Why successful people feel lonely: Story about a rich man

An extremely successful man reached the top of the stairs. He entered his enormous bedroom. Sat down on the edge of a bed… But he felt uncomfortable; a thick wallet pressed his butt. It was unpleasant not only for the body but also for the soul (the thickness of his wallet ceased to affect the happiness of a man), so he pulled it out and thought, “Dammit, I no longer remember the last time I laughed from pleasure. I don’t even know how to laugh naturally anymore… In photos, I always have a serious physiognomy like Donald Trump. I don’t know how to look happy in photos… I only know how to pay bills and f*ck minds of my employees. Once upon a time, it seemed to me that I was extremely successful and had it all. I was wrong.”

Success didn’t give this man the happiness he fought for. Although he has been sacrificing for over 15 years… As a result, the goals he had pursued in the past (ones millions of careerists are reaching) lost their charm. The pain in his chest tore him so hard that he began to search for answers.

The journey begins with reading books. He devoted a lot of time to self-development, just like others are dedicating it to work. He invested at least two hours a day. Once, he saw a Jordan Peterson video called, “Why successful people are lonely.” He resonated with it. So he decided to change objectives.

Started to strive for happiness and… began to build a new future. 

And then he realized there was something more. Something only wise people perceive. 

He went abroad to find himself as a character from the movie “Eat Pray Love,” “Doctor Strange,” or… After that, he went to the mountains… 

= Meditation to himself, to God, and so on. 

And managed to discover peace. 

Everything was fine at first. That’s why a man shouted, “YES, I have achieved peace!” 

But after a good four years, he felt something strange… 

His happiness was selfish. 

Moreover, as he told others about his achievements, he became more and more aware that he encourages people to focus on “pleasure,” only on themselves, only on their happiness, which could be presented as adoration to be selfish.   

He was missing something. Clarity or… 

Searches for an answer kicked in. 

But there was no answer. You see, dear reader, a man was surrounded by three categories of people. Some of them were looking for happiness in the family, others in entertainment (alcohol, drugs, computer games), and there was a third category wishing to find it at work. But all these people were looking for happiness only for themselves… 

Once, while walking down the street, thinking about all this, he noticed a strange building. The building was gloomy, and children could be seen through its window. A little boy was looking through one of them. The expression on his face was sad. The man found out it was a children’s shelter. There lived children who dreamed neither of success nor of happiness. They dreamed of the warmth they so lacked. There were a lot of children, so it was impossible to hug everyone. But our hero of the story succeeded. The purpose of his life has changed. Now he was not looking for success and happiness but helped others, not only with words and not only with money. 

Important: This man didn’t leave his business. But from that point in his life, he did business not to become happy, but because he liked doing business. So—business was his hobby. In other words, he hasn’t given up on anything that modern society has to offer. Only to standard goals (pursued by others), he added meaningful goals that gave him what others had not yet matured for. And this person has become everything—he put in himself all the meanings, the greatest values. He became like a massive pot from which every passer-by could draw true values, determination, motivation and selfless love.