Long way to the top but a short trip to the irrelevance

Ten years ago, it would have been impossible to get an appointment with Dr. Manmohan Singh, the then Prime Minister of India. He had an illustrious career of many decades, from working as an Economics professor to serving United Nations to Governor of RBI to Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission to Finance Minister and finally a Prime Minister for two terms. He left PM’s office in 2014 but in less than a decade, no media of current times covers him or remembers him. Though he is 90 years old, he may have valuable advice to offer but everyone is an economist these days. While leaving his office he anticipated history will be kind to him. History not only has forgotten to be kinder to him but seems to have forgotten him entirely.

Shah Rukh Khan was known as King Khan or Badshah of Bollywood. His films were box-office hits. He had ruled the filmland for many years. But times have changed. His romance does not charm anyone anymore. There are new guys in the town. The tunes to which they sing, and dance have become different too.

400 years ago, Shah Jahan (Emperor of the World) was busy fighting wars, amassing wealth, building Taj Mahal, and finding jewels for his Peacock throne. All of it came to a sudden end as he was home jailed by his son. When he had nothing else to do, did he think about how difficult it was to survive at the top?

Whether it was in the past or present, and whatever the profession is, be it a King, a politician, a movie star, or a sportsman they all had toiled to get to the top and had a tough time surviving at the top. Fighting the contenders, and reinventing themselves to stay relevant is hard work, even for Stalin or Hitler. That includes Napoleon, a master strategist, who had to accept the defeat in the end.

One common thing to note from all these instances is that it is a long way to the top which takes many decades of hard work. Staying there is even more challenging. But sliding down to irrelevance is a short trip. Trust gained over many years can be destroyed with a single wrong move. Empires that had survived for centuries were destroyed in a single day with a loss in the war. Same with the money too. Earnings of decades can be lost in little or no time. Embrace success but stay humble as success is transient.

Picture Credit: Vishal Khandelwal