Being an entrepreneur is a very risky, yet rewarding path to go down.

Online, you see the fruits of so many successful entrepreneurs labor but rarely hear the horror stories most of them had to endure to get to where we are at. They also don’t speak about the negative sides of success and money.

Right now, that changes.

I am going to talk about my fears and some of the negative things success has brought me so you can hear the truth on success and possibly not make the same mistakes I have.

First things first, I am not a negative person nor am I trying to scare you out of success. Having success is one of the greatest feelings one can have and I highly recommend that you go and get some.

BUT…

Success comes with a hefty price and I am not talking about the one I pay to the IRS every quarter. I am talking about the toll it takes on you.

When people know you have money, you are the first to be called upon for damn near anything. Every stinking day another “go fund me” account pops up in my texts or messages with another terrible sob story. I hate waking up and reading about a kid with cancer who needs my money to stay alive. In the last 7 days, on 3 separate occasions this has been the situation. Two of which I paid and by the third I realized I would have given more money out than I made in the last two weeks and it probably wasn’t a wise decision.

The next problem is being a target for extortion.

In the last 12 months, I have been extorted both legally and illegally on multiple occasions. One was a greedy lawyer looking for anything and everything to sue me for. They ended up finding something and I settled before the lawsuit came to be. I would have won, but it would have cost me too much emotional stress to fight this battle and I didn’t have the time. The next was FAKE review sites targeting my businesses. Hackers would reach out and demand payment or send never ending negative clout towards myself and my companies. These guys did a pretty damn good job too. If you are successful and lots of people are starting to hear about it, then you better learn SEO or have a good reputation management company on stand-by, because I can guarantee they will come for you too. At this point of my career, I talk with more attorneys than I do with clients.

Then, came the JEALOUSY. Once I made it, I noticed lots of my friends stopped talking to me and weren’t happy to see me win… this included family. You would think everyone close would be proud of you, but I was completely wrong. On most occasions, it was the complete opposite. The people closest to me acted like strangers for the most part until they need something. I was recently at a restaurant where I saw a childhood friend and even reached out to shake his hand, and he kept walking like he had never even seen me before. So, be prepared to cut people off and out of your life when the cheddar starts rolling in.

Now, let’s talk about “safety.” It sucks having to sleep next to loaded guns because I have become a hot target. I have more cameras in and outside of my house than most video production studios have in general. I am only the one to blame for this. It’s not everyday you see a McLaren riding around where I live. To be quite honest, I don’t even drive it that much. I got it to shut up the haters. To prove that I had officially arrived at the door of success. Here in the US of A most people, or at least the uneducated ones judge your success based off the size of your house or the car you drive… which in my mind is stupid. I fell into this trap and moved into a house that for the most part never gets used. I mean, someone could be living upstairs in one of the rooms and I wouldn’t even know because I rarely go upstairs anymore. What I am trying to tell you is that I put my life at risk to show off to a bunch of people I don’t even like. I am one of the few people who is honest enough to admit that driving a faster car truly doesn’t do anything for me, and I could have easily spent the money on a smarter investment.

Once you start making a lot of money, you start upgrading your lifestyle. Lots of people reading this are probaly batting an eye saying to themselves “Oh that would never be me…” Listen, never say never! When I was broke, I would make fun of people at Louis Vuitton for buying purses that costs thousands of dollars. Once I started making money, all of my accessories and shoes are from Louis Vuitton now. I am the guy I used to talk shit on. Isn’t that funny? My cost of living has became astronomically high and I am not even that much more happier. I recently saw one of my bank statements where I spent more money in 30 days than I had made in one of my previous years. Luckily for myself, I take accountability and put myself on a budget to be better with my funds. Don’t be me! Save your money, but still enjoy your life! You don’t need 10 pairs of $1,000 shoes that don’t even fit right just so you can show off to your Instagram following. Hey, at least I am not thatttt bad. 😉

Another thing you will come across once everyone knows you “made it” is that they will expect you to pay. I will go out to eat with like 10 people and once the check comes everyone looks at me like I am the ATM for the night. This is now one of the many reasons I only hang around successful people.

Listen, my goal for tonight wasn’t to scare you out success, but just to talk about a few things you will want to look out for once you start crushing it. I am a straight shooter and wanted to give you some raw truth!

I hope you found some good insight and wish you nothing but the best!

Yours Truly,

Gallant Dill aka “Cousin G”

P.S. Success F*CKING rocks!

GallantDillMentoring.com