How Envy Can Sabotage Your Success in Business

This chapter is all about one silent enemy that often goes unnoticed: envy.

If you truly want to succeed in business, you must face this reality—there will be moments when you’ll feel envious of others, or others will envy your success. Either way, you need to be ready to face envy head-on because if you don’t, it might just be the reason you fail.

Let me share a quick observation from my time on YouTube. Nowadays, many celebrities are starting their own vlogs. That’s fine. I mean, YouTube has become a powerful platform, and as a creator, I’m part of this growing community.

But here’s the thing—many aspiring YouTubers who haven’t “blown up” yet feel discouraged. These are the creators still finding their market, their voice, and their audience. Meanwhile, one video from a famous celebrity can instantly rake in millions of views and subscribers. Understandably, this makes the smaller creators feel like the system is unfair.

I’ve been there. When I started YouTubing seriously in 2017, it was tough. I uploaded consistently, almost daily. My first 100 vlogs were pure hard work with no guarantees. So when I see this reaction from smaller creators—resenting celebrities for their quick success—I get it. But that’s exactly what this chapter is about.

Does success run out when someone else gets it first? Is it true that the more famous people are on YouTube, the fewer chances you have to succeed? Is someone else’s success taking away from yours?

No. That’s a lie envy tells you.

Success is not limited. Just because someone achieves something doesn’t mean you’ve lost your chance. The world doesn't run out of success. The people who feel that way? They’re usually the ones who never get there—because instead of working, they spend too much time being bitter.

If you find yourself slowing down your hustle because you saw someone else succeed, you need to reflect deeply. That’s envy working against you. Instead of producing, you’re sulking. Instead of getting inspired, you're wasting energy.

Let’s say a celebrity uploads one video and instantly gains millions of views. What you didn’t see is the decades they spent grinding in showbiz. The sleepless nights, the auditions, the rejections. That’s what you need to compare—not their success, but their effort. If you’ve been working hard for a month, they’ve been working hard for decades.

If you're a small YouTuber—or a new entrepreneur—don’t envy people who are ahead of you. Don’t compare their peak to your starting point. Learn from them. Study them. Ask them, "How did you do it?" instead of assuming they had it easy. And whatever you do, don’t try to bring them down just to make yourself feel better.

That mindset will kill your dreams.

I’ve also felt envy. I know fellow entrepreneurs who raised millions in funding while my ventures were bootstrapped. But I trained myself to convert envy into inspiration. I now use their success to fuel my own growth. That’s what real entrepreneurs do.

There’s a huge difference between being envious and being inspired. Envy makes your mind closed. You criticize. You dismiss. You feel defeated. But when you're inspired, your mind is open. You ask questions. You analyze. You learn.

When someone around you becomes a millionaire, it’s not a threat—it’s proof that it’s possible. Their success should expand your vision of what’s possible, not shrink your belief in yourself.

I believe that for the Philippines to rise as a nation, we need to foster openness and generosity. We need to share what we know without expecting anything in return. That’s why I give away everything I know—freely. Because others did the same for me. And because I believe that every Filipino who rises brings us all closer to a better country.

There is no shortage of success. There’s only a shortage of people willing to work hard, stay humble, and help others without selfish agendas.

To end this, let me be clear: success is not always about money. Real success is knowing your true purpose, your reason for waking up in the morning. And if you haven’t found that yet—keep looking. Because once you do, envy will have no place in your journey.

So the next time you feel envy creeping in—pause. Don’t let it control you. Let it teach you. Let it push you to do better, not to hate harder.

Because if you want to be truly successful—not just in business, but in life—you’ve got to stop being jealous and start being better.