12 Ways To Handle Success

1. Don’t tell everyone.

If someone should know, text them. If you wouldn’t want to text them, they aren’t important enough to know. Boasting on social media can feel well earned and fun, but  there’s two sides. First, it can come off as impersonal to the friends you’d most want to share it with. Isn’t it more fun to savor it together in person? And second, if you are more moved by spite or ambition, nothing is more impressive than a boast you don’t have to make it. Let the news get to them organically- let your high-school ex hear through the grapevine about your record deal. Carry the implicit boast that you forgot to even brag about it.

Petty? Absolutely. But at least you’re keeping social media less obnoxious with your silence. If you’re going to do the right thing, you’re allowed to do it for the wrong reasons.

2. Do the things you swore you’d do if X happened. You might as well celebrate, and if you promised too much, holding true to your excessive boasts is the most fun way to learn a valuable lesson about keeping your mouth shut and moderation.

3. Remember your failures, both to humble you and excite you. Success can feel natural when it comes, and it’s important to savor it, to feel grateful and aware.

4. Remember time before your success. You were okay without it, right? Don’t let it own you. You were good without it, and, if it should flee, you’ll be good again. Success doesn’t define you. Understand that and enjoy it without a sense of worship.

5. Share it. Success can be lonely and self segregating. Spending $75 on burgers for everyone is tastier than a $75 steak alone. Don’t let numbers dictate you away from happiness, or let a bent towards pride or even statistical pursuit of more sour the true goals of success.

6. There are always going to be people who have more and those who have less. Find a way to balance those two feelings and you can combine gratitude with vision and ambition to propel you. Mangle them and you’ll end up complacent or miserable.

7. Save some success for a rainy day. Let it last and breath. Do not blow it on solid gold yachts. Do not let momentum trick you into assuming your success is permanent or ineffable. The world is strange and cruel. Plan for it.

8. Do something you always wanted to do. If you’re not going to do it now, when will you (do a road-trip, go skydiving, ask them out, etc.)

9. Indulge deeply in cheap, simple and undestructive ways. There is an impulse to GO NUTS when you’re successful, so go nuts- in a safe space and place. A strong playlist, strong friends and strong brews at home is going to be a much better way to go off than to “paint the town” with your credit card. You can buy bottle service, or you could have an equally good time for ten percent of the cost. It might be less dramatic, but it’s no less fun.

10. Savor it. This did not come cheap or easy. Do not take it for granted. Get pumped, grateful, and psyched every day for a week. This cost you a lot of effort. Enjoy it.

11. Stunt on them haters. Invent haters, if you have to, then proceed to stunt on them. Do the money dance. Browse flights to Europe you know you wouldn’t buy but tell yourself, in the coolest way, that you might. Put a big chunk into savings and debts and savor every penny you waste, knowing full well you can afford to waste them. Take a taxi three weeks later because you’re feeling lazy, and know that you planned for that and it’s fine and you might as well.

12. Really. Do the money dance.