The Truth Hurts
The importance of seeking feedback in order to heal and grow.
When Elvis Presley died in 1977 at just 42 years old, he was morbidly obese and had multiple health issues. He was apparently addicted to many things, including food, sex and prescription drugs. Elvis was famously found dead on his bathroom floor, with the initial reports raising questions about the circumstances of his death. His fiancée at the time, Ginger Alden, found Elvis’s body, and was later asked by the press what she believed had killed him. She replied (rather profoundly), ‘He didn’t hear enough no’s’.
Wow.
How true this is of so many wealthy powerful and/or famous people who come to believe that they own the whole world, and can do and consume whatever they want, whenever they want. Think Besos/Musk/Jinping/Trump/Putin…..the list goes on (all men). The lack of boundaries and feedback that often accompanies fame, power, and/or huge wealth, creates a kind of ego inflated shadow monster within them whereby they believe they are ‘special’, God-like even, and therefore entitled to certain privileges and exclusive treatment that reflects their specialness. Beyond this boundaryless, narcissistic way of living, when hearing only yes, the rich, powerful and/or famous also rarely receive any direct honest feedback from those around them that would allow them to expand and grow. And let’s face it, once that shadow monster takes hold of them, they wouldn’t listen anyway!
Some of the famous people that seem to cope the best are those surrounded by solid and grounded family and friends, who help keep their feet on the ground. People who are willing to tell them no and mean it, and who are ready to give them honest clear feedback when their egos start to get carried up up and away.
