The Hidden Tragedy of Being the Greatest

Who doesn't want to be the greatest? Making it to the top is the life dream for nearly all of us. What we often do not consider is that being the greatest is not only the best thing in life, it can also be nearly the worst and many people aren't prepared for this hidden surprise at all. When they do reach the top they realise it wasn't what they thought it would be.

Here are some surprising tragedies that come in the wake of being the topmost person in your field.

1. You have one shit load of enemies. You often have more enemies than supporters. And while you can be sure your enemies are enemies, you can never be sure if your supporters are supporters. For all you know they may just be foes in a very smart disguise to fool you to the last minute. More great people in History have been brought down by their 'friends' than enemies!
2. Even if you're sure your supporters are supporters, they change their stance rather quicklier than speed of light.
3. You have absolute (or nearly absolute) authority and power that you sometimes don't know yourself. Basically, it means you can do everything. Then you start doing everything, even the things that you shouldn't. That's where corruption and abuse of power begins creeping in. Many people in History have started out being righteous as a saint and ended up corrupt as the devil!
4. You have overwhelming work to do and overwhelming responsibilities to carry. You often have no option but to sacrifice your personal life, time, peace, family and friends. All you have is your bloody responsibility that must be fulfilled at all costs or your head is on the block ready to roll.
5. You have tremendous expectations to fulfil and tremendous comparison to deal with. You are constantly compared and constantly criticised and judged. This can be hugely draining depending on what kind of a person you are. One single unfulfilled excpectation and you start getting rapid nails in your coffin.
6. No matter how hard you worked to get there or how much you love being there, the truth is: the moment you reach the top, the clock to your downward return journey begins ticking like a time bomb. You are only a hotel guest on the top, not a permanent resident. No one was. No one will be.
7. In accordance with this, you must work harder to stay at the top than you ever worked to reach it in the first place. One single mistake and you come hurtling down. That's why it is said, reaching to the top is very difficult but staying on top is sheer hell.
8. More people strive to pull you down as opposed to those who pull you up or even those who even want to see you there.
9. You get to see great stuff from up there (like from a mountain top) but due to laws of Physics small things aren't visible to you anymore. Unfortunately people down there will never understand this and continue to love and hate you for being so high up that you can't see certain things.
10. The higher you reach, the lonelier you get. The higher you rise, the lower you fall. In the end you find yourself wondering if it was worth the climb or worth the fall.

Note: Please don't let this article discourage you from your ambition as it only talks about disadvantages. Everyone's journey to the top, and sojourn with success is not lined with sombre tragedies listed in my post. It may be different for you.