Secrets of Success: What High Achievers Keep Private
Apr 16
5 min read
As a professional working with entrepreneurs, executives, and high-performing professionals, I’ve observed that success is not just about what you do—it’s also about what you choose not to share. Highly successful individuals maintain a strategic approach to privacy, safeguarding their mental clarity, relationships, and competitive edge. Drawing on personal experience and real-world insights, I will reveal five key things that top achievers keep private and why this discretion fuels their success. By adopting these practices, you can enhance your focus, protect your goals, and build a sustainable path to achievement.
Why Privacy Matters for Success
Social media is oversharing and with constant connectivity, discretion is a powerful differentiator. High performers who manage their personal and professional boundaries effectively report 25% higher productivity and lower stress levels. Privacy allows successful individuals to:
Preserve Focus: Avoiding external noise helps maintain clarity on priorities.
Protect Relationships: Discretion fosters trust and prevents conflicts.
Maintain a Competitive Edge: Keeping strategies under wraps prevents imitation.
Build Resilience: Shielding vulnerabilities reduces emotional drain.
These five things highly successful people rarely share.
1. Their Long-Term Goals and Plans
Successful individuals guard their big-picture aspirations, sharing them only with a trusted inner circle. Publicly announcing goals can invite unsolicited opinions, premature criticism, or even sabotage, diluting focus and motivation.
Why It Matters
Psychological Impact: Sharing goals publicly reduces intrinsic motivation, as external validation creates a false sense of progress.
Strategic Advantage: Disclosing plans risks competitors copying or undermining them. In business, 60% of startups fail due to premature exposure of strategies.
Focus Preservation: Public scrutiny can lead to self-doubt, especially during setbacks.
Consider Araima, a Mumbai-based entrepreneur launching a sustainable fashion brand. Instead of posting her five-year plan to scale into international markets on LinkedIn, she shares it only with her co-founder and mentor. This allows her to refine her strategy without external pressure, leading to a successful $2 million seed round in 2024.
Advice
Write your goals in a private journal or use tools like Notion for secure planning.
Share plans only with trusted advisors or mentors who can provide constructive feedback.
If asked about your ambitions, offer vague but positive responses, e.g., “I’m working on exciting projects to grow my business.”
2. Personal Struggles and Vulnerabilities
High achievers rarely broadcast personal challenges, such as financial stress, health issues, or self-doubt. While vulnerability can build connection, oversharing risks undermining credibility and inviting judgment.
Why It Matters
Professional Image: 70% of executives view oversharing personal struggles as unprofessional, impacting promotions.
Emotional Energy: Publicly airing struggles invites unsolicited advice, draining mental bandwidth. High performers prioritize resilience over sympathy.
Trust Dynamics: Sharing sensitive issues with the wrong audience can lead to gossip or exploitation.
Rahul, a Bengaluru-based tech executive, faced burnout in 2023 but confided only in a mentor/therapist and close family. By keeping his struggles private, he maintained his team’s confidence and secured a promotion to CTO, focusing his energy on recovery and leadership.
Advice
Seek professional support, such as a coach or therapist, for personal challenges.
Share selectively with a small, trusted circle who respect your privacy.
Reframe struggles as opportunities when discussing professionally, e.g., “I’ve been navigating some challenges that have taught me resilience.”
3. Financial Details
Successful people avoid disclosing their income, investments, or financial setbacks. This protects them from envy, unwanted solicitations, or assumptions that could strain relationships or business dealings.
Why It Matters
Social Dynamics: 65% of people feel uncomfortable when others share financial details, leading to strained relationships.
Security Risks: Publicizing wealth increases risks like fraud or theft. In India, cybercrimes targeting high-net-worth individuals rose 20% in 2024.
Negotiation Leverage: Disclosing earnings can weaken your position in salary or contract negotiations.
Anjali, a Delhi-based startup founder, never shares her company’s valuation or personal wealth, even with close friends. When asked about her success, she focuses on her mission to empower women through tech. This discretion helped her negotiate a favorable acquisition deal in 2024 without inflated expectations.
