The higher you go, the further you fall…

Each day we spend time trying to climb that ladder, be it the corporate ladder, the personal ladder, fitness or social ladder, we’re all climbing. But what happens when you reach the top of that 100 foot pole?

So you’ve reached the top, congratulations on your achievement! A lot of your success will determine on how you reached that goal.

I guess if you’ve worked your way up there, kept to your morals, values and standards, you’ve left “steps” behind you, shorter poles that have plotted the way as you’ve journeyed up the ladder. You’ve worked hard to earn what you were given, you’ve made connections, hopefully you haven’t burnt too many bridges as you were climbing, so there will be people to remind you of where you have come from and how to get back to your ‘roots’ should that be needed from time to time. You’re not alone, you have friends and colleagues who have climbed with you, they might be a pole below you but they are right there to support and keep you grounded, you know you can lean on them if your pole starts to tilt and they’ll help you straighten up again.

But what if you are one of those misfortunate people who have stepped on a few friends and colleagues to get to the top? You’ll have a panoramic view from up there but you’ll have no friends to share the success with, it will truly turn into a very lonely perch. How do you step back down from that 100 foot pole when you have burnt your support system?

It is true, the higher you go, the further you will fall, so it is important that you remember who (and what) helped you get there. Remember at all times not to burn the bridges you cross today, because you just might need to cross back over in the future.