Business By Hormozi #97: Success Breeds Jealousy

The Unspoken Truth About Success

When Jake started his business, he believed his friends would celebrate his success. After all, they had all started from the same place—dreaming about financial freedom and a better life.

But as Jake started making progress, something strange happened.

The people he once called friends began to distance themselves. Some made sarcastic remarks. Others stopped inviting him out. A few even outright criticized him.

At first, he didn’t understand why—until he heard this powerful truth:

“If you want to be disliked, do better than your friends. If you want to be hated, leave no excuses for them.”

Why Success Makes Others Uncomfortable

Not everyone will celebrate your growth—especially those who stay in the same place while you move forward.

• When you start succeeding, you remind them of their own inaction.

• When you prove that excuses aren’t real, you take away their justifications for staying average.

• When you rise above the norm, you challenge their belief that success is impossible.

Jake wasn’t bragging. He wasn’t putting others down. He was just proving that it could be done. And that was enough to make some people resent him.

The Price of Greatness

Instead of dimming his light to make others comfortable, Jake made a decision:

• He stopped seeking validation from those who weren’t growing.

• He surrounded himself with people who wanted to win, not just talk about it.

• He accepted that true success comes with criticism—and that’s okay.

Over time, he realized that the friends who resented his success were never really his friends to begin with.

Conclusion

If you choose to grow, understand this: Your success will make some people uncomfortable as success breeds jealousy.

But that’s not your problem.

You don’t need permission to be great. You don’t need approval to chase your dreams. And you definitely don’t need to hold yourself back just to make others feel better.

Because in the end, success exposes excuses—and not everyone will forgive you for proving them wrong.