My theory on Tiger Woods, cheaters, bad bosses, and destructive behaviors

So this rant is a little scatter-brained. Hopefully it will make some more sense as I write it down.

I want to know why so many people that are at the top of their field seem to fit similar personality types. I want to know if that is a good thing. I want to know if you need a certain personality to reach the top. I want to know if that should be encouraged.

This started with me listening to a theory on, shockingly, Tiger Woods. And it got me thinking that Tiger really isn’t that different from many people who have reached similar heights, and fallen to similar fates. Seems that most writers, politicians, actors, actresses, artists, musicians, business people… the list goes on… are strikingly similar.

Here is my theory. I think that in our current world, you need to be narcissistic to get to the top. You need to have a certain amount of selfishness. You need to believe that you are better than everyone else. You need to be extremely competitive. Perhaps most of all, you need to be willing to do what it takes to get to the top. I do not know why we would assume that all of these traits wouldn’t ultimately make up our personality. If you are super competitive on the court, field, or in the office, why wouldn’t you be super competitive at home with your wife? Or with friends?

Look at two of the greatest athletes of all-time, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. Both are extremely competitive, and both have had similar ‘life experiences’ (read: cheat on wives). I think that you have to think and believe that you are so good that you won’t lose. That you won’t get caught because that is losing. That you are better than the system. Not that you don’t have to play by the rules, but simply put, that you are good enough to not get caught by the people that enforce the rules. This is why I wouldn’t be shocked ONE TINY LITTLE BIT if it turned out Lance Armstrong was on PEDs. Why would we ever assume otherwise? Especially now that there is a serious potential that Tiger Woods used PEDs? Think of the rationale. Tiger hurt his knee and needed to recover. Nothing in life is more important to him than being the best golfer in the world. He has worked his entire life for that, why wouldn’t he cheat? Same with Lance. Which is more likely? That an above-average cyclist would get cancer, only to recover and suddenly become the greatest cyclist of all-time? Or that an above-average cyclist would get cancer, use steroids to recover from the cancer (perfectly acceptable behavior) and then realize the potential that PEDs might have in helping him transform himself into the greatest cyclist of all-time? Call me cynical, but I am not sure I have the heart to believe in Lance’s story anymore. I want to. I wanted to believe in Tiger.

This isn’t some rant to justify why I am not at the top of my field, or top of the world. This isn’t an effort to bash those that are on the top because I am jealous of their success. I just want to know if you have to be that way? When I thought about this today, and looked around, I couldn’t think of that many people that are successful and not willing to step all over other people to get there. And even the people that I perceive to be at the top, I don’t know them well enough to even know if they are like that. One thing I do know, is that I know plenty of ‘successful’ people that do whatever it takes to win and get to the top.

Sadly, so many people struggle to survive once they are there. Then, as my co-worker Amy pointed out, once you fall you don’t have people to catch you since you stepped all over so many people to get to the top. When you think about that, you will think of people that you know that fell, and that no one cared about once they fell from the top (or even slightly up the ladder of life).

With Tiger, we all jump out at the media. That since he was so secretive and closed off from the media for so long that they are simply getting him back. I don’t disagree, I just believe there is more to it. I think that the skill-set required to be ultra successful in fields, especially sports, creates this sort of flawed and dangerous personality. I believe that is why so many bosses are jerks. I think that is why so many politicians and athletes cheat (both professionally and personally). It might help explain some of the destructive tendencies of many artists and writers.

Feel free to poke holes through my theory now.