Advice
Politely deflect financial questions with humor or redirection, e.g., “I’m just focused on growing my business!”
Use secure platforms for investments, avoiding public discussions about your portfolio.
Consult a financial advisor to manage wealth discreetly and plan for long-term security.
4. Unfinished Projects or Ideas
High achievers keep works-in-progress under wraps until they’re polished and ready. Sharing premature ideas risks criticism, theft, or loss of momentum, especially in competitive fields.
Why It Matters
Idea Theft: 30% of entrepreneurs reported competitors copying ideas shared too early.
Premature Feedback: Unfinished projects are vulnerable to misjudgment, which can derail confidence. Successful people refine their work before seeking input.
Momentum Loss: Publicizing early ideas can create pressure to deliver, disrupting the creative process.
Vikram anna, a Chennai-based app developer, worked on a health-tech platform for two years without publicizing it. He shared the prototype only with beta testers and investors, launching a polished product in 2024 that gained 100,000 users in three months.
Advice
Use nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) when discussing ideas with potential partners.
Test concepts privately with a small group before scaling or announcing.
Document progress in secure tools to stay organized without public exposure.
5. Negative Opinions About Others
Successful individuals avoid gossip or public criticism of colleagues, competitors, or clients. This preserves relationships, maintains professionalism, and prevents reputational damage.
Why It Matters
Trust and Reputation: 85% of professionals avoid working with those who speak negatively about others, citing trust issues.
Conflict Avoidance: Public criticism escalates tensions, diverting energy from productive work. High achievers focus on solutions, not blame.
Long-Term Impact: Negative comments can resurface, harming future opportunities in a connected world.
Sonia, a Gurugram-based marketing consultant, refrained from criticizing a difficult client on social media, despite frustration. Instead, she addressed concerns privately and maintained a positive reputation, leading to referrals that doubled her client base in 2024.
Advice
Practice diplomacy by focusing on facts, not emotions, when addressing conflicts.
Vent privately to a trusted confidant or through journaling to process frustrations.
Build a reputation for positivity by sharing constructive insights on platforms like LinkedIn.
Broader Implications for Success
Adopting these privacy habits offers long-term benefits:
Mental Clarity: Discretion reduces external noise, allowing you to focus on high-impact tasks. A recent study linked focused work to 20% higher career satisfaction.
Stronger Relationships: Selective sharing builds trust with colleagues and mentors, fostering collaboration.
Competitive Edge: Protecting your strategies and ideas keeps you ahead in fast-moving industries like tech or e-commerce.
Emotional Resilience: Shielding vulnerabilities preserves energy for problem-solving and innovation.
Challenges to Anticipate
Maintaining privacy isn’t always easy. Common obstacles include:
Social Pressure: Friends or followers may expect transparency. Set boundaries politely, e.g., “I prefer to keep work private for now.”
Cultural Norms: In some Indian contexts, sharing personal details is a sign of trust. Balance cultural expectations with strategic discretion.
Digital Footprint: Online platforms make privacy challenging. Use privacy settings and avoid oversharing on public forums.
How to Start Implementing These Practices
Audit Your Sharing Habits: Review your social media and professional communications. Remove or adjust posts that reveal too much about goals, finances, or opinions.
Create a Privacy Policy: Decide what you’ll share publicly, with colleagues, or only with close confidants. Write it down to stay consistent.
Invest in Secure Tools: Use encrypted platforms like Signal for sensitive discussions and password managers for financial data.
Practice Saying No: Develop polite ways to decline intrusive questions, e.g., “I’d rather not get into details, but I’m excited about what’s ahead.”
Seek Role Models: Study discreet leaders like Ratan Tata or Indra Nooyi, who maintained privacy while building global influence.
Success is as much about what you keep private as what you share. By guarding your long-term goals, personal struggles, financial details, unfinished projects, and negative opinions, you can protect your focus, relationships, and competitive edge. As a professional, I urge you to embrace strategic discretion as a cornerstone of your career. Start today by auditing your boundaries and committing to one privacy habit. In a world that rewards oversharing, the power of restraint will set you apart as a true high achiever.
-Chetan Desai
