Years of standing in the limelight portraying other people for large amounts of money does not usually lead to... — Michael Korda

Years of standing in the limelight portraying other people for large amounts of money does not usually lead to a high degree of self-examination, let alone self-criticism.

Author: Michael Korda

Insight: There's something peculiar about being rewarded handsomely for pretending to be someone else—it can actually make you worse at understanding who you actually are. When people applaud your performance, pay you well, and keep asking you to do the same thing again, there's little friction pushing you toward honest self-reflection. You learn to perfect the external version of yourself instead. But this isn't just a problem for actors. Anyone who gets consistent validation for a particular role—the successful entrepreneur, the supportive friend, the person who always has it together—can fall into the same trap. The rewards reinforce the persona, and before long, the gap between who you're playing and who you actually are becomes invisible to you. Self-criticism starts to feel like a threat to the thing that's working, so you stop doing it. The counterintuitive part: the most successful people often need this warning most. When everything's working and everyone's applauding, that's exactly when the blind spots grow largest. Questioning your own motivations, admitting confusion, reconsidering your approach—these feel like luxuries when you're getting paid to keep doing what you're doing. But they might be the most valuable investments you never make.