Yes. But also… no? Depending on the circumstances- it may be only your truest friends who are UN happy at your success. How so? Well- success can have costs and can change people. Now, a selfish person might be unhappy if those changes are things that start to take you away from them- for example you start eating a certain way or taking on new hobbies that they and the “old you” might have made fun of, or you’re too busy to spend time with them. However- they may also see you start to betray your principles or do things that are harmful or dangerous. A struggling teacher becoming a drug dealer might become very successful, but their close loved ones might be unhappy about that.
Perhaps a loyal spouse starts to treat their partner poorly or be unfaithful, perhaps someone who has always been about helping people and making a positive difference starts working for a company that makes a product like cigarettes?
You may not be able to be friends anymore- but in those cases it isn’t always so much that they aren’t your friend or weren’t your friend- it is that they may not want to be friends with who you become or who you become may not want to be friends with them. So I caution against such “truisms” as the old “if they aren’t happy for your success they aren’t your friend,” because especially when people begin to spin out of control with success, having real friends that care about YOU and your well being more than your success, people who can ground you or “check you” can be the difference between becoming a person you can’t look in the mirror or not.
The world has many successful people and they tend to do more harm than the many good people of the world can fix at any given time. We need more good people. You can be good and successful, but that’s the trick isn’t it? Do you think that all the people at the same company as you making money in the same industry and way are going to say “this is horrible”? Or “our behavior is out of hand”? Generally not. So I mean- we all have to decide who we want to be and the world we want to help build. Who we surround ourselves with is part of that, so while friends shouldn’t hold us back for selfish reasons, they also shouldn’t generally have no morals or no care for us- unless that’s who we want to be.
You may not be able to be friends anymore- but in those cases it isn’t always so much that they aren’t your friend or weren’t your friend- it is that they may not want to be friends with who you become or who you become may not want to be friends with them. So I caution against such “truisms” as the old “if they aren’t happy for your success they aren’t your friend,” because especially when people begin to spin out of control with success, having real friends that care about YOU and your well being more than your success, people who can ground you or “check you” can be the difference between becoming a person you can’t look in the mirror or not.