If someone actually reaches fame, fortune, or success, those around them may say that it has changed them and that they are not the same anymore.  This is meant to be disparaging to the individual, but what they don’t know is that success should change a person.  Actually, what is happening is that the individual in question hasn’t really changed, but the nature of their relationship with others have changed.  One might say that it shouldn’t change at all and have no impact on relationships, but those do not understand that those things must change.  In fact, if you don’t alter relationships, you will find yourself at a disadvantage.

There are a myriad of reasons besides success that change and alter relationships, but people tend to cling on to the idea of what the relationship used to be instead of what it has progressed to now.  An example would be a mother who’s child is turning into an adult.  She may still want to treat her child as a child because that’s what she’s always done, but the child is growing up now and the nature of their relationship has changed.  The child yearns to be treated as an adult and the mother yearns for her baby, causing a chasm of how they treat each other.  Another example is when a couple gets married.  One person may want to continue living as they did before they were married and the other expects them to follow different rules but does not lay them out.  The persons themselves in both scenarios haven’t changed, but their relationships have.

As with success, it’s not that the person has changed, but their wealth or power has increased, altering every relationship they have.  If they continue on the same way, they will find that their old relationships will not survive.  To be successful is to be known and that in of itself completely changes every interaction you have with others who never knew you before.  Subtlety, it also changes your personal relationships.  Sometimes, people don’t understand this and continue going on the same way only for the relationships to fall apart.  Success can be a boon and a burden, but if boundaries are set early enough, those around you will understand that things are different now.  They may view it as if you have changed, but that is not the truth.  You are simply protecting your relationships with them.

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