I recently interviewed Anne Beiler, founder of Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, about the pitfalls of success. She had completed eight years of high school, was a stay-at-home mom from the Amish community when she decided to help support her family by starting a pretzel business. Starting with a modest store at a farmer’s market, Ann expanded the business to over 900 stores worldwide before selling the business.
Such success, while very enviable, can bring many temptations and pitfalls. We must take steps to guard against them. As the Book of Proverbs 22:5 teaches, “Thorns and nets are in the way of the deceitful; he who guards his soul, withdraw himself from them.”
It’s important to know what traps (or snare) may lie ahead. The first trap that is often fallen into is praise. When Beiler started her business Auntie Anne Pretzels, people began to praise her for her success. But she kept thinking, “I’m not that outstanding, I only finished eight grades, from the Amish community, a housewife.”
But in the end, she admitted that she began to believe the praise, deceiving herself that it was all due to her merit rather than the grace of God. We find this warning in 1 Corinthians 3:18: “Let no one deceive himself. If any of you think to be wise in this age, be foolish to be wise.” If your successes elicit praise, do not deceive yourself, remember: your success is only by the grace of God.
Another common trap is a power. As business leaders grow in success, they also tend to grow in power, which can easily lead to corruption. Harvey Weinstein had the power in the movie industry to promote or kick out actresses. He abused this to seduce many women in exchange for offering them a career as a movie star.
In the Book of Ecclesiastes 4:1 we read: “And I turned and saw every oppression that is done under the sun: and behold the tears of the oppressed, but they have no comforter; and in the hand of those who oppress them is power, but they have no comforter.” Power can be used generously for the good of others or it can be abused. Find someone to whom you will be accountable who will help you guard against the intoxication of power.
The third trap is privacy. The desire for solitude is important during times of reflection and relaxation, but some leaders who have achieved success take solitude to extremes. Some go into isolation because of personal insecurity; others choose solitude because of a growing arrogance that they are better than others.
Isolation is one of our spiritual enemy’s favorite tools. There is a warning in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be alert and watchful, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Being in isolation, it is easy to overlook or discount your own shortcomings and those of your organization. Living in community with transparency is the best and safest strategy.
The final trap is pride. In the banking industry, I have watched several companies begin to achieve rapid success after receiving very favorable news coverage. The pride of the top managers often drove them to seek more and more attention. When I saw a few articles about a company, I would visit clients to make sure their business was not being neglected. I found that chasing haughty praise often led to neglecting the day-to-day business. And that sometimes contributed to failure. Proverbs 16:18 warns, “Destruction is preceded by pride, and a fall by arrogance.”
Copyright 2023, Unconventional Business Network. Adapted with permission. Visit: www.unconventionalbusiness.org. UBN is faith in action serving the international small business community.
Questions for reflection/discussion
- Most of us – if not all of us – prioritize achieving success. Do you agree that success brings with it dangers or “traps” that can potentially lead to failure? Why yes or why no?
- Can you name instances where the pitfalls of pride or power have led individuals or businesses to failure? Can you think of reasons why this happened?
- In Proverbs chapter 27 we find two examples of the trap of praise. Proverbs 27:2 says, “Let another praise you rather than your mouth – a stranger rather than your tongue.” Then Proverbs 27:21 says, “What the smelter is to silver, the crucible to gold, is to a man a mouth that praises him.” Do you see a difference between these two exhortations? If so, what is the difference?
- The final trap Mr. Box says one can fall into when achieving success is “privacy” or isolation. Think about a scenario in which such a thing could develop. What precautions could be taken to prevent its occurrence and possible consequences?
NOTE. If you have a Bible and want to read more, consider the following passages: Proverbs 11:14, 12:15, 13:13-14, 16:2, 17:3,10, 19:20, 27:17; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12