Who you admire impacts your life more than it might seem.
Your idols define what is possible within the human condition.
They set a bar for you. Their achievements reach out to you and say ”if I did this, you can too”.
That’s why we resonate most with idols who grew up in similar circumstances. It silences the doubts about your starting point.
Take someone overweight, unemployed, who grew up in a low-income household.
They can’t relate to a successful athlete who went to an Ivy League school, because they can hand-wave away their success to “starting early”, and “having rich parents”.
But when they hear about someone like David Goggins, who also struggled with their weight and came from a low-income household, they can hold this up as an example of what’s possible—“If he did it from where he was, I can do it from where I’m from”.
That’s the bright side of idol selection.
The dark side is those who don’t actually want to find anyone in a similar situation who has done anything great.
They’re not looking for a comparable situation to gauge what’s possible—they’re looking for an excuse to justify their mediocrity.
The light of success from these figures shines a spotlight on their failures.
It tells them “You’re not everything you could be, and you know it”.
As the spotlight’s intensity increases, the individual has a choice: pull themselves up, or bring others down.
And in modernity, many have chosen the latter.
The media’s emphasis on the failures of successful people fosters a culture of negativity and excuse-making instead of aspiration and growth.
The seminal achievements of history’s greatest entrepreneurs and inventors are only used as pointers to identify them before we are bombarded with their apparent litany of shortcomings.
“You know those founding father guys owned slaves?”
“You know the guy who invented Ford was a Nazi sympathizer?”
“You know the founder of Apple was mean to his employees?”
Contemporary entrepreneurs are not spared from this assault.
I made several stones bleed before finding favorable articles on Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos.
If you think this hatred is warranted, or that being called a ‘billionaire’ is a slur, then you have been successfully psyoped.
I can only hazard to guess the unspeakable horrors that lie within the closets of the people who make these claims.
Do not let these weasels kill your idols.
When you hear them speak of the faults of others, recognize it for what it is: an attempt to bring down those who have succeeded in order to justify their own lack of achievement.
These detractors are not interested in the truth or balanced perspectives. They are driven by envy and insecurity, and they don’t want to change.
Their aim is to undermine the credibility and accomplishments of successful individuals, not to provide constructive criticism or meaningful insight.
Instead of letting these negative narratives shape your view, seek out the positive lessons and inspiration that successful people can offer.
Idolizing someone does not mean ignoring their faults, it means appreciating their journey and the lessons they provide.
Stay critical of the sources of negativity and always question the motives behind such attacks.
Find role models who resonate with you and look up to them for the right reasons—their perseverance, their innovations, and their ability to overcome obstacles.
You can draw strength and motivation from their stories, using them as a beacon to guide your own path to success.
It is your perspective and attitude that determine how much you can learn and grow from those you admire.
Choose to be inspired, not disheartened, and let your idols lift you to new heights.
Do not let them kill your ambition.