Double M's Life Rules #22: Define Your Success by the Success of Your Friends

Posted by Double M



While you can't only lift everyone else up, your life will be much better if you can partially define your success by helping others succeed

This is the Robert Horry rule. Unless you know the NBA (and, Braylon, by the time you read this, NBA history) you probably don't know Horry. Horry won 7 NBA championships, more than any other player in the modern era of basketball, but you probably don't know him. He was never the best player on the team, always overshadowed by players like Hakeem, Shaq, Kobe, Ginobili, and Duncan. Horry knew his role and he knew how to contribute when necessary.

However you measure it, Horry had a successful NBA career. But if you look at his individual accolades, you'll see that he was never an all-star or a NBA first-team (or any-team) guy. He just contributed and won.

Not everyone can win the MVP and Horry understood that. Horry was never about his own success - he understood his role within the team was happy helping other teammates earn their individual awards. I'm sure Horry could have complained his way onto a bad team where he had a chance to be the big shot, but to him it was more important to win, and he was willing to do whatever it took to win. Robert Horry was willing to define his own personal success by his teams' successes and helping other people achieve greatness.

At some point in your life you'll have the chance of being part of a team shooting for something bigger, and chances are you won't be the big shot on the team (remember rule #19 Someone is Going to be Better at Whatever You're Doing than You Are). When this happens, you'll have a simple question that you'll need to answer:

Can I define my successes by making other people successful?

If you can, chances are you'll be part of something great and you'll be a happier person too. If you can't, then be prepared to fight a battle to the top on your own.