good stuff with our practical business lessons. I'm your host, your coach, your teacher, Omar Zinhome. I'm also the co-founder of Webinar Ninja, an independent software company I started back in 2014. And today's episode is Free Ride Friday. On Free Ride Fridays, we give away a lifetime membership to our$100 MBA program. Our six-part course on how to become a better entrepreneur, 100 % guaranteed over at 100mba.net. To win a free ride, just leave us an Apple Podcast rating and review, and you enter our weekly random draw we call Free Ride Friday.

0:43Listen in on Friday, just like today, to see if you won. We announce this week's winner a little bit later in the episode. In today's episode, you will learn why you shouldn't follow highly successful people. This is an episode I've been working on for some time, and it's a tough one. Because I love learning and studying and understanding highly successful people. And as much as I want to be just like them, I actually think it's not a great idea. Now, I know you might be thinking, is Omar feeling all right? What's going on here? I'm perfectly fine. In today's episode, I'm going to save you a lot of time, a lot of heartache, a lot of energy, chasing something that's probably not best for you.

1:25Probably is not what you want. And I will explain in detail in today's episode. Not only will I show you why you shouldn't follow successful people, but I'll steer in the right direction. Give you the advice that I wish somebody told me years ago. about success and what it means for you. Stick with me throughout this episode, and I'm pretty sure you will think differently about a lot of things when it comes to success. Let's get into it. Let's get down to business. I've studied some incredible success stories, whether it's through their own autobiographies, memoirs, documentaries, from entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, to entertainers and musicians like Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones and Amy Winehouse, to athletes like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant and Mike Tyson, they all have one thing in common.

2:17They are obsessed with success. They say in order to be great at something, you have to have more than just desire. You need to be obsessed. And I'm talking real obsession, meaning nothing is more important at all costs. They need to achieve greatness in their field at all costs. So the people that are at the top of the top, the most highly successful people in whatever field, that's how they operate. That's how they got there. Why? Because they prioritized that thing over everything else, over their family, over their happiness, over their health, over relationships, friendships, you name it.

3:00Nothing is more important than that. All their time, their energy, their focus, their resources is dedicated to becoming the best of the best at what they do. And that's exactly why you shouldn't follow highly successful people. They're extremists in a lot of ways. They go to absolute extremes, which results in not such a great life. One of the things I love about reading stories about these great, great people, like one of the best travel authors and speakers of all time is Anthony Bourdain, who a few years ago took his own life, totally obsessed about what he does. I recently re-watched the documentary Quincy, which is all about Quincy Jones, one of the most successful music producers of all time.

3:45And you see his whole life, he's still alive. And the documentary kind of was done when he was in his mid 80s. And the guy can't help himself. He can't help but work constantly. He's a workaholic, despite the fact it's affecting his health and it's killing him. His passion becomes his poison. I'm in awe, but I'm also in agony watching him suffer. There's no balance and they forget the whole point of the whole thing. Now, listen, I'm no life coach, okay? But in my experience, you should know what you're aiming for. You should know what's the whole point of this business thing. What's the whole point of being successful in life?

4:26Hopefully, it's to have a good life, to have a fulfilled life. And in my opinion, a fulfilled life is a balanced one. One that you actually have enjoyment and fulfillment and achievement in not just one area of your life, but as many areas as you can. Hopefully in love and relationships and experiences and knowledge. And the reason why this is difficult is because it's actually easier just to go all in on one thing. It's just the focus and not worry about anything else. And obsession becomes an addiction. These artists, these talented people, these athletes, they are obsessed with being amazing.

5:02And as a result, we get an amazing product, right? Whether it's great music or an incredible experience watching them play their sport or incredible inventions or innovations like Steve Jobs or Elon Musk. But if you know anybody who knows them well, or you know anybody who's been close to them, their life is not fantastic. They went over the top. Some of my favorite people in the world are called, under the radar, multimillionaires. People that you never heard of before, but do really well in their own niche and they're doing great and they have plenty of money they'll never need for money. They have generational wealth, but they have time, they have family, they have love in their life.

5:41That, to me, is success. So, what does this all mean for you? This episode is brought to you by The Jordan Harbinger Show. Are you looking for a new podcast that's smart, that's interesting, that has great conversations with some amazing guests? Well, I highly recommend The Jordan Harbinger Show. I'm an avid listener because, in my opinion, it's the best interview podcast out there. The host, Jordan Harbinger, a good buddy of mine, he does a lot of great research about the guests. I know this personally because he's a good friend, and I've seen him do this when he was visiting me on holiday. The result is you get an interview and a discussion with these amazing people that's original, that's new, that's interesting.

