7 Reasons to Not Let Success Go to Your Head

Lessons from Secretariat

This weekend, I watched the movie Secretariat, starring Diane Lane and John Malkovich. It’s an incredible film and by the end, I found myself actually cheering Secretariat on in his races, and experiencing the choked up feeling that happens when you or someone you support achieves something great.

Success is a wonderful thing, but we humans experience it so differently than animals. A half-ton racing horse learns to race and use his power, and I do believe they understand and experience success and failure. But unlike humans, I don’t believe they let success go to their head – they don’t become puffed up beyond recognition, or do other things which may actually lead to failure down the road.

There were many characters in this film, including the two main horses, Secretariat and his primarily competitor, Sham. There were the jockeys, the trainers, the owners, the investors, the family, the horse hands, and a few others. Each experienced success in very different ways and through their experiences, the true story of success was demonstrated.

Again, success is a wonderful thing that we all should try to achieve, and we should celebrate our successes as well as our failures freely. But when we let it go to our head, I believe part of us dies, because significant amounts of pride lead to foolish behavior, loss of family and friends, and eventual demise.

Here are 7 things I learned from Secretariat about success from the various characters. What are some other important things to remember about success and not letting it go to our heads?

1. What goes up comes down. This means that success is temporary.

2. Success is addictive, and not in a good way. Once you get some, you want or even need more and more in order to get the feeling back.

3. There are lessons to be learned from failure. Sometimes, those lessons cannot be learned under any other circumstances. It’s not that we should plan to fail, but rather, that we should celebrate failures, too.

4. There is a greater purpose than success. The impact of Secretariat’s success was far greater and carried much more importance than a set of trophies or the legacy of one horse.

5. There are very few times when success is all because of you; usually, others helped you get there. This is perhaps the most important reason to not get puffed up from success. In most cases, others are just as responsible for our success as we are.

6. Humility is one of the most important virtues one can possess. I truly believe this. Humility makes us better people – it certainly makes us more tolerable. It makes falling less painful and success more valuable, too.

7. Your success does not guarantee the success of your offspring. According to the film, Secretariat sired 600 foals. In the now 38 years since his incredible races, not one of his foals, or anyone else’s, has ever beaten his record. Often times, we want to achieve success in order to pass something on, or teach our children something, or to bring honor to our family, or school, or group. But sometimes, success ends with us.