Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and Benjamin Franklin aren't that cool

The Daily Drip

Most of us know people we admire. What's interesting is that we don't always admire the whole person.

Usually, we admire a particular characteristic or trait of that person. Sometimes, we admire that characteristic or trait so much that we even become blind to their flaws.

Elon Musk is a good example. Many people want to be him. One of the downsides of being Elon Musk is the fact that he hasn't been able to maintain a stable romantic relationship and almost never sees his kids. If you want the upside, are you willing to accept the downside?

Steve Jobs is a good example. Many people wanted to be him. One of the downsides of being Steve Jobs was the fact that he sometimes disrespected the people around him. In fact, sometimes, he was outright mean. If you want the upside, are you willing to accept that you've created a wake of hurt people?

Benjamin Franklin is a good example. Many people wanted to be him. Despite all his inventions and contributions, one of the downsides of being Benjamin Franklin was that he was a terrible father and a womanizer.

I'm not drawing causation from correlation, here.

What I'm saying is that sometimes we value characteristics and traits in a vacuum, without really evaluating their downsides. I'm an advocate for the continuous search for values, traits, and behaviors that serve you. the trouble is that we often have to engage and exhibit those values or traits or behaviors before we understand what trade-off we're making.

Who is someone you used to admire but don't anymore?

Why not?

What does that teach you about your own values and aspirations?