"Iron Claw" - Is Extreme Success "Cursed?"

 This holiday long weekend biographical sports film "Iron Claw" opened. Here is the trailer.

PILE-ON OF TRAGEDY

Essentially the 2023 movie is the true story of the Von Erich family which became a legend in professional wrestling in the 1980s. But along the way to fame and fortune, one son died of medical problems he ignored in order to show up in the ring in Japan. Two others committed suicide. The one survivor, after almost losing his own wife and two sons, sold the business. 

The father Fritz, who missed his shot at the wrestling big time, is brutally one-dimensional in driving the four sons. Earlier, in childhood another son had died in an accident. There is no blatant attempt to put dad on any couch for psychoanalysis. There is no need for that. Don't we all know the type? 

The mother, who initially does push back on her husband's grand visions of success, goes passive and cold and religious. She only circles back to who she was after the second suicide. The father seems incapable of change. We also know that type. 

FAUSTIAN BARGAIN?

Explicit, not implicit, is the meme that the family is cursed. That provides the platform for us to reflect if the pursuit of extreme success is embedded with a curse. Is there a Faustian bargain to reckon with? Or, are there simply unfortunate circumstances?

I wonder about the Black family. The father Eli arrived from Poland with nothing, then went on to own and operate United Brands. He committed suicide. That may or may not have been related to the federal investigation of alleged bribes by the corporation. 

Later his son Leon, who co-founded financial empire Apollo, wound up giving up three titles when he couldn't shake his association with Jeffrey Epstein in the court of public opinion. Those titles were big: Apollo CEO and Chairman and head of the board of the Museum of Modern Art.

In entertainment there are Matt Lauer, Rosanne Barr and late Roger Ailes.

In law there seem to be more than the usual number of tragedies such as of Rudy Giuliani.

As an intuitive career coach, I encounter this development - that is, tragedy - frequently. Many, like the surviving brother of the Von Enrich family, will be able to transcend that negative force field. That is, if they are open to start over, this time differently.

LOWERED VIBRATION

Obviously, though, the professionals who seem to have dodged a curse don't show up for coaching with me. They don't need that. 

So, I don't know first-hand if success can be penalty-free. What I have observed in success in general is that who get it, hold onto it and keep growing it aren't like Fritz, one-dimensional in their intensity. There is that "something" or "somethings" else at their core. 

At Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett has a deep respect for communications. We bear witness to that in his annual report. He also has a great deal of fun eating like a kid. 

JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon loves to operate up there at 30,000 feet as a thought leader.

The chair of Paul Weiss Wall Street lawyer Brad Karp plows himself into social justice. Although diversity has become unfashionable, Karp is still at it. 

Former President of law firm Adler Pollock (now senior counselor) and CEO of IYLON Precision Oncology John Tarantino has the mission to decode, treat and cure cancer. No surprise, when wearing his lawyer hat, he is still winning big cases.

Oprah Winfrey always had broad interests, so did the late Paul Newman.

Like a journalist, former US President Bill Clinton is curious about a lot of things. As we know, he has bounced back from a number of setbacks to remain an influencer. 

Among the coaching clients who make the most progress aka become more successful are those who lower the vibration on professional intensity. Less compulsive, they cultivate peripheral vision which picks up on new opportunities and emerging threats.

Data or the gut for your careers and communications? Both of course. Complimentary consultation with intuitive coach, content-creator, and Tarot reader Jane Genova (text 203-468-8579, janegenova374@gmail.com).