Can You Take It?

• Author: David V. Lorenzo
• Pages: 84-85

§42. Client Attraction Secrets for Lawyers

84

§42.

CAN YO U TA KE IT?

It really is lonely at the top. It doesn’t matter if you are the knot tying champ in your Boy Scout

Troop or the CEO of a FORTUNE 500 company. Being the best or being in charge means that people

will be coming after you. Rest assured, it will happen. One of the inevitable byproducts of success

is the big target that will be firmly affixed to your back.

Why? Human nature.

Each of us is born with the capacity to feel emotion and, in early childhood, we develop and

refine our use of these emotions and our response to the emotions displayed by others.

Insecurity, jealousy, anger and resentment are often byproducts of our view of the success of

a rival.

Some people see your success and they feel all of these things. A few of the more narcissistic

folks will actually act on these feelings. That’s when the fun really begins.

The more successful you are, the more intense the emotional reaction to your success will be.

Expect it.

And if you think it won’t happen to you because you are a “Nice Person”, just do an Internet

Search for Christopher Hitchens and his thoughts on Mother Teresa. If someone can hate a Saint

that much, trust me, someone out there will take aim at you once you have achieved a modicum

of success.

So what are you supposed to do with these HATERS?

When my clients come crying to me about people who are:

(1) Complaining about them to the world

(2) Sending them hate mail or posting hateful things about them on the Internet

(3) Spreading false rumors about them (or even bringing some old but true indiscretions to

light)

I encourage them to react as follows:

Embrace the Fame

Let’s face it, if someone is attacking you, no matter how awful the attack is, your message is

reaching its audience. Losers do not get targeted by anyone. Somebody feels threatened by you.

Somewhere you have struck a nerve. Go with it. Shout louder. Appear in more places. Write more

articles. Use even stronger language.