6:23He asks the questions that nobody asks, and he pulls out some of the best stories from his guests. One of my favorite episodes is with Neil Brennan, a comedy mastermind with highly successful Netflix specials and one of the co-creators of Chappelle Show. What I love about this episode, as well as all his episodes with his guests, is that he brings out the person behind the talent. By the end of the episode, you get to feel like you know this person intimately, and you learn a ton of lessons through stories and experiences along the way. I also like his Skeptical Sundays episodes. Recently, I listened to the one on fireworks.

6:57I don't want to ruin it for you. Go ahead and listen to it. You'll absolutely love it. You can't go wrong. Every episode is brilliant. It's no wonder the Jordan Harbinger Show was named Best of Apple in 2018. Search for the Jordan Harbinger Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Well, what does it mean for you? Well, it means in your pursuit of being successful in your business, in your life, in your career, you need to understand that there's no point in trying to be successful in this area if you can't reap the benefits in all the other areas in your life, or as many areas as possible?

7:35What's the point of having all this money and all the success if you don't have the health to enjoy it, okay? If you are crippled in a wheelchair because you've worked yourself to death, this is a reality. This could happen. This is not to say that people that are physically challenged have less of a life or anything like that, but if you do it to yourself, you're limiting your experiences in life. What's the point of being successful and rich if you have nobody to enjoy it with? If you don't have any love in your life, you don't have any relationships, you don't have any real genuine friends.

8:04What a lonely existence. What's the point of being on the cover of Forbes or being on the Forbes list if you don't have time for yourself? You don't have free time to reflect, to grow, to learn. If you're on the clock and you've created this crazy busy life of yours that you have no time for yourself or your family. Growing up, my mom always told me beware of extremes in both good and bad things. And I love this advice because it keeps you balanced. It's easy to be extreme. It's easy to be extreme in good things or bad things. That's the easy part. The hard part is staying balanced, is everything in moderation.

8:41Understanding that everything has limits. Work hard, but play hard. Put in the time and dedication you need to grow your business, but also put in the time and dedication to enjoy your holidays with your family. This is the discipline that most of us have a hard time cultivating and building. But it's well worth it because it makes a great life. These highly, highly successful people are not the best example to have a rewarding, loving life. It's an example of somebody doing amazing in one thing. In fact, if you read Steve Jobs' biography by Walter Isaacson, Steve himself admits on his deathbed that he worked too hard.

9:18He put in too much time in the office, that it drove him to his death in his 50s because he was stubborn. He sacrificed his relationships in life. He sacrificed his health. He sacrificed his happiness because he was obsessed. But of course, we hold them up as heroes in the media. And in a way, they are heroes in the sacrifice they made in bringing something incredible to the world. But you don't want that for yourself. Trust me. I've read so many stories to back this up. Thanks so much for listening to The$100 MBA Show. Today's episode was a little bit different. A little bit more mindset. A little bit more love.

9:55little less actionable tactical strategies, but we need a balance, right? It's not all strategy, right? It's not all, you know, how to run Facebook ads. And this type of stuff that I've been diving into here and there on the show can also allow you to just make sure you're moving in the right direction. Make sure that you're setting the right goals. Make sure that you're doing things for the right reasons. I hope that helps. Today's episode's not over though. It's Free Ride Friday. Let's see who won this week's free ride. And the winner is Teach and Thrive. That's the handle on Apple Podcasts.

10:25Teach and Thrive says, concise and actionable. Five stars. This pod does the job. Omar is a gifted teacher with a breadth of knowledge as an entrepreneur who's in the game, not just talking about it. Thanks so much. That means a ton. Teach and Thrive, appreciate you listening and leaving a review. Your mission is to email me over at omar at 100mba.net so I can hook you up with the free ride to the$100 MBA program, our six-part course on how to become a better entrepreneur 100 % guaranteed over at 100mba.net. If you want to win a free ride, just leave us an Apple Podcast rating and review just like Teach and Thrive just did, and you enter our weekly random draw.

11:02Listen in on Friday just like right now to see if you won. It's that easy. Before I go, I want to leave you with this. There's nothing wrong with wanting success. There's nothing wrong with wanting being the best in your field, but everything has a price. You have to consider the costs of everything in your life, and it's okay to pay that price, but understand the costs, whether it's for the short-term, long-term, and how it affects the rest of the areas of your life. Thanks so much for listening, and I'll check you in Monday's episode. I'll see you then. Take care.

11:48Thank you.