Don’t Envy But Learn From Your Competitor

DON EBUBEOGU

Many years ago, when I was in one of the least celebrated, yet the best, Secondary School East of the Niger, I read an inspiring book written by Jeffrey Archer – The Fourth Estate.  
The Fourth Estate chronicles the lives of two entrepreneurs, Richard Armstrong and Keith Townsend, from divergent childhoods to their ultimate battle to build the world’s biggest media empire. The book is generally assumed to be based on two real-life stories of media personalities  – Robert Maxwell and Rupert Murdoch, who fought to control the print media industry in Great Britain. They both shared The Sun, News of the World, Times Newspapers,  Daily Mirror and other newspapers among the two of them, in a fierce battle of control that led to misjudgments and crime. 

Both in the book and also based on the real stories of both gentlemen, I have always admired the business knowledge and competence of Robert Maxwell (Richard Armstrong). But he was consumed by his competition with Rupert Murdoch who methodologically acquired all the media houses Maxwell ever wanted.  

I will always draw my conclusion that Rupert Murdoch was the biggest undoing of Robert Maxwell. The later would have been a celebrated icon if he had not allowed envy and unhealthy competition with the former to consume him. The unhealthy competition also led him to temper with the pension funds of his company and ultimately to his unexplainable death/suicide on the high sea. 

It is in the life of Rupert Murdoch that Matshona Dhliwayo made perfect sense, when he wrote,  “To be a champion, compete; to be a great champion, compete with the best; but to be the greatest champion, compete with yourself”.

Just like Robert Maxwell, it is the weakness in us that compels us to compare ourselves and or feel envious of our competitors, friends, colleagues and even those we don’t have any relationship with. 

Comparing ourselves with others will affect our attitude to our goals and dim our esteem.   Every person has a unique journey, each one comes with the advantage of educational background, experience, opportunity and or personal perseverance. 

It is human to be envious, but the question is, what are we doing with the envy? Can we navigate out of the danger of envy and turn it into an energizer to improve ourselves, set goals, work towards the success of the venture/business we are envious about?

When we envy the success of our competitor and others, in an unhealthy way, we deny them the acknowledgement of success that came from their hard work, discipline, doubts, failures, risks, long working hours and tenacity.  In this context, envy becomes an attribute of demotivation, self-disappointment, low esteem and lack of positive ideas. 

We can do better by turning our envy into curiosity. Instead of comparing ourselves with others, we can use them as a benchmark to reach or surpass our expectations. 
Competition has positive vibes, so long as it is healthy. It brings out the best in you and prepares you for greater achievements. Your self-promotion is a great tool which will help you to increase your confidence and learn from the success of others. 

Ernest Hemingway said, “Remember that there is nothing noble in being superior to some other man. The true nobility is being superior to your previous self”.   

In the lives of Robert Maxwell and Rupert Murdoch, my take-home was that the best competition is not against your competitor, but the competition against yourself.

Don Ebubeogu, Tiger Beverages Group, Onitsha, Anambra State.