In today’s fast-paced, achievement-driven world, many individuals strive for success, often equating it with wealth, status, or recognition. But in the reality what is success?
Recent high-profile cases of founders and entrepreneurs facing legal troubles, such as the cases of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) of FTX and others like him, force us to reevaluate what it means to be “successful.”
These individuals, once celebrated and placed on pedestals, have fallen from grace, finding themselves entangled in legal battles or even behind bars.
Their stories highlight a critical question:
Is success really worth pursuing if it can end in such misery?
The Balance Between Success and Happiness
Happiness and success are two fundamental goals for most people, but they don’t always go hand in hand. You can be outwardly successful and yet feel deeply unhappy, as the pressures and demands of success can lead to personal sacrifice, stress, and even unethical choices.
On the other hand, you can lead a modest life, by societal standards, and be truly content.
To avoid the pitfalls that some high-profile entrepreneurs have fallen into, one must understand that happiness is more important than success, especially if success means compromising one’s values, integrity, freedom, or peace of mind.
Officially titled “Liberty Enlightening the World,” it celebrates the principles of personal liberty and freedom from oppression.
Success that costs you your happiness, or worse, your freedom, isn’t success at all — it’s a trap.
Or is it a real trap or just people from higher level want us to believe is it a trap?
Is Success Really a Trap, or Just a Myth We’re Told to Believe?
Success that comes at the expense of your happiness, or worse, your freedom, is often seen as a trap —but is it truly a trap, or is that what we’re led to believe by those in power?
It’s possible that people at higher levels of influence may perpetuate this idea to keep others from reaching the same heights, painting success as dangerous or unattainable.
Is success really a success or just a myth?
This narrative could discourage individuals from pursuing ambitious goals by framing success as something that inevitably leads to misery or downfall.
However, the truth may lie somewhere in between: success can bring fulfillment if approached with balance, but it comes with real risks that shouldn’t be ignored.
Why Chasing Success Can Change You?
Many people think that achieving success will lead to happiness, but this belief often comes with significant downsides.
To become “successful” according to society’s standards, you may have to:
- Change your situation: You might need to abandon the familiar — your current job, lifestyle, or relationships — to pursue bigger opportunities.
- Change yourself: The pursuit of success often requires developing new skills or adopting new mindsets that might clash with your natural inclinations or values.
- Face things you don’t want to: The path to success is rarely smooth. It requires confronting uncomfortable realities — competition, failure, stress — that can alter who you are at your core.
These demands can change you in ways you might not have anticipated or wanted.
The transformation can lead you to a place where you no longer recognize yourself, and in extreme cases, you might not even want the success you’ve achieved.
This is completely understandable because being “successful” often involves navigating (in) environments that foster insecurity, greed, and betrayal.
Happiness: The True Measure of Success
If you prioritize happiness, you may find that success, as society defines it, becomes less important.
Happiness isn’t something you can purchase or acquire by climbing the corporate ladder.
Happiness is about
- living in alignment with your values,
- maintaining meaningful relationships, and
- being content with what you have rather than constantly striving for more.
There’s a saying, “being sad but successful can be a very miserable life,” and that couldn’t be truer.
Many who have chased material success have found themselves isolated, stressed, or even empty. Would you want to live in such a life for even a minute?
Most people wouldn’t.
How Success Separate You from What Matters?
When we strive for societal success, we often put our personal relationships at risk.
Family and close friends, the people who have supported us throughout our journey, might be pushed aside as we ascend the ladder of success.
Strangers to Success
You could find yourself surrounded by strangers who claim to want to help but often have their own interests in mind.
Strangers are unpredictable.
They may seem like allies in your climb to success, but it’s equally possible that their intentions are self-serving. After all, many people offer help to others simply because it benefits them.
Family and Genuine Friends
Family and genuine friends are exceptions to this rule — they love you unconditionally (in the best case) without expecting anything in return. They provide a sense of security and stability that success with strangers can never replicate.
When it comes down to it, no one wants to replace their own tribe with strangers, especially when the cost is too high.
If you have a family then leaving them not easier but more difficult for “success”.
Success Comes with Risks: A Lesson from Today’s Founders
So what is success?
SBF
As we’ve seen with figures like SBF, even the most revered and seemingly invincible founders can fall from grace.
The ever-changing political climate, economic landscape, and public perception can turn a hero into a villain overnight.
Elon Musk
For instance, take Elon Musk.
As one of the most powerful and influential figures in the tech world, his success is undeniable. But even he faces scrutiny and potential legal challenges.
