The Seven Deadly Sins of Highly Effective People: Envy

The next stop on our quick tour of the seven deadly sins of highly effective people is envy.

In the second post on this topic, I wrote about how the religion of success has infiltrated the fabric of our society, to the point where entreprenureal wonderboys are practically worshpped gods in themselves - idolized, scrutinized, and celebritized in local, national, and even international circles. I won't dwell on that subject anymore here.

But I will point out that even those who think they've "made it" are still vulnerable to this malady. There is always someone out there with more income, nicer vehicles, bigger homes, sexier spouses (or girl/boyfriends), and posher private jets. To think that you've made it to the top only to find that there are other, even greater gods to lord their superiority over you can be profoundly humiliating. One might think that he will have arrived when he gets that exclusive membership at the local country club, but the ultimate discovery will be that - even within that circle - more and more concentric circles are being drawn. Always there will be a person with things, people, or looks that you do not possess.

Whether you make five figures or eight, envy is a relentless taskmaster.

Up next: Pride

Related Tags: seven deadly sins, seven habits of highly effective people, envy