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I remember a few years ago hearing a very successful businessman comment on his move from Australasia to the USA.  He said that one of the main reasons for the move was he tired of being attacked for being successful.

“If I Drive my Ferrari down the street in New Zealand or Australia I get called a w*nker.

If I drive my Lambo in LA people come up to me at lights with a thumbs up and “Nice Car man”.

I can of course relate directly to this as I sold my Spyder partly for exactly this reason myself, but as I grow as a person I do get sicker and sadder at the way we carry on.

I have noticed that as I achieve more in my life there are increasing numbers of petty “little” people who seek to make themselves feel better by saying things about me.  I feel very sorry for them as they almost universally contribute nothing positive but seem to exist to rage against the imaginary issues in their heads.

I’ve even stopped reading articles with my name in them because I am so stunned by the drivel I read when I do look .

My take on this generally is well publicised through my blogs for many years EXAMPLE, but I came across this excellent article today and thought it worth sharing with you as it helps explain just how much damage these people do to our economy.

From http://www.silverlinings.co.nz/

“NZTE just released some interesting research that shows our number 8 wire, she’ll be right attitude is holding us back.

We are the second most entrepreneurial country in the world, but drop to 26th when it comes to high growth businesses.

In other words we are great at coming up with ideas but not so great at following through. Researcher Tony Smale suggests Kiwis’ do-it-yourself mentality makes us reluctant to rely upon others for success – including experts who could do it better. The infamous tall poppy syndrome also means we tend to underperform or hide our successes, do not like feedback, and hate to fail.

Only one in 10,000 businesses uses venture capital and the rest tend to borrow money from family and friends and take out a mortgage on the family home, making them even more risk-averse. This means we miss out on the powerful lessons of trial and error.

Two thoughts spring to my mind when I read this research:

1) Is it the tall poppy syndrome that stops us from seeking help to achieve high growth and exponential success, or could pride also be a factor in all of this? Does our pride and a false sense of having to be able to do everything on our own stop us from asking for help?

2) Does this pride also contribute to our fear of failure?

I tend to think it’s both. I genuinely think this country has too many people who are jealous of those who succeed. It’s as if they think some people just got lucky. In my mind Tall poppy syndrome is a symptom of low self-esteem where people resort to criticizing others to make themselves feel better.

I don’t think there’s much doubt that this jealousy from others limits many people’s aspirations. At the same time though, we can’t go through life blaming our culture or other people’s attitudes for how we act. It’s my responsibility to ask for help if I need it and if it is my pride that holds me back from doing so, then I need to learn humility.

My identity shouldn’t be so tied up in what people think of me that I’d rather not try something than to try something and be seen as a failure if things don’t go so well

We have a lot of maturing to do as a culture, but ultimately culture just reflects the attitudes of individuals, so we can all make a positive impact by considering our own attitudes and responses. I think the research backs up the need for Kiwis to be more open to asking for help and less scared of failure or making mistakes.  Humility would help in both cases.”

Great advice and accurate observation.

So remember the next time you hear some nasty lies about yourself,  say to yourself:  “Wow, I must be doing something right, even the nobodies are attacking me now”

Stay Inspired and Stay Safe ~ Dean Letfus

The Ethical Investor

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