High-profile founders facing jail time
Lately several high-profile founders have found themselves entangled in legal battles, facing jail time after rising to significant success.
Elizabeth Holmes (Theranos)
Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos, convicted of fraud in 2022. Her company promised revolutionary blood testing technology, but it was exposed as a massive fraud.
- Operation: Theranos operated from 2003 to its downfall in 2018 (about 15 years).
- Highest Earned Income: At its peak, Theranos valued at $9 billion, making Holmes a paper billionaire with a net worth of around $4.5 billion, though she never liquidated that wealth.
- Jail Sentence: Holmes sentenced in 2022 to 11 years and 3 months in prison for fraud.
Sam Bankman-Fried (FTX)
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, arrested in 2022 after his company collapsed, resulting in billions of dollars in losses. He charged with multiple counts of fraud.
- Operation: FTX operated from 2019 until its collapse in 2022 (around 3 years).
- Highest Earned Income: SBF’s net worth estimated at $26 billion at his peak, based on FTX’s valuation.
- Jail Sentence: On March 28, 2024, he sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $11 billion.
Bernard Madoff (Madoff Investment Securities)
Bernie Madoff, who ran the largest Ponzi scheme in history, defrauded investors out of an estimated $65 billion.
- Operation: Madoff’s Ponzi scheme spanned over 40 years, from the 1960s until its collapse in 2008.
- Highest Earned Income: At his peak, Madoff controlled about $65 billion in client assets, though most of it was fake returns generated by the Ponzi scheme.
- Jail Sentence: Sentenced to 150 years in prison in 2009. He died in 2021 after serving 12 years.
Charlie Shrem (BitInstant)
Charlie Shrem, a Bitcoin pioneer and founder of BitInstant, sentenced to two years in prison in 2014 for. His involvement in money laundering related to the Silk Road marketplace.
- Operation: operated BitInstant from 2011 to 2013 (around 2 years) before his arrest.
- Highest Earned Income: reportedly earned $500,000 to $1 million from his involvement in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
- Jail Sentence: In 2014, Shrem was sentenced to 2 years in prison for money laundering and served his time, being released in 2016.
Allen Stanford (Stanford Financial Group)
Allen Stanford, founder of Stanford Financial Group, convicted in 2012 for running a $7 billion Ponzi scheme.
- Operation: operated his Ponzi scheme from the 1980s until 2009 (about 25 years).
- Highest Earned Income: Stanford had a personal net worth estimated at $2 billion at his peak.
- Jail Sentence: Stanford convicted in 2012 and sentenced to 110 years in prison for his $7 billion Ponzi scheme.
Freedom and gambling with life
Fighting for freedom
One day, a founder can be treated like a god, with praise and admiration, but the next, they could fighting for their freedom in a court of law.
Is it worth for us to fight for our personal freedom to have success in business or life?
Should we really sacrifice one for the other?
The line between success and failure is thin, and often determined by forces beyond your control, like political shifts or market crashes.
Success as a gamble with life
This raises two important questions:
- Who wants to be in such a precarious position?
- Would any normal person really want to be celebrated one day and incarcerated the next?
Most people wouldn’t want to live with such uncertainty.
Success under these conditions feels more like a gamble than a worthwhile pursuit.
Is Success Worth It If You Can’t Really Enjoy It?
At the end of the day, success means nothing if you can’t enjoy it.
Sacrifices
If you’ve sacrificed your relationships, health, or freedom in the process, what’s left?
Would you truly want to work for years or even decades to achieve success, only to end up in jail or disgraced?
For many, the answer is a resounding no.
Happiness over external success
This is why more and more people are choosing to prioritize happiness over external success.
It’s better to live a peaceful, content life with the people you care about than to chase fleeting accolades that could disappear at any moment and you can disappear with them as well.
The Bottom Line: Success and Its Risks
While society often glorifies success, it’s essential to recognize that the journey to the top is fraught with risk, some of which can have devastating consequences.
The stories of fallen entrepreneurs serve as cautionary tales that emphasize the importance of choosing happiness and staying true to yourself over the pursuit of success at all costs.
As long as the current tendency of celebrating and then dismantling successful people doesn’t change, it’s wiser to choose happiness and protect your freedom, focusing on a life that brings you genuine fulfillment — whatever form that may take.
Success should never come at the expense of your happiness, freedom, or integrity.
Some people aspire to be happy, free, and successful without necessarily wanting a family, and that’s just as valid
If you love your life as it is, surrounded by people who genuinely care for you, isn’t that a form of success that’s just as valuable?
The decision is yours.
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