As a former wrestler and current coach, this is the time of year where dreams of championships are either fulfilled or crushed. I've been able to celebrate lots of victories and deal with even more losses. Over the years I have noticed how people celebrate victories and handle defeat. I've never seen someone win a championship without, at least, a small contingent of teammates, coaches, friends and family celebrating with them. But for every victor, there is a vanquished opponent. Their corner is often more scarcely populated. Teammates have filtered out to watch the next match. Coaches often give a pat on a back and give them space to deal with the pain.
That's often the case in life. Everybody wants to be part of the victory parade. Less want to be part of picking up the pieces of a crushing defeat. Make sure you have people in your life who will stick by you in hard times. People who will be there after a poor business decision, a moral failure, or an obvious wrong choice. People who stick with you when your stock price is tanking. Have people in your life who will pick you up from in front of the bus, not throw you under it. Want to BE a leader? Be the person to others that you would want in your life when things go south. Be someone's friend when it's no longer popular to be that person's friend. Fair weather friends are a dime a dozen. Be the unique human who is worth more than gold!